The Digital Divide

The digital divide continues to impact citizens despite those who claim the problem no longer exists. There are two strains of digital divide: one is in the global spectrum between countries who have more access, the other is within a country—a domestic divide—of those who have access to technology. The latter will be the concentration addressed herein. “…in the early years George W. Bush’s administration the domestic divide was deemed solved. In 2002, federal initiatives directed at reducing the domestic divide were shut down and a new Department of Commerce report claimed, ‘We are truly a nation online’” (Couldry 250). Counting the number of computers in a given educational institution is not a means to assess their usefulness. “…declaring the ‘digital divide’ closed based on a wider availability of computers oversimplifies the construct” (Valadez 32). Additionally, David O’Brien and Cassandra Sharber, from the University of Minnesota, state, “…policymakers have funded programs that put students in urban and rural schools that serve high percentages of minority and low-socioeconomic students ‘next to’ technology. To date, however, it has been far easier to install computers than to make them relevant to students’ needs or to help teachers and students use them in empowering ways” (67). In a 2007 survey comparing access, use, and skills of third grade students from both low and middle or upper socioeconomic areas in the Mississippi Delta, it found that students did not have equal participation with meaningful technologies.

Of the 11 categories, non-Title 1 students [upper socioeconomic status] believed they could do the activity without help at a higher rate than their Title 1 [lower socioeconomic status] peers…other than the Play Games category, the three categories in which Title 1 students felt they could do the activity without help at a higher rate than non-Title 1 students were Watch DVDs, Listen to Music, and Publish Pictures. These categories require the least amount of skill level and technology knowledge. (Thomas 13)

It is evident that the digital divide continues to plague our educational institutions at the determent of the students who need the most instruction—those who fall in the participation gap. Overwhelmingly, the studies show that it isn’t enough to assume students will be able to use technology because the computers are physically available. “Access” should be synonymous with “use” and not the physical presence of technology. Additionally, it is vital that librarians and educators address the sophistication of use, because watching or listening to media is not adequate to create engaged learners—it does not act as a bridge to more sophisticated interactions with technology, but creates an easy escape for educators to believe they have taught students about technology.