“Both inside the United States and on the global level, the gulf between those individuals, families, organizations, and businesses that enjoy access to the Internet and those that do not constitutes the digital divide” (Gale Encyclopedia). Across the world, in both third world and first world countries, two factors that contribute to the widening gap of the digital divide are income and race. “The U.S. Department of Commerce in late 2000 reported that 12.7 percent of Americans earning less than $15,000 per year had access to the Internet in their homes, compared with 77.7 percent of those making more than $75,000 a year” (Gale Encyclopedia). The majority of people who had a low income did not have access to the Internet in the home. For students, this can be problematic. The more technology becomes popular in the world, the more it is incorporated into the classroom. Students are often expected to research information on the Internet, or type up an assignment for class at home. Especially in rural areas with a vast majority of high poverty students, it becomes difficult to avoid the technology barrier. Not only does income become a factor in student’s accessibility to technology, race also plays a part.
The technology gap is seen between countries, states, schools, incomes, and races. “Between 1984 and 1998, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage gap in computer ownership between the highest and lowest income groups expanded from 20 percent to 64 percent.” (Gale Encyclopedia). Whites tend to have a greater access to technology than other minority groups. “The Journal of Housing and Community Development noted that racial divisions intersected with income levels; 23 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics combined maintained home Internet access, while 46 percent of Caucasians were connected at home” (Gale Encyclopedia). Since an overwhelmingly amount of minority groups have a low income, these people are often the most affected by the accessibility of technology. In the United States, the accessibility difference can be seen in the education system. In one school, there can be a variety of students: poor, rich, white, African-American, Latino. Not every student will have the same knowledge of technology. Some may know how to use a computer while others may have never used one. According to the Department of Education, 41 percent of blacks and Hispanics use a computer at home for school related work compared to 77 percent of whites (Thomas). Not all students will be able to complete research assignments at home or finish work on the computer. Even if students have access, computers can be like a foreign language.
Once access is available for all income and racial groups, the task of developing technological fluency begins. “Unlike television and radio, the Internet requires active, autonomous engagement to realize its full benefits” (Venezky, 10). It is necessary for students to learn computer skills and become literate. The majority of jobs in the work force today rely on computer skills, so it is necessary to develop these skills for more economic opportunities. “As more information and services are transmitted online, computer illiteracy will push those on the downside of the digital divide further to the margins of society” (Nielson). For students to become literate on the computer, they need to know basic skills like how to read and write. When almost forty percent of the population has low literacy skills, using technology can be difficult to teach and hard to use. In the classroom, teachers have to know how to teach kids who have never used a computer and kids who have very advanced computer skills at the same time. If technology continues to be integrated into the education system like we have seen in the past several years, teachers are going to have to be knowledgeable about the digital divide to provide a good outcome for their students. If you continue to read on, you will find more information regarding what is going on with technology today.
Once access is available for all income and racial groups, the task of developing technological fluency begins. “Unlike television and radio, the Internet requires active, autonomous engagement to realize its full benefits” (Venezky, 10). It is necessary for students to learn computer skills and become literate. The majority of jobs in the work force today rely on computer skills, so it is necessary to develop these skills for more economic opportunities. “As more information and services are transmitted online, computer illiteracy will push those on the downside of the digital divide further to the margins of society” (Nielson). For students to become literate on the computer, they need to know basic skills like how to read and write. When almost forty percent of the population has low literacy skills, using technology can be difficult to teach and hard to use. In the classroom, teachers have to know how to teach kids who have never used a computer and kids who have very advanced computer skills at the same time. If technology continues to be integrated into the education system like we have seen in the past several years, teachers are going to have to be knowledgeable about the digital divide to provide a good outcome for their students. If you continue to read on, you will find more information regarding what is going on with technology today.
For more information visit the following links:
Education Week - The Digital Divide in education
Digital Divide - The Digital Divide broken down into three stages
Education Week - The Digital Divide in education
Digital Divide - The Digital Divide broken down into three stages
