1. NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
The
Digital
Divide:
Developed
and
Non
Developing
Countries.
E
Worrall
“The
digital
divide
refers
to
inequalities
in
access
to
information
technology”
(Fallis,
2004,
p1).The
digital
divide
between
developed
and
developing
countries
is
often
becoming
an
increasing
issue
as
the
world
moves
faster
with
the
array
of
technology
that
is
available.
There
are
a
range
of
complex
problems
that
can
be
unique
or
wide
spread
across
many
countries
that
do
not
have
the
infrastructure
or
money
to
keep
up
with
the
advancements
of
others.
In
many
of
these
countries
clean
water
and
food
is
the
main
priority
on
a
long
list
of
issues
that
still
needs
to
be
solved.
This
raises
many
questions
to
the
importance
of
trying
to
immerse
developing
countries
in
technology
when
the
basic
needs
of
humanity
are
not
even
met.
In
a
recent
address
in
2010
by
Ban
Ki-­‐moon,
the
secretary
general
of
the
United
Nations
(UN),
to
the
International
Telecommunication
Union,
highlighted
the
importance
of
moving
forward
with
broadband.
“Experience
has
shown
that
greater
access
to
broadband
technologies
has
meant
faster
progress
towards
all
the
Millennium
Development
Goals.
The
Internet
drives
trade,
commerce
and
even
education”
(UN
Department
of
Public
Information,
2010,
para5).
It
must
be
noted
that
developed
countries
to,
have
their
own
digital
divide
issues
that
exists
between
parts
of
their
own
country
as
well.
In
2006,
Australia
only
had
54%
of
its
households
with
access
to
the
internet
(Arnold,
B.
2010,
para
3).
The
same
could
be
said
about
the
United
States
which
went
from
number
three
on
the
broadband
ladder
to
number
35
according
to
speedtest.net.
One
of
ways
of
solving
these
complex
issues
is
through
education
and
developing
students
to
be
21st
Century
citizens.
For
many
countries
the
introduction
of
technology
in
schools
is
not
about
providing
the
latest
technology
to
bring
countries
up
to
speed,
it
is
about
providing
students
with
the
education
that
they
need.
A
large
aspect
of
this
movement,
to
see
developing
schools
with
technology
is
based
on
the
constructivist
theory
made
popular
by
Piaget
and
other
theorists.
The
main
highlight
of
this
theory
is
that
children
learn
by
interacting
together
and
constructing
their
own
knowledge,
but
also
create
their
own
meaning
to
their
work
through
this
process
(Hein,
1991,
para2).
A
large
portion
of
this
learning
can
take
place
through
collaborative
projects
and
social
experiments.
One
of
the
biggest
issues
though
in
making
this
happen
is
the
supply
and
demand
of
these
educational
tools.
The
cost
of
production
and
then
implementation
of
technology
can
be
staggering
to
economies
that
have
trouble
on
the
global
scale.
A
large
amount
of
developing
countries
don’t
even
have
proper
access
to
the
internet,
they
don’t
have
the
infrastructure
of
LAN
lines
or
even
power
lines
that
developed
countries
have.
Yet
there
are
solutions
that
are
coming
present
today
to
help
combat
the
divide
between
technology
rich
and
poor
nations.
One
such
program
is
the
One
Laptop
Per
Child
(OLPC)
organisation.
Their
aim
is
to
develop
and
then
distribute
technology
to
developing
countries
that
is
cost
effective
and
durable.
The
XO,
produced
by
OLCP,
is
one
of
their
first
products
which
enables
students
to
work
collaboratively
in
the
classroom
without
needing
all
the
wires
to
connect
each
other
or
power.
The
laptops
run

2. NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
on
a
very
simple
version
of
the
Linux
operating
system
called
Sugar.
The
laptop
itself
can
connect
through
wireless
connections
imbedded
in
the
device,
meaning
that
students
can
work
on
projects
together
in
the
classroom.
They
can
be
charged
through
solar
devices
that
cost
around
thirteen
dollars.
The
laptop
itself
costs
around
150
dollars,
which
makes
it
an
effective
cost
solution
to
providing
children
with
education.
One
of
the
biggest
benefits
of
the
introduction
of
technology
in
these
classrooms
is
that
it
encourages
students
to
come
to
school
more
often
and
to
be
inspired
and
engaged
when
they
are
there.
Through
this,
students
have
a
greater
understanding
of
the
world
around
them
and
how
they
can
help
solve
some
of
the
issues
that
are
present
in
their
countries.
It
provides
students
with
a
greater
access
to
education
where
in
many
cases
it
can
be
hard
to
even
find
a
paper
and
pencil
to
write
with.
The
introduction
of
these
laptops
means
that
text
books
and
reading
books
can
be
downloaded
and
viewed
on
the
device.
It
removes
the
need
to
print
a
vast
range
of
books
and
reduces
the
cost
of
education
overall.
A
question
that
is
raised
out
of
these
issues
is
the
importance
to
children
already
in
developed
countries
and
why
teachers
should
be
concerned
about
these
problems.
One
aspect
is
that
it
highlights
the
importance
of
technology
in
today’s
educational
system
and
the
benefits
that
it
can
provide
the
students.
It
also
highlights
why
the
technology
is
there
in
the
classroom.
That
it
is
not
just
there
as
gimmick
and
to
provide
some
sort
of
entertainment,
but
the
technology
is
there
to
help
facilitate
the
learning
in
the
environment.
My
imovie
that
I
created
hopefully
will
inspire
people
to
look
a
lot
deeper
to
the
problem
of
the
digital
divide
and
how
they
can
get
involved.
There
are
a
vast
array
of
issues
and
it’s
not
a
simple
solution
of
just
providing
infrastructure
to
developing
nations.
There
are
political,
social
and
economic
aspects
that
all
play
a
part
in
the
gap
of
technology
between
rich
and
poor
nations.
Perhaps
the
solution
could
be
as
simple
as
developed
countries
recycling
some
of
technology
that
gets
thrown
out
every
2
years
when
the
next
new
and
exciting
update
comes
along,
however
developed
nations
have
their
own
set
of
problems
that
occur
in
their
own
areas.
Although
this
rational
only
provides
two
solutions
to
an
ever
increasing
problem,
there
are
many
organizations
along
with
the
help
of
the
UN
that
are
making
progress
to
combat
the
digital
divide.

3. NOT
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
References:
Arnold,
B.
2010.
Digital
Divides
in
Australia,
Caslon
Analytics,
accessed
online
24th
Feb
2011,
http://www.caslon.com.au/dividesprofile6.htm
Department
of
Public
Information
News
and
Media
Division,
United
Nations.
2011
‘Digital
Divide
‘Far
from
Disappeared’,
accessed
online
24th
Feb.
2011,
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/sgsm13158.doc.htm
Fallis,
d.
2004.
Social
Epistemology
and
the
Digital
Divide,
School
of
Information
Resources
University
of
Arizona,
accessed
online
24th
of
Feb.
2011,
http://www.acs.org.au/documents/public/crpit/CRPITV37Fallis.pdf
Hein,
G.
1991.
Constructivist
Learning
Theory,
Institute
for
Inquiry,
accessed
online
24th
Feb
2011,
http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/constructivistlearning.html
One
Laptop
Per
Child
(OLPC)
,
accessed
online
24th
Feb
2011,
www.laptop.org