The Digital Divide: Its Victims, Implications and Possible Solutions
Introduction:
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The past several years have seen a dramatic increase in access to technology. Millions of Americans consider computers to be an integral part of their lives. However, many been cut off from this trend. While many people choose not to incorporate computers into their lives, for some, the choice is not theirs. Whether it is through poor education, low-income, or other factors, vast sectors of the population have not had proper access to new technologies. To comprehend the Digital Divide, one must understand its definition. For the purposes of this paper, it is defined as "the difference in use of technology by schools based on ethnicity and socioeconomic status." This divide has direct and serious implications on the quality of education. Swain and Pearson define three areas where research has indicated that educators can influence the Digital Divide: frequency of use, the differences in students' experiences with respect to computer use, and technology professional development for teachers (Swain and Pearson, 327). Van Dijk defines four kinds of barriers to access, which are essential to understanding the digital divide. The first is lack of elementary digital experience, which is from a lack of interest, or from computer anxiety. The second is no possession of computers and network connections, i.e., no material access. The third is a lack of digital skills, caused by inadequate education. The fourth is lack of usage opportunities(van Dijk and Hacker, 315). Addressing the issue of access requires attention to all four of these types. While increased access to technology does not solve the barriers that economic and racial inequalities create, increasing access and training for more diverse communities eliminates many of the barriers that these groups face.
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Identifying the Victims:
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Examining statistics demonstrates how widespread the increase in access to technology has been. In 1995, 24.1 % of US households had a computer. By 2000, this increased to 51%, with 41.5% having internet access. These statistics show how rapidly saturated this technology became into American life. However, one makes a gross error in assuming that these increases are across all areas of society. Identifying who has access to these technologies, and who doesn't, illuminates the depth of the Digital Divide. Below is a chart which details the extent of the Digital Divide (Servon, 224):
Sources: Computer data from US Department of Commerce (2000a); Internet data from Pew Internet and American Life Project, unpublished. Approximately half the households in the US have a computer, but only about one third of our African American or Hispanic families have one. White and Asian American families have computers at figures higher than the national average. Looking at the economic statistics, these figures become even more stark. Only 19.2% of families with incomes less than $15,000 have a computer. Servon states that "Persistent gaps remain between different racial and ethnic groups, people with and without disabilities, single and dual parent families, the old and the young, and people with different levels of income." She continues that low or moderate income families in urban areas are groups being left behind the most (Servon, 223). One issue that further complicates this is the roles schools play. The above statistics only site homes with computers. However, schools and area libraries are often able to increase access to technology through their own programs. Yet the communities that need these programs the most have the most difficulty in starting and maintaining them. This is because education funding is determined by the local tax base. If an area is low-income, and therefore families can't afford their own computers, schools are less likely to receive funding to create another outlet for families to access technology (PBS.org). The combination of these two economic factors means that students in low-income areas are not only lacking in access at home, but in quality access at school. In 1999, a report found that at schools with 90% or more of the student are minorities, the average ratio of computers to students is 17.4 to 1. This is well above the 5 to 1 ratio recommended by the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). Although this ratio improved dramatically to a ratio of 9 to 1, it is still above the recommended one. Also, studies have found that although schools in low income areas have increased the numbers of computers, their technology is usually one to two years behind than middle income schools, and three to four years behind high income schools. Coupled with the problem of out-dated technology, teachers in these areas often do not receive adequate training to incorporate technology into their curriculum (Swain and Person, 330). These factors all work together to decrease the quality of access students in low-income areas receive. If students are always working on computers that are behind those of their middle-class peers, than the economic barrier will keep them from learning on an equal playing field. Although improvements have been made in terms of the numbers of computers available, their use is limited by poor quality of instruction and outdated technology. For the barrier to be lifted, access to current technology must be achieved, as well as providing teachers with sufficient training to use them. |
Implications:
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FCC Chairman Powell criticized the concept of the Digital Divide as an ill-advised version of the "Mercedes divide" in the US: Some people can afford expensive luxury cars, others cannot, but that is the American way (Strover, 275). However, this statement is dangerously erroneous, and minimizes the impact that lack of access to technology can have on one's education and job skills. Several studies document that students demonstrate stronger higher order thinking skills and problem-solving techniques with computers as opposed to those students without access to computers. According to Swain and Pearson, these studies show how technology, specifically computers, can enhance learning (Swain and Pearson, 327). Access to technology is not the only factor to consider, either. In schools where the majority of students were classified as minorities, poor, and urban when computers were used, they were more likely to be used for lower-order thinking skills, such as drills. This problem becomes more dramatic as the students get older. African Americans used computers for higher order thinking skills 48% of the time in the fourth grade, but by the eighth grade, this figure dropped to 14% (Swain and Pearson, 329. These figures reveal stark realities about the implications of the Digital Divide. Students who are middle-class and live in suburban areas are capable of developing stronger higher order thinking skills than their disadvantaged, minority, urban counter-parts. This shows how the digital divide reinforces pre-existing economic and racial divides. This disparity will affect their education, and takes a serious initiative to correct it. Students who are able to use technology efficiently are not only better able to research for information, maintain a competitive position in future job markets, but also affects their higher-order thinking abilities. Disparities such as these are not solved by simply creating access to computers. Programs which support the computers are necessary to ensure that their use promotes advanced learning and develops skills. Van Dijk and Hacker conclude that "relative differences in getting information and lines of communication become decisive for one's position in society, more than in every society in history before...Much deeper and more clear-cut differences in skill and usage will appear as both technology and society increasingly differentiate" (van Dijk and Hacker, 324). These issues need to be addressed proactively to make a difference in the digital divide.
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Solutions:
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One of the most important factors in narrowing the Digital Divide lies in how proactive educators are in reducing it. Recent literature suggests that "teachers can influence access and instructional opportunities...there are practical steps all educators can take toward decreasing the Digital Divide" (Swain and Pearson, 326). They suggest that implementing technology standards is one of the first steps in achieving a level playing field in technology skills. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) Project is one such example of these initiatives. Implementing technology standards helps establish a framework for using computers in the curriculum. In order to implement these technology standards, however, the Digital Divide that teachers face must be confronted first. Swain and Pearson an OERI report that found only 20% of in-service teachers felt well prepared to integrate technology into their classrooms. This problem reaches through all types of schools, but is particularly strong in lower-income areas. Professional development is paramount to successfully integrating technology into the classroom, but unfortunately, this receives little attention (Swain and Pearson, 330. In order to address the Digital Divide in students, teachers must first be trained efficiently. To haphazardly incorporate computers is almost as bad as not having computers at all. Proper equipment, training, and implementation are the three steps towards minimizing the Digital Divide in education. Arguably, this task is impossible. However, through efficient programs and ensuring that any initiative receives proper support, the programs that are implemented will be more successful. It is better to have slightly outdated computers with teachers who are well-trained to use them than to have high-tech equipment and teachers who are unsure of how to use them. |
Conclusions
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While the Digital Divide has created another level of inequality in the United States, it is important to recognize what place it holds in society. One essay stated that "The current political interest in the Digital Divide is an attempt to reverse the damage to race relations caused by welfare reform and by the retreat from affirmative action." Strover warns people to avoid the assumption that equipment access would fundamentally alter people's life circumstances and leapfrog transcend structural inequalities (Strover, 276). Although the Digital Divide is an obstacle, it is only one of many that many people face. Servon warns that one of the many myths about the Digital Divide is that technology can solve social problems. She argues that without support to make it available and without integrating it into a more comprehensive solution, technology can exacerbate existing inequalities. People must remember that the Digital Divide is another symptom of a much larger problem of poverty and racism (Servon, 226). However, addressing the Digital Divide enables disadvantaged people to side-step one of the many barriers put before them. Increasing access and training to technology will lead to a more educated population. Many people believe education is one of the first steps to overcoming obstacles created by wealth and race. In a society where computers have rapidly become the center of many fields, providing training and access to disadvantaged people will make achieving a better economic position more viable. |
Bibliography
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Digital Divide. (Online), 7/15/2004. PBS. <http://www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/> Servon, Lisa. "Four myths about the digital divide." Interface, 3 (2), 222-227. Strover, Sharon. "Remapping the digital divide." The Information Society, 19, 275-277. Swain, Colleen and Tamara Pearson. "Educators and technology standards: influencing the digital divide." Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34 (3), 326-335.
van Dijk, Jan and Kenneth Hacker. "The digital divide as a complex and dynamic phenomenon." The Information Society, 19, 315-326.
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