“A digital divide is an economicinequality between groups, broadly construed, in terms of access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT)” (Wikipedia, 2013)
One would think this inequality is only between the developed and developing countries but the divide exists within each country alone. In Australia, the use of the Internet by households is between 10-20 million compared to the average use of Internet by households in countries in Africa being between 10-100 thousand (UNESCO 2006, Creative Commons). In Australia, 86% of households have an Internet connection leaving 14% without an Internet connection at all (Howell, 2012).
Just because the majority of households have an Internet connection, does not mean all these Australians have, or know how to use digital technologies which is where the expectancy of teachers comes to play to ensure the students are up-to-date with technology and have a sound understanding of it. There are 6 main drivers of digital expectancy being students, parents, employers, governments, teachers and the wider community (Howell, 2012).
Without these technologies and education on how to use these technologies, students will not be able to keep up with the growing digital world. Not being able to participate will make it difficult for them to find up-to-date information promptly, share with friends & family, shop online, study/search for careers and get in touch with employers; the list is now endless.
Bridge the divide is an organisation that focuses on eliminating the divide between developing and developed countries in order to give each individual a chance at education and to explore a digital life. Read all about their work here!
Wikipedia. (2013). Digital Divide. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide
UNESCO. (2006). Creative Commons. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/
Howell, J. (2012). Teaching With ICT: Digital Pedagogies for Collaboration and Creativity. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.
munawara khan. (2012). New Blog One: The Digital Divide. [Image] Retrieved from http://newblogoneitg.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/the-digital-divide.html
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