T. Garin Savage
Masters Student
Educational Technology
Boise State University



We live in a hyper-connected world. Almost every action or activity we undertake in our daily lives contains some aspect of Internet-capable technology. Smartphones have become increasingly popular, as have tablets and laptops. While desktops do not have the market share they once did, they still play invaluable roles in both commercial and educational roles. Even some cars, watches, and televisions can connect to the internet, a development unheard of just a few years ago.

These gains have not been universal, however. There are two distinct yet interconnected terms that we must learn to understand the problem.

The digital divide is the "gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who do not;" it is a binary measure that distinguishes those who have access to and use the Internet and digital technologies ("haves") from those who do not ("have-nots") (Hargittal, 2003, pg. 2). Because the Internet has become so important in interacting successfully with the modern economy, it is an important issue to consider.

*CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States (former Soviet countries)

Source: ICT Data and Statistics Division, International Telecommunication Union, 2015, pg 3 (http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2015....)

The digital divide is starkly seen when looking at the global scale. Some regions of the world (particularly the former colonial regions) still lag far behind the world when it comes to Internet access. The difference in the percentage of European households with Internet access to African households currently stands at a staggering 71 percentage points. Even when considering all Internet users regardless of whether the connection was in the home or not, this gap only drops to about 57 percentage points (ICT Data and Stastics Division, 2015, pg 3). Because so much of global commerce takes place online, this effectively shuts out large segments of the global marketplace. It also means that the segments of the world that could most use many of the free educational tools found online have the least access to them.

While the digital divide is easy to see on a global level, it can also be seen within our own nation.

Source: National Telecommunications & Information Administration, United States Department of Commerce, 2009 (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/data/CPSTables/t11_1lst.txt)

The digital divide has meaning inside the United States as well. There are marked divides in access and use between rich and poor, with 90.18% of households with incomes of $150,000+ having Internet connections in the home as opposed to only 28.86% of households with incomes between $5,000 and $9,999 (NTIA, 2009). There are also disparities based on the location of the home (urban vs rural vs principal city), race, education, age, and other factors. These all represent individual problems that need to be addressed.

The digital divide is a problem that governments and intergovernmental bodies need to address, but there is not much that a small educational company can do to combat these numbers. However, the digital divide is not our only problem.

While access to the Internet is important, there is still disparity in the qualities of technology and connection even among those who have Internet access. Another term is needed.

Digital inequality is the term used to describe this disparity within the haves by emphasizing "a spectrum of inequality across segments of the population depending on differences along several dimensions of technology access and use" (Hargittal, 2003, pg 2). Some of the factors that are included when considering digital inequality are the quality of the technology being used, the location of the Internet access point, the number of people who can be asked for assistance, and the number of years using the technology (Hargittal, 2003, pg 10). Almost all the problems that a small urban educational company like AcerPlacer will experience relate to digital inequality rather than the digital divide.

This presentation will suggest three instances where the affects of digital inequality may cause problems in the AcerPlacer math course and suggest possible solutions to those problems. While these will not cover any possible digital inequality issue, their purpose is to cause the reader to think about the issue and its many facets.

All of the instructors at AcerPlacer use email as their preferred mode of communication with students when being asked questions regarding the material being taught. All of them also have smartphones that allow them to get emails even when away from desktop or laptop computers.

A student without a smartphone, however, would have a hard time sending pictures to instructors of homework problems that caused them to struggle for help seeing their errors. The task becomes even trickier if the student has neither a smartphone nor a reliable internet connection in the home. How can a teacher overcome these problems?

The easiest way to combat this form of digital inequality is simply to remove technology from the situation. Help find times that the student can come in for personal help in the math lab. If required, try to make time either immediately before or after the class to go over questions the student may have had but was unable to ask. Keep the lines of personal communication open when the electronic ones are unavailable.

Our online classes are held live via Adobe Connect. This requires the student to have access to a decent Internet connection in order to view the stream properly. Often slower DSL connections will cause the video to pause or cut out entirely. Some without Internet access struggle to watch the class on mobile devices with limited data plans, fixing a short-term problem while exacerbating the problem over-all.

We already record the classes and make them available to students. Several of those who have insufficient internet connection speeds can skip to the portions where the live stream froze on their computers and watch those sections to see what they missed. With more time to allow the video to buffer, they usually have far fewer problems.

For students without an Internet connection, help them to find a local library with access to the Internet. Because only the teacher has video enabled during the class session, they will not disturb anyone as long as they use headphones.

The test that AcerPlacer uses is administered on a computer. This requires a certain degree of familiarity with navigating a modern test GUI.

A part of digital inequality that is often forgotten is experience using the technology. People from groups who use Internet-capable technology less often may not have the skills necessary to work the exam and may not be able to demonstrate their full knowledge of the material. While there are many such disadvantaged groups, the one we most deal with in our courses are older nontraditional students. Recent data show that people 55+ years old have the highest rates of non-Internet use at 46% (NTIA, 2009).

When you have a student who does not have the experience necessary to operate the test, take the time to show them how the test will work. Patiently and kindly take them through every step of the process until they feel that they will be able to comfortably and consistently be able to demonstrate their full understanding of the class material without concern of the technological interface.

While the digital divide is a large problem that does need to be addressed, it is typically handled at the level of government. The problem of digital inequality is a more pressing concern for a small education company. It does not require expensive action outside the capabilities of a still growing business, but rather students affected can be accommodated easily and effectively by finding other ways to provide them with the same services. Proving that we can help students in these groups will allow us to expand our market and attract new students.

In addition to the increased business, accommodating students in this way is ethical practice. According to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Code of Ethics (2001) Section 1.3, an educational technologist "shall guarantee to each individual the opportunity to participate in any appropriate program." This means that if they are appropriate for our program, we have an ethical duty to help provide them the opportunity to participate. When an ethical practice can produce more business, there is no sensible reason to not do it.