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Ed Tech Issue

This document discusses the issue of the digital divide. The digital divide refers to the gap between those who have easy access to computers and the internet versus those who do not due to factors like poverty, rural location, or being in an underdeveloped country. While some programs and projects have helped address the divide, factors like economic limitations, location difficulties, lack of usability and education, and high material costs still contribute to the problem. One example project is "One Laptop Per Child" which created a low-cost and durable laptop designed to be easy for children to use, in an effort to help bridge the digital divide.

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31 views

Ed Tech Issue

This document discusses the issue of the digital divide. The digital divide refers to the gap between those who have easy access to computers and the internet versus those who do not due to factors like poverty, rural location, or being in an underdeveloped country. While some programs and projects have helped address the divide, factors like economic limitations, location difficulties, lack of usability and education, and high material costs still contribute to the problem. One example project is "One Laptop Per Child" which created a low-cost and durable laptop designed to be easy for children to use, in an effort to help bridge the digital divide.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RUNNING HEAD: The Great Debate

The Great Debate of the Digital Divide


Heather Roberts
Professor Donovan
December 1, 2014

RUNNING HEAD: The Great Debate

The Great Debate of the Digital Divide


For this discussion I chose the issue of the Digital Divide. The digital divide is defined as,
"the fact that some people have easy access to computers and all the benefits that they provide,
while many other people are cut off from them because of poverty or living in underdeveloped
countries or rural areas without internet access." (Bowles, 2010) This gap can range from rural
places in the United States to other countries. There is especially a lack of information
technology in developing countries. Many things have already been done to help bridge this gap,
through programs and projects. An example of a program that helps with funding is the Digital
Solidarity Fund, and an example of a project is, "One laptop per child." Despite some steps that
have been taken, there are still many factors that cause the divide to remain a problem. They are
economic, location, usability, materials and cost. Economic factors include issues in the poorer
areas in the United States, where many people cannot afford a computer or an internet plan, and
developing countries. Location factors are that the countries that are lacking information
technology are in places where it is difficult to access electricity. "The UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan has commented: "By removing the need to lay lots of cables to get communities
online, wireless could help poorer nations narrow the digital divide and catch up with countries
where the technology has already taken hold." (Hollands, 2005) This is important because, not
all wireless access is available everywhere, and the cost of running cables would be extensive.
By enabling the poorer areas to have the access to wireless internet, we would be helping to
bridge the digital divide.
The usability factors are that many people do not know how to use the computers, the
software or the internet. This is true here in the United States and in places all over the world.
The problem of not knowing how to use them stems from little to no education. In addition,

RUNNING HEAD: The Great Debate

many of the programs are so complex, and not user friendly to everyone. The project called
"One laptop per child," has designed a laptop called the XO-1.5, and was made to withstand,
"extreme environmental conditions such as high heat and humidity, and to support easy field
repair by children and local language support. As a result, the XO laptop is durable, functional,
energy-efficient, responsive, and fun." (One laptop per child, n.d.) This laptop is also user
friendly as the creators realized, "Beginning with Seymour Papert's simple observation that
children are knowledge workers like any adult, only more so, we decided they needed a userinterface tailored to their specific type of knowledge work: learning." (One laptop per child, n.d.)

RUNNING HEAD: The Great Debate

References:
Bowles, M.D. (2010). Introduction to Computer Literacy. (Ashford University Ed.)
Bridgepoint Education, Inc., San Diego, CA
Hollands, D. (2005). The Information Age. Retrieved from
http://remza.co.uk/work/u1/ebook/divide/geography/index.html
One laptop per child. (n.d.). About the laptop. Retrieved from http://one.laptop.org/about/

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