14 Mar 2014
Informations Systems in Education

Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Information Systems
MAE 510
Jeff Benenhaley

I remember as a kid one of my best Christmas’s was the year I got my first computer. It was much different that you may be thinking. Today, when we think of a computer, we either imagine a laptop or a desktop computer. If we are really technology savvy and have the money, the computer could come in the form as an IPad or NOOK. However, this was not the case back in the early 80’s. The computer I am referring to was merely a large keyboard that attached to a regular T.V. It didn’t play games, get on the world-wide-web or even have email. All I could do was type in a very large list of code that was already predetermined in order to see what that code would make. Usually it was some sort of design that would flash across the screen but could not be saved onto a hard drive. This same year I received my first Atari. This was the best gift ever, finally I had a game that didn’t consist of a piece of cardboard, a stack of cards and required you to roll a dice to get from point A to point B before your opponent. Now, if we fast forward about 30-years we find that when we use the term computer or gaming system, we think of something entirely different than what I knew from the early 80’s. Today, I have three computers in my house and my son has two gaming systems. All of my computers are top of the line and can do just about anything. My son’s gaming system has WIFI and he can even talk to his friends through the system while playing them on the same screen. While technology has grown leaps and bounds, access to this technology has not made it to every household in America. This is due to many reasons, all of which fall under the term Digital Divide. In this paper I will describe the Digital Divide and who it affects. I will show three examples of people affected by this divide. Finally, I will provide my own opinion about the Digital Divide concept. Digital Divide is defined by techopedia as (digital divide, 2014) the difference between people who have easy access to the internet and those who do not. A lack of access is believed to be a disadvantage to those on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide because of the huge knowledge base that can only be found online. I have been around the world and have seen how the digital divide affects people from all walks of life. I have been to third world countries and have seen poverty stricken families who are more concerned with where their next meal will come from rather than checking their latest Facebook update. I feel as Americans we take many of the luxuries we have for granite and not even think of those who are less fortunate. One of the biggest misconceptions of the vast population in the U.S today is that we don’t have a problem in this area. While most of the population in the U.S today has access to, and use of much of the newest technology, we are absolutely wrong to think that everyone is afforded these same benefits. I currently live on the coast of North Carolina but I have family in Ohio. Usually, twice a year we pack up the car and take a road trip to visit our Buckeye State family. On the road trip to Ohio, we journey through Kentucky and West Virginia and through the Appalachian Mountain region. I got lost once taking the scenic route and ended up is some very rural areas of this region. I almost felt like I was back overseas in one of those third world countries. In 1965 (Appalachian Regional Commission, 2001) Congress established the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support economic and social development in that region. While they have done a great job at bringing industry to this region, there is still a long way to go. There are about 23 million people, or 8% of the U.S population who live in 406 counties along this region. Much of this area is rural, making up about 42% of the area compared to 20% of the national population being rural. Of the 406 counties that make up the Appalachian Region, 118 are distressed while 258 are in a transitional period. Only 12 counties in this region are considered to have attained the technology that is competitive with the rest of the U.S. This is not the only area suffering in the U.S. While this focused on a geographical region; the other portion of the U.S suffering from the digital divide are minorities. A federal study has found that (The boston globe, 2006) 67 % of white students use the internet but less than half of blacks and Hispanics do. According to this study only 44% of Hispanics and 47% of blacks are accessing the internet. While this study was conducted in 2006, the trend is the same. With the popularity of the smartphone making it much easier to get online, these numbers have risen. However, the home access to the internet for minorities is still below the average usage of whites. I have been around the world and seen the digital divide first hand affecting the population as a whole. I have been all over the U.S and have seen how the digital divide is adversely affecting our lower income and geographically separated population. The digital divide to me is caused by many things in the U.S. Some that are uncontrollable, and some that can be remedied. Children fall under the uncontrolled portion of this situation. A child has no control over the income made in the family which is a direct result of the digital divide. Unfortunately, this seems to be a never ending cycle. If economically a family can’t afford the access to tele-communcations, their children can’t be afforded the same educational tools as the general population. I know schools and libraries are good sources for this technology, however, transportation to and from these institutions pose a road block in that resolve. The easiest fix to this problem would be to provide free transportation to certain qualified participants. The draw-back is the fact that this would come out of tax-payers pockets and would have to be voted on. Some people believe the U.S is the most technologically advanced country in the world. Although there is an abundant amount of technology out there, not everyone has access to it. This is not just an issue here in the U.S., it is a worldwide problem. In this paper I have defined the term Digital Divide. I have also provided two separate groups the Digital Divide affects, both those in geographically separated areas such as Appalachia, and minority groups as a whole. I have given my own opinion about the term and a possible solution to some of those affected. In a perfect world, every child and family would have the same opportunities as the next, both the fortunate and those less fortunate. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and I don’t believe it will be getting any better any time soon. All we can do is try to help those in need as any good concerned human being should do.

References:
Appalachian regional commission, 2001, retrieved on 10 Mar 2014 from www.arc.gov/images/programs/telecom/informationageappalachian
Digital divide, 2014, retrieved on 8 Mar 2014 from www.Techopedia.com/definition/605/digitaldivide
The boston globe, 2006, retrieved on 10 Mar 2014 from www.boston.com/news/education/k12/articles/2006/09/06/digital-divide-separates-white-minority-students/