ethical issues in elearning - digital divide

In an information society, information accessibility is a critical issue which must be discussed in terms of the gap between the digital haves and have nots, a gap expressed in the term digital divide. Digital divide refers to the gap between those who have access to the Internet and other information technology and those who do not.

There are many reasons why a digital divide exists. The barriers are evident when individuals (1) are unable to afford Internet access from home, (2) find e learning content that is difficult to comprehend, (3) find e learning content that is not culturally-relevant. It is important to note that people with disabilities often confront more barriers in e learning than others.

The digital divide can also exist among different geographic locations. In the United States, some areas have broadband or high speed Internet services and some areas have only dial-up connection via telephone. It seems that having access to the Internet does not mean that there is no digital divide. There is definitely a big difference between accessing Internet via high speed (i.e., T1 line, DSL, Cable modem, etc) connection versus low speed dial-up connections.

Different Internet access speeds obviously create a digital divide among high and low speed Internet users. Sometimes the problem of digital divide can be caused by where one lives. If high speed Internet services are not available in some locations, then their residents have to rely on low speed dial up connections. This is an example of digital divide issue caused by geographical locations. Maybe in near future this divide will not be an issue for anyone to discuss. I brought it up here to present a situation that digital divide can be caused by business decisions by Internet service providers.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ethical
• issues
• in
• elearning
• digital
• divide