Digital divide
Types of digital divides
There are several forms of digital divides. We divide among three types:
(1) Those who have computers and Internet access vs. those who don't
(2) Those who are able to use digital contents vs. those who don't
(3) those who are able to produce digital contents vs. those who don't.
Types of media users
According to several studies (e.g. Nilsen. 2006), large communities follow a 90-9-1 rule (see also knowledge management), i.e.
- 1% contributes a lot
- 9% occasionally contribute
- 90% are so-called lurkers, i.e. just consume
Brandtzaeg & Heim, however found out the in small communities, a 50-30-20 rules can be identified:
- 20% contribute
- 30% occasionally contribute
- 50% don't contribute
According to our anecdotal experience with students, this rule may hold if group size is over 15 or if you happen be be lucky ...
The most challenging divide for education is neither (1) nor (2) but (3). Learners and teachers able to create tangible knowledge, can do so under any conditions. We suspect that some politically motivated initiatives to bridge the technical divide rather may enforce divide of type 3, i.e. we formulate the working hypothesis that access to Internet in some cultures rather will reinforce passive consumption that active production as far as education is concerned and this is a serious threat to the usefulness of OER.
Bibliography
- Brandtzæg, P.B., & Heim, J. (2009). Social Network Sites – A Typology of Users. International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC),
Links
- Innovation in online communities - Towards community-centric design Slides by Petter Bae Brandtzaeg.