The document discusses the digital divide, which refers to unequal access to and use of digital technologies between different groups. It notes that there are gaps between those who have access to technologies and the information they provide ("digital haves") and those who do not ("digital not haves"). These gaps exist along dimensions like nations, generations, gender, education level, income level, and more. The document also discusses how the digital divide impacts education, with divides in access to technologies and resources, how technologies are used, and the development of digital skills among students and teachers. It emphasizes the need for policies, education, collaboration, and other efforts to address these divides.

1. Digital Divide
Pertinent Questions
* Facts (global, national, educational levels)
* Why important?
•As educators, what can we do?
Ferdinand B. Pitagan, PhD
EdTech 101

2. 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?

3. Digital haves - Info rich ICT
Access
Skills
The
Gap
Knowledge
Attitude
Digital not haves - Info poor

4. Nations
Digital haves - Info rich Generations
Genders
Ethnic groups
A series of Education
Gaps Economic
levels
Social status
Digital not haves - Info poor Languages

5. Digital Technologies
Changes in Digital
Digital
Society Opportunities
Divide
Education
(Policies,
Practices)

6. Digital Divide
a deepening of
existing forms of exclusion
Unemployed, poor,
housebound, disabled,
less educated, minorities
Women/girls

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

12. Digital Divide at A Glance
(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

13. Cultural factors
Social factors
(gender, race, etc)
Digital Divide
Other factors
Economic factors

14. Internet Users by Income Level
of country
Asahi Statistics p.189
 High-income : 65.5%
 Upper middle income : 7.8%
 Lower middle income : 21.5%
 Low-income : 5.6%

16. UCLA World Internet Project (2004)
Internet 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

17. 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

18. Not easy to stop/lessen gaps
If we don’t do anything about it….
Need for awareness
Need for strong policies
Need for international collaboration
Need for education

19. World Summit on the
Information Society
http://www.itu.int/wsis/tunis/newsroom/stats/Building-digital-bridges_2005.pdf
6. 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”

20. World Summit on the Information Society
8 Key Areas for Policy
3. Access for all to HW & SW
4. Changed roles of teachers/learners
5. Promoting lifelong learning
6. Quality assurance
7. Enhanced citizenship
8. Brokering services and agencies
9. Support, encourage & direct research
10.Change in role of policy-maker in
education

21. Digital Opportunities
ICT, helping to overcome
some forms of exclusion
Distance learning to remote areas
Village tele-centers with ICT
ICT in Basic Education
Lifelong Learning through ICT
Others

22. Digital Divide in Education
-Digital divide in investment
(input)
-Digital divide in ICT use
(process)
-Digital divide in people (output)

23. Digital Divide in Education
1. Input Factors
• Hardware,
• Software
• Materials and Resources
• Connectivity
• Integration of ICT in curriculum
• Supports
• Policies
• Others

24. Digital 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

25. Digital Divide in Education
3. Human (Outcome) Factors
Digital literacy?
- ICT skills / knowledge
- confidence
- competencies

26. ICT Skills (University, Perception)
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

27. Digital divide in informal learning
(more learning happens
outside schools)
Home differences
Differences at work
Differences in communities