The Digital Divide

The digital divide refers to the amount of access you have to the Internet. It includes the barriers or factors that influence you access as well. These include gender, age, race, income, education, infrastructure and location. These factors either give you more or less access to the Internet and can determine how well you perform in educational settings. It also refers to your knowledge an interaction with the technology.

The digital divide is split up into levels because there is a level of access and a level of knowledge of use. Initially the digital divide was only referring to access to the Internet. The second level refers to your knowledge of the Internet and how you use the technology. This is people who use the information passively versus those who create content and really interact with the technologies. It is split into levels to determine what contributes to those who have more or less Internet access.

I believe the location bridge is most promising to overcoming the digital divide because ultimately, the more available the Internet, the more people will interact with it. If you are surrounded by the Internet, you will be forced to learn how to use it comfortably. We have already started to cross this bridge with Internet access being available to us almost everywhere we go.

I feel like my lesson plans do challenge the digital divide. The majority of my lesson plans use technology as a complement to lesson, not the entire lesson. I have students moving around doing hands-on activities then taking what they learned and using the technology on the computer. I allow plenty of time for the assignment and have students work in groups so those who are not up to speed can learn from those who are.

I would add the importance of having a positive attitude about technology to this list. If you are afraid of the technology yourself, you won’t be able to teach the entire class. It is important to point out the positive influences technology