Today, people live in a highly digitized
and networked society where information can be access easily with a click of a
button. The education sector benefits tremendously from this. Pritchard (2014)
reported that school Internet connectivity has grown from 35% in 1994 to 100%
in 2005, while classroom connectivity has increased from 3% in 1994 to 90% in
2005. With the increasing availability of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), students no longer need to visit a bookstore or library for books
or resources and teachers are given access to online materials that they can
share with their students. Due convenience of internet access to information,
students of all levels should use this in their learning experience in order to
attain a better efficiency as they can have access to databases they need at
the tip of their fingers if they encounter a problem while studying. With such
a divide existing, students may find it hard to adapt to higher education level
as they are unfamiliar with the ICT curriculum the tertiary education utilised
However, according to Obrien (2014),
many of these online resources are not evenly distributed and utilised
effectively and a digital divide can still occur within different levels of the
education system which may lead to the problem of the digital divide among
different education levels. The Singapore education system still experience problems
caused by the digital divide due to the different usage level in different
education sector. Lim (2010) explain that MOE invested in ICT to
support teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools to ensure that
students are well prepared for their tertiary education as well as working
life. However, it is not observe in Singapore that ICT was effectively utilized
in lower education level as compared to tertiary level. The effective
implementation of ICT in schools is a complex process that not only involves
providing the technology to schools but also the competency of teachers and
curriculum restructuring and these are not seen in lower education levels.
Dzidonu (2010) explains that in many
schools, ICT is typically poorly adopted and underused in classroom. Keengwe
and Onchwari, (2011) notice that even though there are rapid growth in ICT
infrastructures in school as well as access by teachers and students both at
home and school, most teachers are unwilling to adapt and adopt ICT tools
during teaching. It appears that they are competencies in ICT as well as their
attitudes towards ICT remain an obstacle for them to adopt and use efficiently
the technology in classroom. Hence, in order to remove the digital divide
caused by the underuse of ICT in the classroom, National Institute of Education
of Singapore (NIE) incorporated courses involving usage of ICT into its teacher
training programs.
Despite the extensive support for the
teachers, the adoption and integration ICT into classroom learning and teaching
is behind expectations. In practice, ICTs are rarely used or only used as a
supplement to traditional teaching in lower secondary. (Redecker, 2009). This
could be due to the traditional perspective of teachers in teaching. Therefore,
surveys can be conducted to investigated teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward
ICT adoption. Hence, the problem can be identified and solved. This will help
to narrow the digital divide in the lower education levels as compared to the
higher ones and allow students to have an easier transition from lower to
higher education level.
Curriculum structure in which the school
adopts is also very important. According to Gupta (2014), the use of an ICT
structured curriculum freed up class time to allow deeper thinking and more
problem solving experience for the students. These students are actively
engaging in learning with their peers while solving problems, or taking
assessments. Some examples of an ICT structured are flipped classroom,
class website or even by utilizing the social media Facebook as a learning
support group. Most of these are being utilized at a tertiary education system
but not at lower levels. As mentioned by Shen (2010, as cited in Lim, 2010),
ICT can be a double edge sword. He mentioned that MOE announced that $850
million Standard ICT Operating Environment (SOE) for school systems will start
on 2012. This system will enable all schools to have 1Gbps wireless broadband
access systems. The aim of this is to allow students to use portable computing
devices as well as interactive multimedia resources in the school-wide wireless
connectivity environments for outdoor learning. Such a system encourages all
schools to implement ICT into their curriculum. However, one cannot neglect the
distractions ICT can cause in the form of emails, blogs, YouTube video and even
online games. Lim (2010) explained that MOE has put in place cyber-wellness
programmes to educate students on cyber wellness and the safe use of
technology, as well as filters to restrict undesirable contents online. Through
these various protection schemes, primary and secondary schools could also
utilize ICT to the fullest in their curriculum. This will narrow the digital
divide between tertiary education and the lower education levels.
The existing digital divide between
tertiary education level and the lower education levels is apparent if nothing
is done to bridge this gap. To start off, the government and schools could do
their part by improving the teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward ICT adoption
and to refine the school’s curriculum structure. If all of these can be done,
digital divide within the education sector can truly be narrowed.
Reference
Dzidonu, J. (2010) The role of ICTs to achieving the
MDGs in education: An Analysis of the Case of African Countries. Retrieved
October 1,2014. From http://www.ait.edu.gh
Kavita Gupta (2014). Increase Student Engagement &
Extend Beyond the Classroom using The Blended Learning Model. October
1,2014. From http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/increase-student-engagement-extend-beyond-classroom-using-blended-learning-model
Keengwe, J. & Onchwari, G. (2011)
Computer Technology integration and student learning: Barriers and promise, Journal of Science Education and
Technology 17(2011) 560-570 ,October 1,2014. From
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956- 008-9123-5
Lim T.S (2010). Use of ICT in
Schools Aimed at Enhancing Teaching and Learning, October 1,2014.From
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2010/06/use-of-ict-in-schools.php
Obrien, A (2014). Celebrating Access to Information. Retrieved
October 1, 2014. from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/information-access-digital-divide-gutenberg-anne-obrien
Redecker, C (2009). Review of Learning
2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations. Education and
Training in Europe. JRC
Scientific and Technical Report. Retrieved October 1, 2014
S O'Hara, R Pritchard (2014). What
is the Digital Divide's Impact on Learning. October 1,2014. From
http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-digital-divides-impact-learning/
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