Learning Technology Center Director Gives Keynote at Digital Equity Summit - July 17th, 2008

Dr. Paul E. Resta, Learning Technology Center Director and Professor of Instructional Technology in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, addressed the Digital Equity Summit held July 1 at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio. He described the many challenges that exist in the United States and around the world to providing equitable access to technology resources.

Although low-cost laptops and cell phones have made access to some resources easier, Dr. Resta reported that many problems remain in providing digital opportunities for students. He said the digital divide is more about providing the learning opportunities that technology affords rather than merely providing computers and Internet access. This can be thought of as a “knowledge divide.”

Dr. Resta described six “essential conditions” necessary to overcome the digital divide:

• basic literary skills;
• access to information and communications technologies;
• access to content in the student’s language;
• ability to create and share digital content;
• teachers who can teach with digital resources; and
• effective leadership in educational policy and planning.

Many issues remain in obtaining these conditions worldwide. For example, most digital content is available only in English, and many people need training in how to use technology tools.

Another critical problem is the cost of broadband services. He described how the cost of broadband service is only 2% of the annual income of high-income populations, but more than 900% for some of the world’s lowest income peoples. He said the United States has no goals or policies to work toward universal broadband service and urged educators to call for a national broadband strategy.

Dr. Resta has studied and written extensively about the digital divide in recent years and is an editor of Toward Digital Equity: Bridging the Divide in Education published by Allyn & Bacon in 2002.

—Laurie Caldwell, LTC Communications Coordinator

Related Sites:

• eSchool News article: "Educators wrestle with digital-equity challenges"