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Digital poverty, The 5 basic digital skills
To be considered to have a…
Digital poverty
Solutions
Lack of equipment: Many charities donating equipment (over 70 initiatives countrywide)
BCS article
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Applying UDL principles: Barriers to learning are removed via the application of the UDL principles. Two of these principles in particular could be potentially critical in eliminating the negative influence of digital poverty.
Providing multiple means of engagement and representation is an essential response to learner variability. However, multiple options according to these principles may also help to ease the burden of digital poverty.
AdvanceHE
Don't assume all students have a high level of digital literacy: discover what students are technologically comfortable with and what equipment they have available with a survey prior to the module starting.
Presentational consistency – it’s better to send one document per class with all materials enclosed and ordered in linear fashion. Once you send it, allow time for students to open it and orientate themselves.
Finally, avoid activities that need digital multitasking − going between two or more documents, two or more programmes, or between the teacher’s shared screen and a document. This is simply too distracting and, more importantly, it unnecessarily adds variables and increases the probability of difficulty. The more complex the mechanics of an online activity, the greater the risk that a student will be excluded.
TimesHE
Who is affected?
Good Things Foundation CEO, Helen Milner OBE, made the point that digital poverty affects a significant proportion of the population: ‘In the UK there are nine million adults who are digitally excluded. It’s massively aligned with poverty and income levels.‘There’s also a north / south divide so in the southeast of England 49% of adults are what’s called extensive internet users, but in the northeast that goes down to 18%.
BCS article
More than 1million households in the UK have no internet access
ONS data
around 134,000 UK properties are still unable to get a decent connection (10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload)
OFCOM
in 2018, 8% of people in the UK (4.3 million people) were estimated to have zero basic digital skills (are unable to do any of the activities described in the five basic digital skills). A further 12% (6.4 million adults) were estimated to only have limited abilities online (missing at least one of the basic digital skills).
UK consumer digital index 2018
managing information: using a search engine to look for information, finding a website visited before or downloading or saving a photo found online.
communicating: sending a personal message via email or online messaging service or carefully making comments and sharing information online.
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problem solving: verifying sources of information online or solving a problem with a device or digital service using online help.
creating: completing online application forms including personal details or creating something new from existing online images, music or video.
Definitions
Lack of equipment, technical support and digital and online skills - connectivity, access to devices and the skills to use technology
BCS article
Not having internet access and having low levels of digital literacy
EdBlog article
the inability, for a wide variety of reasons, to interact fully with the digital world.
BCS articleTitle
IN relation to digital learning, lack of access to one of the following constitutes digital poverty:
AdvanceHE
Office for Students
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71 per cent of students say they lacked access to a quiet study space, with 22 per cent “severely” impacted.
56 per cent said they lacked access to appropriate online course materials, with almost 1 in 10 “severely” impacted. 1 in 5 say they were impacted by lack of access to a computer, laptop or tablet.
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Why does it matter?
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) have identified five areas in which individuals who acquire basic digital skills are able to benefit
CEBR report
earnings benefits: these relate to increased earnings of between 3% and 10% through acquiring digital skills.
employability benefits: this reflects the improved chances of finding work for someone who is unemployed and an increased likelihood that someone who is inactive will look for work.
retail transaction benefits: shopping online has been found to be 13% cheaper on average than shopping in-store.
communication benefits: basic digital skills can enable people to connect and communicate with family, friends and the community 14% more frequently.
time savings: these relate to the time saved by accessing government services and banking online rather than in person, estimated to be about 30 minutes per transaction.
The 5 basic digital skills
To be considered to have a digital skill, respondents need to be able to do one of the activities listed under it.
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