digital divide + equity.
Digital divide and equity have been especially precedent during quarantine. The digital divide is "originally introduced in the 1990s to refer to the gap between individuals who have access to ICTs and those who do not. The concept has developed from a construct that highlights the distinction between information rich and information poor members of society; this term was initially introduced to describe people with and without physical access to telephones and personal computers" (Feyissa & Pazurek, 2015). This can gives an unfair advantage to privileged people. During this pandemic pretty much all jobs are now remote and school is resuming online. For many people this doesn't impact much of a burden. Most of us have some sort of mobile device and a wifi connection. However, to some people they are struggling to figure this out because they don't own a computer or have the means to have wifi. Because of the pandemic there have been a lot of companies and people helping to bridge this gap by opening lots with free wifi hotspots or internet companies giving away free internet hotspots to homes in need during this time. This article shows how companies are trying to help:
Digital equity "ensures all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy. Digital Equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services" (The National Digital Inclusion Alliance, 2016). The difference of digital equity from digital divide is that everyone should have an equal access to technology and its resources. This comes evident specifically in students who are now doing online learning. Some students automatically have a one up on the others due to having more resources available to them. This shouldn't be the reason that some students get more or better learning than others.
It is definitely ironic on how current and relevant our topics in this course ended up being due to the pandemic currently occurring. It helps to be able to relate the topics and material to real life examples and issues happening. I am interested to see what happens once the pandemic is done. If this will change the way schools teach and jobs work. I think this event has shown everyone that technology is important and it's valuable to have a foundation of technology established so the transition to online if needed, isn't so harsh. What will happen when companies aren't offering free wifi hotspots or providing the technology these people need. This divide has always been an issue it's just being highlighted by these upcoming events.
I think one of the biggest questions I have and everyone should have is how do we help to fix this and create equal opportunities for everyone? Bringing attention to the issue is the first step.
XO,
