Understanding Inequalities in Education- The Digital Divide

General observation

I am drawing my perspective from my major focus, which has been on the marginalized groups in my immediate community. My observation from working closely with underserved areas is that resources to access digital literacy and skill acquisition rarely get to them. If it does, it’s not usually used to its maximum purpose because the project lacks enough tools and facilitators to execute the training. Another barrier is the lack of sustainability plans to monitor and evaluate the training results.

Research

Our research has procured data on the meager percentage of people using technology in slums and those who cannot fully take responsibility for it even when they have it, for instance, ICT workspaces established in rural communities. They depend on learned wards or neighbors to navigate their mobile phones, exposing them to information theft due to rampant cyber crimes. This sad reality can only be drawn from situations of unequal access to formal education, which is an asset to digital literacy because of how multi-dimensional the skill is.

How we have made an impact.

Our impact has been to bridge the gap in the educational system by advocating quality education that inculcates digital subjects to be taught in school curriculums and workshops that allow adults to learn the basics of digital skills. One such effort can be tracked in the SAFE Girls initiative project my organization is working on. We aim to teach how to use digital knowledge to solve abuse issues using AI for advocacy prompts and digital marketing tools. This project focuses on unserved communities, and this will make our work more impactful.

Conclusion

The overall impact of the digital divide on marginalized communities, for instance, is brutal because they can't even access opportunities that can help them have sustainable development in their communities. For example, soft loans, scholarships for their children, and grants. They can't see the opportunity, therefore they can access it. It also separates them from the real world. They aren't as advanced as everyone gets, affecting their overall growth, networking, and implementing better structures and facilities like schools, healthcare, and other important institutions.

Solution

• Workshops and digital literacy sessions for young girls and women
• Empowering more people to facilitate training sessions in underserved communities
• Enabling practicable methods
• Advocating quality education
• Equipping local libraries with informative books and ICT rooms with computers