Introduction Origins Emerging Technology Information/Digital Age Education and Demographics Information Rich vs.

vs. Information Poor Overcoming the Demographic Digital Divide - Access to Technology Conclusion References

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.photographybyjohncorney.com/artistic/do-notdisconnect.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photographybyjohncorney.com/photoblog/2007/11/do-not-disconnect-real-digitaldivide.htm&usg=__bRBVpdE_rTgWMuo_d5cQOopetac=&h=666&w=866&sz=172&hl=en&start=0&tbnid=I76Ybu1yYdM2cM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=117& prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddigital%2Bdivide%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1R2ADRA_enUS381%26biw%3D1345%26bih%3D525%26tbs% 3Disch:10%2C158&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=169&ei=mO9pTJzUMoGB8gaf35StBA&oei=mO9pTJzUMoGB8gaf35StBA&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=25& ved=1t:429,r:24,s:0&tx=92&ty=68&biw=1345&bih=525

The term digital divide is commensurate with the term knowledge divide, both reflecting the access of various social groupings to information and knowledge, typically gender, income, race, and by location.

Term

The digital divide is most commonly defined as the gap between those individuals and communities that have, and do not have, access to the information technologies that are transforming our lives (Edutopia).

Definition

Home

Work
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Community
www.google.com

Church

School

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Technology is everywhere and it is perceived that it is readily available to the masses, but in all actuality just because something is there doesnt mean its accessible.

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The Internet provides a physical environment for the World Wide Web to exist. Another service that came along with the Internet is electronic mail also known as Email. These services have transformed our daily lives. If we go back just one generation, teachers were just beginning to expose students to the electric typewriter. Now we have electronic mail.
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Although it may seem as though schools bridge the gap, the gap still exists. But it is not something that is new or uncommon. There has always been a huge disconnect between social-economic classes. One of the Nations challenges is to extend the possibilities of the information age to all Americans. As the Presidents Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) states, in an increasingly competitive global economy, our Nation cannot afford to squander our human resources by providing opportunities only to those Americans who are favored by geographic or economic circumstance information technology tools and applications can provide opportunities that transcend barriers of race, gender, disability, age, income and location (PITAC, 2000).

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Information Rich

Information Poor

Urban Areas Low-funded Public School Non-licensed Teachers Income > 50,000/yr

Rural Areas Private School Highly Qualified Teachers Income < 75,000/yr

Information Poor

Information Rich

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http://www.w3.org/2008/02/sb_www2008/#(1)

While access is now almost universal, there is still a prevalent digital divide between poor and affluent students.

It is estimated that sixty percent of all jobs will require information technology skills (Banister & Fischer, 2010). African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans constitute one-fourth of the total U.S. workforce. Yet members of these minorities aren't exposed to technology. "A Nation Online" pointed to U.S. Census data showing that 143 million Americans, or about 54 percent of the population, are using the Internet.

Technology deployed in education can help remove inequities between the schools of the inner city and the suburbs, between cities and rural districts.... Technology can become the force that equalizes the educational opportunities of all children regardless of location and social and economic circumstance (Bell, R. & Ramirez, R. 1997). According to Means and Olson (1995), access to educational technology at school can give students from low-income homes, where there is little or no access to technology, "a needed edge to compete with children coming from more affluent homes, where technology is commonplace". Once communities are introduced to this type of technology and given the opportunity to master technology tools, adults and students will be more prone to use these skills to help create a better lifestyle for them and their families. Sixty-two million households, or 55 percent, had Internet access, up from 50 percent in 2001, and more than triple the proportion of house-holds with Internet access in 1997 (18 percent). Eighty-three percent of children aged 3 to 17 with a computer at home used it to play games, the most common single use, followed by school assignments (66 percent) and connecting to the Internet (64 percent).

Access to technology Providing Access

Children who are from low income families and poverty stricken neighborhoods will always be behind the digital curve. As more technologies are integrated into our daily lives, these students will never be able to experience what other affluent students experience. The implications are enormous and the costs to society great, as these students are impeded by their lack of technological skills from entering the competitive world of college, including computer-related fields, or work, including service-based jobs.

Banister, S. & Fischer, J. (2010). Overcoming the Digital Divide: The Story of an Urban Middle School. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database. Bell, R. & Ramirez, R. (1997). Critical Issue: Ensuring Equitable Use of Education Technology. Retrieved July 29, 2010 from: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te400.htm Block, J. (2010). Distance Education and the Digital Divide: An Academic Perspective. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 13(1), Retrieved from ERIC database. Carvin, A. (2006). The Gap: Once a Topic, the Digital Divide Seems All but Forgotten, while the Poor, Mainly Black and Hispanic, Are Still Being Left behind. School Library Journal, 54(3), 70. Retrieved from ERIC database. Carvin, A. (2000). Mending the Breach: Overcoming the Digital Divide. Edutopia. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/mending-breachovercoming-digital-divide Chun, E. & Evans, A. (2009). Bridging the diversity divide: Globalization and reciprocal empowerment in higher education. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Dickard, N. & Schneider, D. Digital Divide: Where We Are Today. (2002). Edutopia. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/digital-dividewhere-we-are-today

Digital Divide. (2010). WordIQ. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from WordIQ: http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Digital_divide
Digital Divide. (2010). Comcast. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from Comcast Online: http://home.comcast.net/~cycleofliberation/digitaldivide.html

Internet. (2010). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved August 03, 2010, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/291494/Internet
Internet. (2010). NTC Hosting. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from NTC Hosting: http://www.ntchosting.com/internet/

Internet Access and the Digital Divide. (2010). University of Washington. Retrieved July 7, 2010 from: http://faculty.washington.edu/krumme/internet/divide.html Jenson, J. (2004). IT'S THE INFORMATION AGE, SO WHERE'S THE INFORMATION?. College Teaching, 52(3), 107-112. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database. Lewis, A. (2007). Digital Divides the Poor. Education Digest , 72(5), 71-72. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

Mark Sargent. (2002). Edutopia. Community Technology Centers: A National Movement to Close the Digital Divide. Retrieved July 19, 2010 from: http://www.edutopia.org:8080/community-technology-centers-nationalmovement-close-digital-divide Mason, C., & Dodds, R. (2005). Bridging the Digital Divide: Schools Must Find Ways To Provide Equal Access To Technology For All Students. Principal, 84(4), 24-30. Retrieved from ERIC database.
Means, B. & Olson, K. (1995). Beyond the Classroom: Restructuring Schools with Technology: Challenges and Retrieved July 29, 2010 from: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000352139

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (DOC), W. (1999). Falling through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide. A Report on the Telecommunications and Information Technology Gap in America. Revised. Retrieved from ERIC database. Jubilee Reach Center Online. (2010). Retrieved July 27, 2010 from: http://www.jubileereach.org/site/pages/services/ct.html
US Census Bureau. (2005). Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2003. Retrieved July 28, 2010 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p23-208.pdf