What+is+the+Digital+Divide?

WHAT IS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE?   **What is the digital divide?**

Before beginning this conversation, we felt it was important to define this rather broad topic and provide a general definition of THE DIGITAL DIVIDE according to our resources.

In researching the digital divide, we found there to be many different scopes and aspects to this issue. The general definition used by [|Wikipedia] , refers to the digital divide as “the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those without. This includes the imbalances in physical access to [|technology]  as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a [|digital citizen] . In other words, it is the unequal access by some members of [|society] to information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. " Many resources referred to the digital divide as a division between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in terms of peoples' access to technology.

In education, conversations about the digital divide have "broadened to include technology related skills and training in addition to basic access to computers and Internet access."

According to //Wikipedia// and //The Digital Divide in Canadian Schools// research paper, when defining the digital divide one must "examine the extent to which inequities in the use and access of ICT exist based on gender, socio -economic status, race and location” in regards to their ability to access technology. ** A Note about //Digital Arithmetic Wiki// **    This wiki was created to fulfill our Point/Counterpoint Assignment for EDES 545 - INFORMATION TECH FOR LEARNING out of the University of Alberta. It is our task to provide opposing viewpoints about the digital divide in education - but please be advised that the views may not completely represent the educational beliefs of the authors. If you are joining us from outside of our class, please feel free to participate in our conversation on page 4.