NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
Learner: Stephen W Watts
31 December 2011
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EL7001-8
Dr. Stephen Law
Principals and Practices in e-Learning
5 The Digital Divide
Assignment: Research five different potential digital divide issues. Describe the issue and its
impact on e-Learning. Develop a strategy to overcome each issue. For example, one potential problem is
Internet access. A strategy might be to allow learners to submit assignments during a specified period
instead of on a specific date. Support your strategies with your research and documentation. Length: 5-7
pages.
Faculty Use Only
Excellent work Stephen! Well organized and well presented.
Dr. Law
Dr. Stephen Law
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Running head: THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The Digital Divide
Stephen W. Watts
Northcentral University
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The Digital Divide
Through the early part of the first decade of the twenty-first century educational
researchers have lamented that advances in technology have enabled, empowered and
advantaged some students because of their access to online knowledge, education and
technology at the expense of those who do not have such access. More recent articles identify
that it is not a matter of access, but a matter of the skills that a student uses in accessing the
Internet that perpetuates the divide even as the access gap is closed. The purpose of this paper is
to discuss five current potential issues contributing to the digital divide, how these issues impact
e-learning, and strategies to overcome each issue with appropriate research and documentation.
The Issues
In many parts of the world, access to the Internet either at home, at school, or a digital
café is universal. Access to the Internet and the knowledge and education that can go with that
access, however, does not mean that each individual knows how or wants to benefit from that
access. Van Dijk (2005) suggests four steps of technological acceptance, which he terms as
various levels of access, which results in users being able to benefit educationally from
technology – what Whelan (2008) defines as e-readiness. These four steps include (a) the
motivation to use technology, (b) reasonable access to technology, (c) the skills to use the
technology and understand the content, and (d) using the technology to become better educated.
Van Dijk’s model of access is similar in context to Muilenburg and Berge’s (2005) eight barriers
to online learning. Although Muilenburg and Berge did not address the digital divide directly
many factors that prevent learners from benefiting from the use of advanced technology also
contribute to the divide.
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The literature identifies numerous obstructions for large swaths of people to gain from
the use of technology. The five contributors to the digital divide that are discussed in this paper
are learner motivation, cost and access to the Internet, technical skills, academic skills, and
administrative issues. Although these do not constitute all of the impediments that compose the
digital divide, several articles indicate that these are currently the most important.
Learner Motivation
In the U.S. twenty-four percent of adults “have no direct or indirect experience with the
Internet” (Haythornthwaite, 2007, p. 112) seeing no benefit in using it. These “truly
unconnected” (p. 112) individuals have by-and-large lower incomes, are older, and have less
education than individuals who are connected. With this many unconnected individuals in places
where connectivity is all but ubiquitous, what of other places, where physical access is much
harder to come by? A person who chooses to not access the Internet because they see no value
in doing so is no better than someone who cannot, and as a group the very people who could
benefit the most from the skills and education that comes with technology are the group least
likely to take advantage of it. Several articles show that the gap between advantaged and
disadvantaged groups is growing rather than shrinking (Beaudoin, 2007; Haythornthwaite, 2007;
Journell, 2007; Rye 2008; van Dijk, 2005; Whelan, 2008).
Until an individual is able to catch a glimpse of their own ignorance, they are unlikely to
be motivated to rectify it. Despite the studies that show that information and communications
technology (ICT) raises the overall standard of living in countries and regions where it is
implemented (Rye, 2008), only those who see the advantage will realize the benefit. Other
studies show that in education access to computers promotes substantial “improvement in
cognitive development” (Journell, 2007, p. 142), higher testing scores in reading, math and social
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studies, lower dropout and failure rates, and “enhance instruction to the point that students may
become enamored with learning” (p. 143). For e-learning the major advantage is the ability to
increase knowledge and skills anywhere at a time of the learner’s choosing, but to receive that
benefit the learner has to be motivated to take the course, and then stick with it regardless of
hardship. This means that the learner will have to have a certain amount of self-discipline and
take responsibility for their learning (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). The biggest impact that lack
of motivation can have on e-learning is that without experience it is difficult to encourage
learners to try it, so they will never know the gain that can come to them if they do (Muilenburg
& Berge, 2005). A secondary impact on e-learning is that if learners do try e-learning it is
important that the experience be a positive one, or they will be unlikely to want to take another elearning class (Rye, 2008).
To encourage disadvantaged learners to participate in e-learning it is important to market
to non-traditional students with classes (preferably free) that will help build a set of skills that
build competence not only in themselves, but in the use of the technology whereby they are
learning (Haythornthwaite, 2007). Learners must understand that there are benefits accruing to
them beyond the specific learning taking place (Rye, 2008). Perez (2007) found that if students
are sufficiently motivated they will seek out equipment and a connection in order to participate
in online courses. It is important that the instructors of these courses create appropriately
interactive activities that will foster comprehension in the learner, and resolve misconceptions,
and encourage interaction between participants to overcome any feelings of isolation that
learners may suffer from e-learning (Perez, 2007).
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Cost and Access to the Internet
According to Muilenburg and Berge’s (2005) factor analysis on the barriers to e-learning,
the sixth most impactful factor is the cost of accessing, and the lack of access to the Internet or
appropriate technology. Journell (2007) identified inadequate technology as “the predominant
reason why students fail to meet federal standards” (p. 145). Beaudoin (2007) added that in
poorer countries educational consumers and providers “lack affordable computers, reliable
internet connections, and access to online scholarly material” (p. 443), but as mentioned above a
large percentage of the adult population in the U.S. choose not to have access, and even in
elementary and secondary schools those with the poorest students lag far behind in access and
quality of equipment than those with more affluent students (Haythornthwaite, 2007; Maeroff,
2003).
The impact that lack of adequate hardware and software to engage in e-learning, or of a
connection was best demonstrated by Rye’s (2008) study in Indonesia. While students in a
remote district were motivated to participate in e-learning, he found that “their negative
experiences did not encourage them to continue using it” (p. 177), partly because of “the
expenses incurred by using the Internet” (p. 177) but also because “some of the students had to
travel for approximately 3 h[rs]. to reach an Internet café” (p. 177). He concluded that
for most students it is not about being online or not, but rather about the quality of
the connection and how they are able to use it, and in the end, to what extent it
contributes to higher education participation. (p. 174)
To overcome this factor of the digital divide several authors identified that governmental
policy has to change to focus on providing access to the less advantaged (Beaudoin, 2007;
Journell, 2007; Rye, 2008; Whalen, 2008). Community technology centers are suggested by
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Journell (2007) as a means of encouraging the disadvantaged to have a centralized and safe place
to learn the skills necessary for the jobs of tomorrow. Whalen (2008) encourages government to
partner with business to provide “free or low-cost access to the Internet and computing
equipment” (p. 62) and “access to all schools, ideally at broadband speeds” (p. 62, italics in
original) for free or low cost. Several authors noted that schools are more likely to be able to
provide computer and information literacy training to the disadvantaged (Haythornthwaite, 2007;
Whalen, 2008) so policies that encourage the upkeep and maintenance of technological resources
in schools should be encouraged.
Technical Skills
A significant barrier to online learning is the lack of skills necessary to run the hardware
and software required to access the Internet, and unfamiliarity or even fear of computers and
technological tools (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). For Journell (2007) the central issue of the
digital divide is digital illiteracy. He also found that lower socioeconomic groups tend to use
computers more rudimentarily than do more prosperous groups. In Indonesia Rye (2008) found
that the urban group had a positive attitude about engaging in e-learning because all of the
“students were already familiar with the use of new technology, even though none of them had
used it for educational purposes before” (p. 179), while those in the remote district, even when
they could get access “most of them faced a new problem, namely lack of necessary skills” (p.
177).
Using the Internet effectively is a set of higher order cognitive skills that takes learning
and practice. Those who do not acquire these skills will not be available for jobs that require the
use of technology, and are unlikely to seek out knowledge through e-learning (Maeroff, 2003).
For instructors who need to design interactive and engaging learning for e-learning there is the
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need for sophisticated technical knowledge and skills, and without these skills students may
become less motivated because of unchallenging, boring, or non-interactive material.
Research findings on disadvantaged youth that are provided equipment and trained in its
use show that they “will constructively use technology if provided with correct habits, both at
home and school” (Journell, 2007, p. 141). Whalen (2008) suggests that an interface that is
simple and intuitive should be used for e-learning to minimize the learning curve of e-learning
students. He also identified that curriculum designers and teachers be trained sufficiently to
create and present material that is engaging, interactive, and motivating.
Academic Skills
The lack of skill in writing, reading, communication, typing, or language has a major
impact on any kind of learning including online learning, and can be a huge barrier to learners in
an e-learning program (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005). Much of e-learning requires the ability to
use these skills, but has also been identified as “the best chance for students to succeed despite
geographical and socioeconomic limitations” (Journell, 2007, p. 145).
Administrative Issues
According to Muilenburg and Berge (2005) one of the largest barriers to online education
derives from a combination of issues such as lack (a) of instructor skills, (b) of timely feedback
in e-learning courses, and (c) of clear instructions and deadlines. This contributes to the digital
divide because the best qualified and trained teachers inherently go to schools with better
resources, while the least qualified and trained teachers often teach the less advantaged (Journell,
2007). Maeroff (2003) also notes that schools do not generally provide technical training as part
of professional development programs meaning that teachers can quickly become outdated.
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Attitude toward technology seems to be one of the largest motivators for e-learning.
Quality of technical education encourages this attitude in learners. It is imperative that all
teachers of technical courses engage their students and encourage the skills discussed throughout
this paper.
Educators and administrators need to understand that providing the equipment and the
connectivity is only a small step in a complex process to nurture the abilities and knowledge and
talent of learners (Beaudoin, 2007) in which “innovative instructional design is . . . the key force
of change and improvement in teaching and learning” (Whalen, 2008, p. 67). Journell (2007)
suggests that teachers must be trained in “effective e-learning instruction strategies” (p.146) at all
levels and stages in their professional development. While Haythornthwaite (2007) cautions
against creating courses that accommodate the least common denominator, stating that in doing
so it works “against some of the key benefits of e-learning, i.e., interactivity with peers, real-time
exchanges, as well as training in the more technically sophisticated areas” (p. 113).
Conclusion
The barriers to online learning are many and varied, and some of these barriers contribute
to a growing divide between the technological savvy and the disadvantaged or uninitiated. This
paper discussed five current issues contributing to the digital divide, and commented on their
impact on e-learning and possible solutions derived from the literature.
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References
Beaudoin, M. F. (2007). Dissecting the African digital divide: Diffusing e-learning in subSaharan Africa, E-Learning and Digital Media, 4(4), 442-453.
doi:10.2304/elea.2007.4.4.442
Haythornthwaite, C. (2007). Digital divide and e-learning. In R. Andrews, & C. Haythornthwaite
(eds.), The SAGE handbook of e-learning research (pp. 98-119). Los Angeles, CA: Sage
Publications.
Journell, W. (2007). The inequities of the digital divide: Is e-learning a solution? E-Learning and
Digital Media, 4(2), 138-149. doi:10.2304/elea.2007.4.2.138
Maeroff, G. I. (2003). A classroom of one: How online learning is changing our schools and
colleges. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Muilenburg, L. Y., & Berge, Z. L. (2005). Student barriers to online learning: A factor analytic
study. Distance Education, 26(1), 29-48. doi:10.1080/01587910500081269
Perez, E. V., & Perez, M. J. V. (2007). E-learning university networks: An approach to a quality
open education. Journal of Cases on Information Technology, 9(2), 12-25. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/192332629/fulltextPDF?
accountid=28180
Rye, S. (2008). Exploring the gap of the digital divide: Conditions of connectivity and higher
education participation. GeoJournal, 71(2-3), 171-184. doi:10.1007/s10708-008-9154-8
van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2005). The deepening divide: Inequality in the information society.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
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Whelan, R. (2008). Use of ICT in education in the South Pacific: Findings of the Pacific eLearning Observatory. Distance Education, 29(1), 53-70.
doi:10.1080/01587910802004845
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