Digital Divide

Pertinent Questions * Facts (global, national, educational levels)

* Why important?•As educators, what can we do?

Ferdinand B. Pitagan, PhDEdTech 101

Sharing your experience

• What kind of technology do you use? (mobile phone, iPod, Wiki, Blogs, social networking, Skype, YM, etc)

• For what?• How often?• What are the individual differences?

The Gap

AccessSkills

KnowledgeAttitude

ICTDigital haves - Info rich

Digital not haves - Info poor

NationsGenerations

GendersEthnic groups

EducationEconomic

levelsSocial statusLanguages

A series of Gaps

Digital haves - Info rich

Digital not haves - Info poor

Digital Technologies

Changes in Society

Education(Policies, Practices)

Digital Divide

Digital Opportunitie

s

Digital Divide

a deepening of existing forms of

exclusionUnemployed, poor,

housebound, disabled, less educated, minorities

Women/girls

Internet World Statistics (2009) http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Digital Divide at A GlanceDigital Divide at A Glance (ITU figures) (ITU figures)

less than 3 out of every 100 Africans 1 out of every 2 inhabitants of the G8

countries top 20 countries (Internet bandwidth) ---80%

of all Internet users 30 countries with an Internet penetration of

less than 1% 429 million Internet users in G8 444 million Internet users in non-G8 Mobile = 34% of the world’s total mobile

users from G8 countries – 14% world population

G8- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US

Digital Divide

Economic factors

Other factors

Social factors (gender, race, etc)

Cultural factors

Internet Users by Income Internet Users by Income Level of country Level of country

Asahi Statistics p.189Asahi Statistics p.189

High-income : 65.5%Upper middle income : 7.8%Lower middle income : 21.5%Low-income : 5.6%

UCLA World Internet Project (2004)UCLA World Internet Project (2004)Internet Users by GenderInternet Users by Gender

• Britain men 63.6; women 55.0• Germany men 50.4; women 41.7• Hungary men 20.3; women 15.1• Italy men 41.7; women 21.5• Japan men 54.7; women 46.2• Korea men 67.8; women 53.8• Macao men 37.8; women 28.8• Singapore men 47.2; women 34.0• Spain men 46.4; women 27.2• Sweden men 67.7; women 64.4• Taiwan men 25.1; women 23.5• United States men 73.1; women 69.0

Internet Users by Age Group

“…86 percent of women ages 18 to 29 were online, compared with 80 percent of men in the same age group.

“…among the older group, those age 65 and older, 34 percent of men are online, compared with 21 percent of women.”

USA, Washingtonpost Thursday, December 29, 2005

Not easy to stop/lessen gaps

Need for awareness

Need for strong policies

Need for international collaboration

Need for education

If we don’t do anything about it….

World Summit on the Information Society

http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/stats/Building-digital-bridges_2005.pdf

1. International Collaboration“UNDP etc – e Vietnamese Village”“Japan – Asian Broadband Project”

2. NGOs/Public sectors“Brazil – Tele-centers”

3. National Policies“Egypt – E-readiness Plan”“Korean Agency for Digital Opportunity”

4. Business Involvement “Sudan – SUDATEL”

8 Key Areas for Policy

1. Access for all to HW & SW2. Changed roles of teachers/learners3. Promoting lifelong learning4. Quality assurance5. Enhanced citizenship6. Brokering services and agencies7. Support, encourage & direct research8. Change in role of policy-maker in

education

World Summit on the Information Society

Digital Opportunities

ICT, helping to overcome some forms of exclusion

Distance learning to remote areasVillage tele-centers with ICT

ICT in Basic EducationLifelong Learning through ICT

Others

Digital Divide in Education

-Digital divide in investment (input)-Digital divide in ICT use (process)-Digital divide in people (output)

Digital Divide in EducationDigital Divide in Education

1. Input Factors

• Hardware, • Software• Materials and Resources• Connectivity• Integration of ICT in curriculum• Supports• Policies• Others

Digital Divide in EducationDigital Divide in Education

2. Process Factors

Different approaches to ICT use- Used for advanced applications

and thinking?- Used for basic skill training?- Used for computer games?- Others

Digital Divide in EducationDigital Divide in Education

3. Human (Outcome) Factors

Digital literacy? - ICT skills / knowledge - confidence - competencies

ICT Skills (University, Perception)ICT Skills (University, Perception)Source: NIME (2003)Source: NIME (2003)

“I do not have adequate ICT skills and knowledge”

- More faculty than students- More older people than younger ones- More people in humanities and social sciences than those in natural sciences and engineering

Digital divide in informal learning(more learning happens

outside schools)

Home differencesDifferences at work

Differences in communities