Rethinking The Digital Divide

At Rio Hondo some of our trustees and faculty argue that students do not have computers because they can not afford them or that students do not have access to the Internet.This phenomenon is better known as the digital divide. These believers want to offer more on the ground face to face classes due to this divide. I thought this was a mistaken view of our students. I would argue this view point does NOT match the reality on the ground. Due to Moore's law  falling computer prices and free Wi-Fi at various locations such as McDonald and Starbucks the old digital divide based on income is conquered. I will admit that I was partialy wrong and missed the new divide which has less to do with  income and more with the technology being used. In this post I wish to argue that there is a new digital divide but it is more generational than income based.
I have noticed that most of the email I receive from students are from mobile devices. Also using a feature in the course management system tracking how the course was accessed most of them are accessing the course through mobile devices. I asked some friends in a more affluent college district and they verified that students are using mobile devices more than computers or laptops.

This use of mobile devices by students leads to a few interrelated problems for online education and creates a new divide.

1) They do not have access to printers and do not print physical documents. They try to read documents on a small mobile screen such as phones or their ipods.  The advantage of a physical document is that it slows down the cognitive process and forces concentration and better planning.   Also there is a tendency for students to miss important details on a small screen such as a handheld device. I see this with students registering for the wrong class, not reading the details in my syllabus, and missing important keywords in online quizzes.

2) The second problem is technical. Some features of our course management system (Blackboard)  does not work on mobile devices in the same way as on a laptop or a computer. There is a mobile application for blackboard but this application does not do a great job. Flash content used to create online lectures with programs such as Camtasia does not work on mobile devices such as the IPhone, Ipod touch.

3) Finally, the mobility of the device and the ability to complete assignments on the "go" means lack of concentration. Since the technology allows students to do their work anytime anywhere, the technology creates a mistaken self perception of understanding the material in our students.

There are two approaches to deal with this mobile phenomenon. One is to fight this trend and the other is to accommodate. However, both approaches require observation of student use of technology. In my next post  I will list some of the ideas I have to deal with this trend in online education.