Impact of the digital divide on information literacy training in a higher education context

Jaya Raju,Segarani Naidoo

doi:10.7553/78-1-46

Abstract

This paper reports on a master's study undertaken to investigate the impact of the digital divide on information literacy (IL) training of Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). Since 1994 the demographics of higher education institutions in South Africa have changed. Today these institutions comprise heterogeneous groups of students, by race, economic background, digital background, etc. and consequently with different levels of literacy, information and otherwise. The problem that this study addressed was the impact of having both digitally advantaged and digitally disadvantaged students in the same information literacy classroom, expecting them to reach learning outcomes without frustrating students from either group. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of the digital divide on IL training of ECP students at the DUT and to recommend guidelines for teaching and learning of IL that would accommodate both digitally advantaged and digitally disadvantaged students. The study employed a mixed method approach in its research design. Data was collected from ECP students (of 2010) by means of a questionnaire; an interview schedule was used to collect data from Subject Librarians involved in teaching the IL module to ECP students; a separate interview schedule was used to collect data from the ECP Coordinator. Qualitative and quantitative data collected were prepared for analysis by means of content analysis and numerical coding, respectively and then subjected to statistical analysis via SPSS, which produced percentage and frequency distributions to ascertain findings. The findings of the study revealed that the digital divide does impact on IL training in ways such as: slowing down the progress of IL lessons; basic computer skills need to be taught in the IL classroom; and that digitally disadvantaged students find it difficult to follow online lessons while advantaged students already have the expertise to access online information. Based on these findings the study recommended computer literacy training should precede IL training and that various creative teaching and learning methods such as group work, online tutorials, games and interactive websites should be incorporated into IL education to accommodate both digitally advantaged and digitally disadvantaged students in the IL classroom.

Highlights

The digital divide refers to the gap that exists between those with ready access to information and communication technology (ICT) tools and those without such access or skills to enable access (Cullen 2001: 311)
5.1.1 Secondary education in South Africa Of the 65% of Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) students who claimed that they came from urban-schools, only 57% believed that these schools were well-resourced while 34% claimed they came from rural schools and of these only 13% of these respondents believed that these rural schools were well resourced; an overwhelming 66% felt that the rural schools that they attended were under-resourced
It is not an uncommon scenario to find in a higher education setting an information literacy (IL) class comprising of students who come from under-resourced schools as well as well-resourced schools; and this contributes to the disparate digital abilities of ECP students in a single IL classroom

Summary

Introduction

The digital divide refers to the gap that exists between those with ready access to information and communication technology (ICT) tools and those without such access or skills to enable access (Cullen 2001: 311). In South African higher education (HE) institutions students fall into both these categories. There are some with no such access or skills while there are others who have had access and are skilled in the use of and have vast experience with information and communication technologies (ICTs). The South African scenario is such that a large number of HE students are introduced to computers and Internet technology for the first time when they enter these institutions and grapple with basic computer skills. As with other parts of the world, information literacy education has become a common feature in South African higher HE institutions to help students cope with the information age

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