Equity, Access, and the Digital Divide in Learning Technologies
Marshall Jones, Rebecca G. Bridges · 2016
This chapter focuses on aspects related to economics, culture, geography, and the role of learning organizations and purposeful initiatives as they apply to equity and access. It addresses access to information and communication technology (ICT), but also access to information particularly as it relates to traditional learning organizations. Examples of strategies and initiatives from a wide range of projects are presented and discussed with the goal of bridging the gaps between historical antecedents, current practice, and future directions. The phrase equity of access is used to describe the reciprocal relationship between the issues of equity and access. When addressing the issues of equity of access in learning technologies, the concept of the digital divide is a logical place to begin. Learning organizations can help to provide access to devices and the Internet through access initiatives, such as one-to-one computing at the primary and secondary levels.