Digital Divide is becoming a major problem in educational system
Digital Divide is becoming a major problem in educational system
Before we even move to the debate it is necessary to understand what is a digital divide? It is the latest form of social and economic inequality that arises due to classification of people as per the use of, access to or knowledge of “information and communication” technologies. Everyone is well aware of the importance of technology in the present world, and therefore it is imperative to discuss whether digital divide is translating into a major problem in educational system or not?
Yes
• It is definitely creating a problem as most of the industries in today’s world need employees who are well-acquainted with the use of technology.
• The educational system can provide the resources in schools and colleges. However, the people who don’t have ample funds find it difficult to arrange resources outside the institute premises.
• Any form of divide whether it is based on race, gender, color, caste, nation, class or digital, it is not beneficial for society. It leads to some or other forms of problems.
• Digital divide has not only created problems for students but have also resulted in additional problems for management. They now need tech-savvy staff who can impart digital learning with ease.
• Apart from imparting digital learning, the teachers now have additional responsibility of educating the students on the responsible use of technology that doesn’t harm others. They need to make students aware the impact of technology on environment, health, and society at large.
No
• It is not necessary that if the people don’t have access or use to ICT, then they cannot make a career. Still, there are many other options available.
• The educational system provides all resources within the premises and therefore, it is not a problem for the learners to get acquainted with the concepts of information and communication technologies.
• If we look in the past, there was always a time when the rich people had better access to resources compared to poor people. But it never stopped anyone from taking the education.
• The rich and educated will get better access to digital resources, but it doesn’t imply other will not get access at all. The cost of systems will vary without having an impact on education.
• There are low cost smart phones available that have helped bridge the digital divide as they offer internet access to population at a digital disadvantage. The latest advertisement of idea of IIN focuses on same concept.
Conclusion
Digital divide is definitely a problem but if broader picture is analyzed it is not the problem of digital divide. It is again the gap between the haves and have not. Since ages, students from affluent families have access to better resources that help them to earn an edge over poor students. Digital divide is just an extension to that problem. However, it can act as a temporary roadblock which can be removed by some efforts.
Discussion
- RE: Digital Divide is becoming a major problem in educational system -Deepa Kaushik (04/21/15)
- As of now, digital divide has not become all that major concern in India. But we can expect the digital divide to take a steep turn in the near future. With increasing pace of technology across the world, we are focussing our best to match our foot with the rest of the world. In our concentration to achieve the top, we have forgotten to turn back and look to our colleagues and co-partners in the race; whether they are able to match us or not.
We need to understand that we , as Indians, need to work as a team in front of the world. It would be no good if the tech savvy people keep on adding to their technological achievements and the half proportion of the nation is still unaware of the concept of digital media or Internet. we can be successful as a country only if we can help our co-citizens to come up and get educated about the technical developments occurring at the International front.
The day is not very far when the people devoid of knowledge of Internet and technological developments would be laid back. That would be the time when the digital divide would be actually responsible for the problem across the nation. As for now, the educational system is on a common platform which is making the resources available to all the students equally. When we call the educational system, we would be considering the infrastructural development of the various educational institutes across the nation. The educational system are equipped with the latest technologies and at least it is making aware of the main and basic developments and usage of the technology to the students. The resources of the educational system is equal for all. Yes, the affordability comes to play with individual financial status, but we cannot blame the educational system for that.
- RE: Digital Divide is becoming a major problem in educational system -Dheeraj (04/20/15)
- With digital advent, we have many new prospects in career. As every package have some pitfalls, technologies have their own. We have digital savvy people who are blossoming in their career and there are some with enormous talent who hardly got chance to acclimatize new treads of technologies, are struggling for affluent lifestyle. This is indeed creating wide inequality. The situation is demanding people to be more digitally sound than core areas. Consequently, we are losing out in the area of core field which are effectively important for innovations. We are running for quick fix and education system is also following the same trends.
It is imperative to impart proper balance between core subjects and Technical knowledge.
