3 questions you can ask to help tackle the digital divide in education
The Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI)’s latest webinar, ‘The Digital Divide – what is being done to overcome it and where do we go from here?’ raised important questions for both researchers and policymakers.
Over the past 18 months, school closures showed the dangers of learners being unable to benefit from education technology. EdTechHub Directors Dr Sara Hennessy and Dr Björn Haßler, Dr Sue Sentance from Raspberry Pi and Welsh Government advisor Professor Tom Crick joined the DEFI panel to look at what we can do about this.
Here are just three of the questions arising from their talks, which we can ask across the education sector when discussing the digital divide:
1. Are you looking beyond digital access?
Often, people explain the digital divide as a gap between those who have access to a device and the internet, and those who do not. Though access to technology is an important part of it, Dr Sentance stressed we also need to consider skills, uses and outcomes. Together, these three factors can help us understand if students are getting the benefit of education technology. The barriers to skills and uses, might not be the same as the barriers to access.
2. What are the different digital needs within a country?
Dr Haßler shared how nationwide connectivity figures don’t reveal the differences in experience between communities. He urges diving deeper. In many countries there is an urban-rural divide, with access to the internet being more prominent for those in cities. A recent EdTechHub report suggests one size won’t fit all. They suggest a ‘multimodal’ approach in the short term – using a combination of high, low and no technology solutions to increase opportunities for children to continue learning in emergencies.
3. How can you embed digital skills in the curriculum?
Professor Crick said the focus on digital at school should not just be about teaching children to use basic software, or how to code, in ICT lessons. We also need to place emphasis on cross-curricula digital competence, raising understanding of digital citizenship and digital rights and the importance of these to their futures. This will help the next generations seize opportunities as adults in society. This requires teachers and communities to prioritise these skills too, and we should consider where support is needed to develop this.
To find out more, watch the full webinar:
The Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI) works with partners in industry, policy and practice to explore the possibilities digital technology opens up for education. Both parts of the University of Cambridge, DEFI and the Cambridge Partnership for Education aim to partner on bridging the gap between research and practice in education technology.
