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The Digital Divide in Formal Educational Settings: The Past, Present, and Future Relevance

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Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology

Abstract

The Digital Divide has been a topic under investigation since the mid-1990s both within and outside the USA. The Digital Divide historically has referred to a social inequity between those individuals who have access to information and communication technology (ICT) and those that do not. In recent years, the notion of the Digital Divide has expanded to include other dimensions beyond access, such as use, knowledge, skills, and dispositions of ICT resources. The Digital Divide manifests itself on a number of dividing factors, such as socioeconomic status, gender, age, culture, geographic location, and more. As formal educational programs are often perceived to be the instrument to correct this social inequity, studying the structure of the Digital Divide in the context of formal educational settings is important to ensure programs are narrowing as opposed to widening the ICT gaps. This chapter presents the Levels of the Digital Divide in Schools presented by Hohlfeld, Ritzhaupt, Barron, and Kemker (2008) as a conceptual framework to characterize the evolving phenomenon. The conceptual framework organizes the Digital Divide into three layers in school settings: (1) access to ICT resources, (2) use of technology by teachers and students, and (3) creation of ICT artifacts to empower students. Recent research literature is thoroughly examined in light of this conceptual framework, and viable solutions are presented using formal educational programs at each level of the model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Albert D. Ritzhaupt

  2. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Li Cheng & Wenjing Luo

  3. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Tina N. Hohlfeld

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  1. Albert D. Ritzhaupt
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  2. Li Cheng
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  3. Wenjing Luo
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  4. Tina N. Hohlfeld
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, University System of Maryland, Adelphi, MD, USA

    M. J. Bishop

  2. Instructional Systems Technology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Elizabeth Boling

  3. Education and Training, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Jan Elen

  4. Organization, Information & Learning Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Vanessa Svihla

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Ritzhaupt, A.D., Cheng, L., Luo, W., Hohlfeld, T.N. (2020). The Digital Divide in Formal Educational Settings: The Past, Present, and Future Relevance. In: Bishop, M.J., Boling, E., Elen, J., Svihla, V. (eds) Handbook of Research in Educational Communications and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36119-8_23

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