The Digital Divide

The Digital Divide has become a common issue of concern in all European Countries. Equal access to computers and information ensured by education systems is seen as an important factor for social cohesion. A Digital Divide is a considerable gap between those who have access to digital information (the haves) and those who are excluded or restricted in accessing digital information (have nots). However, access alone is not the dividing factor; the provision of appropriate tools for a specific target audience and the effective use of computers and the web is becoming an important factor too, which itself depends on a lot of conditions. The ones who have access to digital information might not be able to use it due to disabilities. The digital divide includes differences related to gender, age, and levels of education, geographic areas, minority languages and social structures. The OECD (2001) states that " students with a disability distinguish themselves from other equity groups in the sense that disability can affect individuals from families throughout the social structure, and randomly at any time."

With Information and Communication Technologies becoming more influential in all spheres of live, the digital divide is a problem with far reaching consequences on a broad social scale, specifically in terms of educational achievements and employability. According to the Eurobarometer (Benchmarking Report following-up the " Strategies for jobs in the Information society", February 2001) "to do, get, keep or improve a job is by far the most important reason to learn to use a computer." Effective strategies and methods from being excluded by the Information Society are needed. Policy is challenged, measures to tackle the divide issue are still in the beginning. Evaluations of methods and measures are needed to plan the next steps ahead for governments, especially those in the next or third phases of ICT in education policy making. If we look at education, in particular at schools, the digital divide can become visible in differences between schools, students and geographical regions.

In European Schools

What we can see on a European scale is that many EU member states are far behind leading countries in Internet penetration and broadband take-up. Differences still reflect a North -South divide, as the following table from the Eurobarometer Benchmarking Report shows, when it comes to pupils per computer. The figures vary from 3 to 25 pupils per offline computer and 3 to 50 per online computer. Finland and Denmark are on the lower margin, while Portugal and Greece are on the upper margin.

Home Internet Access

Another important factor is pupil's access to the Internet at home. Figures about access and use at home only exist in some countries; these figures seem to be quite encouraging. However, how much emphasis is placed on the Internet for educational purposes is not covered in these figures. The school environment is the main place for evaluating learning processes and results of ICT- based learning. In general, young people's use of computers and the Internet is high in the UK. 99% use it either at home, school or elsewhere. 93% of youngsters use the computer and Internet at school, 75% at home.

In Germany, which is in the lower middle field when it comes to number of online computers per student (40), the situation in 2001 was that 80% of pupils have access at home. One of the targets of the federal government is to encourage the use of Internet in an educational environment and the development of projects for pupils' acquisition of laptops for use in schools.

In Sweden the biggest Internet users are also the youngest at 95%. No fewer than 80% of Swedes aged 16-64 now have access to a computer at home and 70% to the Internet indicated a survey from Statistic Sweden.

Source:

On average 37.7 % of European homes are online. Even in highly developed nations, there exist vast differences in the availability of home Internet access. The Netherlands ranks as the nation with the highest percentage of home Internet connections at 63.8%, while Greece trails the list with only 9.9% of its homes connected. (Source: Benchmarking report, December 2001). Go to the table

Most of the national governments set standards that teachers should meet. Moreover, in many European countries the European Computer Driving License ECDL is a standard for digital skills (e.g. Germany, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands). Application and use, however, differ. In the Netherlands, the European Computer Driving License is a standard for digital skills in vocational and adult education. The Italian Ministry has worked on accreditation with an official certificate based on ECDL standards introduced in 2001. The Flemish Government has recently approved a project that allows pupils and teachers to obtain an ECDL.

Digital Literacy

The Digital Divide cannot only be defined by access rates. Digital literacy for all students and teachers is a main target set by governments and ministries of education to embrace the demands caused by living and working in the Information Society. This target is sought to be reached in various ways; the conditions in schools still vary considerably within and across the European Union. How competencies and skills in computer science are defined, evaluated and validated in the countries of the EU is becoming a crucial issue for the future.

Types of Assessment

In Germany the ECDL is voluntary, and on national level there are no commonly agreed assessment standards. The national objective is to give every pupil a basic knowledge to handle new technologies responsibly. In the UK by 2002 most school leavers should have a good understanding of ICT based firmly on the standards prescribed in the national curricula.

Denmark, Finland, France, the French community of Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands, also have developed their own courses, standards and certificates for ICT competence. The Dutch have a certificate especially for primary and secondary school teachers, the Digitaal Onderwijs Rijbewijs DRO. Finland and France have ICT-courses aimed at all citizens. Over 100 000 people had already taken the Finish Driving License by the end of 2001, organized by TIEKE Finnish Information Society Development Centre. France stands apart in having developed its own brevet B2I for students in secondary education and also for primary education. The IT and Internet proficiency certificate attests proficiency in multimedia tools while in primary schools it tests the ICT skills students gained in various subjects. Finland has just started to work on own accreditation schemes for students.

Policy Measures to Close the Gap

In a lot of countries measures are taken for equal opportunities and special needs. This is specifically mentioned in educational policy documents of ICT education plans of Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Belgium. Finland mentions an extensive program to deliver ICT skills to all citizens. Norway specifies in its plan for 2000-2003 " equal opportunities for skills development in and access to ICT" … "and ensuring that students with special need education are given equal opportunities to improve their quality of life, their learning, their participation in society and their possibilities for employment".

In other countries the equality issue will be found in the broader Information Society documents, e.g. Ireland wants to achieve " a fully inclusive Information Society". These are most of the time embedded in broader policies. In the Netherlands digital playgrounds set up within broader social policy for larger cities and are meant for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. An agreement among Ministries of Education, Safety and Welfare in Italy has offered a general frame for many experimental initiatives related to the didactic use of ICT for children in hospital.

In some countries the digital divide between rural and urban areas is a problem. This is especially true for countries such as Germany, Sweden, UK and Spain. The Aldea Digital Programme in Spain tries to reverse the situation in rural schools that are excluded from innovation schemes. Several schools located in the same area share resources. Throughout the project more and more provinces will be included.

The UK has also recognized the fact of a social and economic division within the country. It has an extensive program for deprived areas:" Closing the digital divide: ICT in deprived areas". Schools in areas of high social deprivation will be given free computers under the "Wired Up Communities" project. School children are involved in schemes that push computer ratios well above National Grid for Learning targets. These programs are part of a broad policy scheme involving, e.g. the Department of Trade and Industry. The government serves as a catalyst for community action and builds on public- private partnerships.

The case of Finland seems to be particular: discrepancies exist between big cities and the country side. Usually there are more resources available in smaller cities where classes are smaller, densely populated areas have less favorable conditions. A survey from 2001 shows the pupil/ computer ratio was 13/1 in cities as opposed to 9/1 in the countryside. The difference is even more appalling comparing provinces and highly densed regions, ranging from 3/1 in Åland, a small island, to 12 /1, in Southern Finland. However, the overall situation in Finland is quite good being a leading country in terms of low pupil/computer ratios.

Public Internet Access Points

The UK online initiative aims at providing and learning at newly established centre, offering low-cost computers within reach- putting all public libraries and schools online and supporting businesses. In Israel, computers are already loaned to low- income families and computerized communication centres are established for them in underprivileged neighbourhoods and small rural towns. These centres train students and parents in the new technology, they are open all day long for use by everybody in their free time. The Irish Community Media Centres are another example of a community access points offering to host webpages for groups who would be otherwise unable to have a web presence. In Germany public libraries, the traditional centres of free and equal access to information, shall be developed to become real media centres not only by equipping them with Internet terminals but also in combination with media training programs. Measures in Germany are carried out by governmental bodies on all levels and are normally joint efforts in cooperation with other groups, who can contribute additional resources. Activities are followed up by the campaign Internet for everyone in collaboration with the initiative d21. User friendly Public Internet Access Points (PIAP) in all local communities is a concept strongly supported by the European Commission.

eLearning Network Initiatives which bundle driving forces promoting the Information society, seem to increase the successful implementation of measures and thus might be an approach worth considering for other countries.

The Finnish Information Society Development Centre TIEKE has a key networking role as a neutral and non-profit organization promoting the efforts of its members, within the public and private sectors alike, with the goal to create viable tools and expertise for use in the information society.

Accessibility for All in Europe

The World Wide Web consortium www.w3.org follows the "Barrier free" web accessibility initiative and gives recommendations on how to build websites accessible for all. In European countries (Denmark, EU, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, UK, Germany) there is a growing body of national law and policy which addresses accessibility of information technologies and the provision of government services online accessible for all. Recently, as in Portugal, there has been legislation specifically focusing on Web accessibility. In Austria this issue of participation in the www3 has been raised now as well.

As often emphasized, ICT offers a lot of possibilities for learners with disabilities. However, the exploitation of this tool for learners with disabilities seems not to be sufficient yet. Also socially disadvantaged people are still lagging behind in compute access and training. Therefore, e-accessibility and eInclusion are ongoing priorities of the European Union in the framework of eEurope. eInclusion addresses the prevention of a digital divide in Europe, so that all citizens can benefit from the new opportunities. e-accessibility targets people with special needs for enabling access to the information technologies. A working group with experts from the member states has established and developed guidelines for web accessibility for public websites. 2003 is the year of people with disabilities. The motto for eEurope 2005 remains an ambitious one: "An Information Society for all".

Contact:
Anja Balanskat
Insight Policy Coordinator
anja.balanskat@eun.org

Networks
Tieke
http://www.tieke.fi/english.nsf?Opendatabase

Community Media Network Ireland
http://www.cmn.ie/

Digital Divide Network
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org

Initiative d21
http://www.initiatived21.de/home.php3

Childnet -Promoting access, inclusion and Internet safety for all children.
http://www.childnet-int.org/

Reports
OECD, Education Policy Analysis, 2001.
OECD, Understanding the Digital Divide, Paris. 2001.

Commission staff Working Paper, 'e-Inclusion- the Information Society's potential for social inclusion in Europe.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/soc-dial/info_soc/esdis/documents.htm

The "Digital Divide" A discussion Paper, prepared for the DfES by the Evidence Team Becta.
http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/digidivide.html

Falling through the Net Report - Toward Digital Inclusion, U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv.html

Special Needs
Information Communication Technology in Special Needs Education
http://www.european-agency.org/ict_sen_db/index.html

Digital Literacy
The Bertelsmann Foundation/ AOL Time Warner 2002 White Paper: 21st century Literacy in a Convergent Media World. Summit 7-8 March 2002, Berlin, Germany.
http://www.21stcenturyliteracy.org/white/index.htm

Other Sources:
NGfl, Research and Evaluation Series, Young People and ICT, DfES, March 2002.
Country Reports on ICT in Education, Germany, Sweden, EUN, 2001.