Cambodia and the "Digital Divide"

What is the "digital divide"?

The "digital divide" is the unequal access to digital materials including technology and resources that have helped other communities inevitably progress. The digital divide exists between communities, nations and even schools. It can usually be understood, but not limited to, the concept of technology inequality. If two schools, withing 15 miles, have completely different access to technology- One has one laptop per child while the other has 10 for the entire school and spotty internet service- we would quickly label that as a problem; an inequity if you will. If those same schools were 100 miles apart, or thousands, society seems to forget the unjust that still lingers between those school. This can be understood as the "digital divide".

My involvement with Cambodia

In my class, Global Leadership in a Virtual Context, I am working alongside PolyU and RUPP to close the "digital divide" in Cambodia. This semester we are working in a small city in rural Cambodia to design a container for computer lab and literature needs. The needs of the students are to learn to utilize technology, science, math and reading. The town just built a learning center to give the children access to a well rounded education so now we are trying to close the digital divide by giving them access to STEM.

We have multiple aspects to our project. The container must be purchased and dropped in the location, and it must be decorated so we worked with students from RUPP and PolyU to grasp culture and significance to make the designs culturally adequate. For instance, we designed low tables because the students sit Khmer style, on the ground, contrary to America. The second part of our project is we work on choosing applications that will run on the tablets. We have to be sure to test them offline considering internet access isn’t guaranteed in the town. We are also making posters to teach them about the app and offering teaching sessions for the volunteers in Cambodia. We will continue to follow up and see the progress of our project.

Am I making a difference?

I think one cool part about working with students from all over the world is that we have so many cultural perspectives intertwining- including students from higher education within Cambodia. I think that we are offering these students an opportunity to learn something new and whether that gives them an advantage or not is not important, its simply about offering them an opportunity. The students didn’t even have the opportunity to learn freely until recently, so they don’t need the latest and greatest technology that we use in first world countries, but they will not be harmed by the opportunity to explore technology.

I think researchers, non-profits, governments, etc. should ask how we can make a difference to the children, offer them something they would not otherwise be offered without the intrusion. I think we forget to ask ourselves these questions because we assume we know better because we have better, but priorities are different in every country and you cannot throw technology at a problem and hope it will solve it. We must be willing to teach people how to use the technology and remember where they are starting and what is a realistic improvement.

Rescources

Foster, S. (2013). The digital divide: Some Reflections. International Information & Library Review,32(3-4), 437-451. doi:10.1080/10572317.2000.10762529

Jayasundara, C. c. (2016). DIGITAL LIBRARIES AS A TOOL TO CONFRONT THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. Library of Progress-Library Science, Information Technology & Computer, 36(2), 89-97. doi:10.5958/2320-317X.2016.00008.8