Running Head: DIGITAL DIVIDE 1

The Digital Divide

Angela Reed

EDU 352: Foundations of Educational Technology

Professor Mitchell Doxsee

May 18, 2017

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The Digital Divide

One of the primary issues facing educational technology is the digital divide (Todd,

2012). In Introduction to education: Choosing to teach the authors discuss the growing issue of

the digital divide, stating as the U.S. Department of Commerce began studying the availability

of technology, it coined the term digital divide to describe the haves and have-nots who did, or

did not, have access to technology, particularly high quality technology (Krogh, Fielstein,

Newman, & Phelps, 2015, sect. 7.4). The effect of the digital divide is negative and long lasting.

As technology evolves the job market evolves with it, and poses a new set of problems for those

who have not had the resources to become technology literate. The negative impact of the digital

divide is far reaching and can affect ones social life, work life, as well as a persons education.

Take this very course for an example, without our technology literacy and possession, we would

not be able to attend college at a distance. We attend online for various reasons ranging from

preference to availability. Those who do not have easy and ready access to computers or

knowledge of how to use them have had the option of attending school online while they work

full time, or raise their children removed from the option bank. For younger students, the digital

divide can pose and equally large barrier to multiple aspects of their lives.

Beth Braverman discusses the current impact of the digital divide in her article The

digital divide: How income inequality is affecting literacy instruction, and what all educators

can do to close the gap, where she states Approximately 23% of schools still lack adequate

broadband, and 40% lack Wi-Fi, according to EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit that works

with education officials to bring broadband to schools (Braverman, 2016, p. 17). For many

students, school is their main, if not only, avenue to developing competency with technology.
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Students will need to be able to effectively use technology in our digital world. Libraries also

present opportunities for the public to interact with technology, offering access to technology as

well as classes on how to use various programs and devices. Smartphones are rapidly becoming,

if theyre not already, a necessity and, as Wookjoon found, are helping to bridge the gap of the

digital divide (Wookjoon, 2016). As future educators in a variety of areas, from schools to

libraries, we have a responsibility to do what we can to narrow the digital divide. Its important

that we stay up to date on technology so that we can pass on our knowledge of its use to others,

and remain mindful that not every student or patron has access to technology resources at home.

As Braverman illuminates in her article, we can have a positive impact on students and we can

push for school districts to help bridge the gap created by students home lives (Braverman,

2016).
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References

Braverman, B. (2016). The digital divide: How income inequality is affecting literacy

instruction, and what all educators can do to help close the gap. Literacy Today, (4), 16.

Krogh, S., Fielstein, L., Phelps, P. & Newman, R. (2015). Introduction to education: Choosing to

teach. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Todd, M. (2012, November 19). Issues that shape educational technology. Retrieved from

http://prezi.com/6fz_r2bpduqb/legal-ethical-issues-of-educational-technology/

Wookjoon, S. (2016). A study of the digital divide in the current phase of the information age:

The moderating effect of smartphones. Information Polity: The International Journal Of

Government & Democracy In The Information Age, 21(3), 291. doi:10.3233/IP-160398