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Feature Essay: The Digital Learning Divide - responding to the access needs of citizensGerry McAleavy, Tony Donegan and Celia O'HaganPage 1 ¦ Page 2 ¦ Page 3 ¦ Page 4 ¦ Printer-friendly version [EDITOR's INTRODUCTION] In this feature essay, McAleavy, Donegan and O'Hagan review the many interlinked ways in which communities face social exclusion. An important factor is the issue of access, which in the "information society" is increasingly bound up with provision of information technology. While the "digital divide" is a real obstacle in the path of combatting social exclusion, there are possibilities here: poverty alleviation strategies that include awareness of where IT can help deprived communities are essential, along with educational approaches that depend upon the skills and needs identified by the community itself, rather than being imposed on it from outside. Gerry McAleavy is Professor of Further and Higher Education; Celia O'Hagan is Lecturer in e-Facilitated Lifelong Learning; and Tony Donegan is Reader in the School of Computing and Mathematics; all at the University of Ulster. IntroductionThe emergence of digitisation and the digital economy, as the basis for the development of an information society [1], offers a vision in which all communities have access to information and, consequently, power over their lives. Unfortunately this is over-optimistic. These visions tend to mystify the impact of digitisation on society, particularly on deprived communities. The "digital divide" between those who have and do not have access to electronic networking is a further disenfranchisement of communities already suffering from various forms of marginalisation. Since the mid 1970s, the endpoint of the post war consensus on equality, the proportion of households in the UK earning less than half the average wage has tripled [2]. This paper will also discuss other forms of deprivation, such as a lack of access to services, transport, or higher levels of education. Yet while increases in measures of deprivation may go unnoticed by the affluent, disadvantaged populations are becoming aware of the degree to which their opportunities and capacity to communicate have been curtailed. In a society increasingly characterised by inequality, certain paths become blocked. Widening participation strategies in education in the UK have recently focused on activities such as UK Online, and promotion of information societies and community projects which offer further learning opportunities to young and adult learners. There is evidence [3] that clearly demonstrates the positive effects of such opportunities at economic, social and civic levels. However, it is important to remain vigilant regarding the effects of new media on our minority communities. The idea that digitisation presents a barrier to community participation and learning is something that cannot be ignored [4]. This paper examines the needs of digital learning communities that have evolved in response to both economic and social pressures. It reviews the negative effects of information and societal exclusion, and the continued use of ICT as a means to increase both aspirations for learning and opportunities for communal advancement and employment. It offers evidence of community need and makes recommendations for the advancement of educational provision and support for digital progression among citizens. BackgroundThere is an evolving debate about the alienation which some communities experience in relation to the internet and why lack of access and social/economic disadvantage are related [5]. One must consider not only the disadvantages caused by a lack of access to information and the online sphere. The use of IT requires certain access amenities and capabilities. Social deprivation can create cultural and attitudinal disadvantages here [6]. The Gartner Group suggested that minorities are disadvantaged in terms of accessibility to the internet (a defining principle of the digital age), not just because of low income but also their ability to comprehend and use the internet due to lower levels of educational opportunities and the limitations for employment among such groups [7]. It is necessary to consider more broadly how forms of deprivation present barriers to social opportunities, including education and employment. Let us examine issues of poverty, employment deficits and cultural environments, including attitudes and isolation among neighbourhoods, and the challenge IT presents to such disadvantaged communities. Return to the top of this page Footnotes1. Lyon, D. (1988). The Information Society: Issues and Illusions, Basil Blackwell, Oxford. Hill, M.W. (1999). The Impact of Information on Society, Gower, Aldershot. return 2. Howarth, C., Kenway, P. and Palmer, G. (2001). Responsibility for All: A National Strategy for Social Inclusion, London; New Policy Institute and the Fabian Society. return 3. Parker, E. B. (2000). "Policy forum - Closing the digital divide in rural America", Telecommunications Policy 24, pp. 281-290. return 4. Cullen, R. (2003) "Addressing the Digital Divide", Online Information Review 25/5, pp. 311-320. return 5. Cullen, ibid. return 6. Collins, K., McAleavy, G., Donegan, HA., O’Hagan, C., Adamson, G. and O’Reilly, B. (2003) Combating Poverty - identification and evaluation of the mediating factors, Belfast, St. Vincent de Paul. return 7. Gartner Group (2001). The Digital Divide and American Society, Report of the Secretary-General, 16 May, ECOSOC. See also http://www3.gartner.com. return | |