Digital inclusion and exclusion: towards elearning for all

1. Digital inclusion and exclusion:towards elearning for all Laura Czerniewicz Centre for Educational Technology University of Cape Town 3 September 2009

2. Designing for elearning for all The future is already here - it’s just unevenly distributed (William Gibson) Access in the broadest sense is necessary for social and educational inclusion The challenge is designing elearning engagement for all: digital “natives” (or the digital elite) AND digital “strangers”

3. This presentation • Locate South African ICT users within global trends in terms of • computers • households • Internet access • broadband • cell phones • An illustrative higher education case study

4. Personal computers Household Internet and computer access 2007 Source: ITU SA personal computers 8.5 per 100 people World Bank 2009, Information and Communication for Development p282 SA Internet users 10.75 users per 100 people : 24.04.2008, Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/af_ictindicators_2007.html

5. Africa Rest of world From: www.Internetworldstatistics.com

6. Internet users Manuel 2009

7. Africa: internet penetration ITU 2007

8. SA:Internet user spread by province Goldstuck 2008 p.119

9. South Africa: age Goldstuck 2008 p.122

10. Fixed broadband subscribersper 100 pop2008 http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/at_glance/top20_broad_2008.html

11. Fixed broadband Manuel 2009

12. Broadband by continent Manuel 2009

13. SA: broadband Goldstuck 2008 p.74

14. Broadband The next digital divide!

15. Case study: HE Students A research project on access and use started in 2004 mixed-method approach twelve universities in South Africa Comprising two surveys of 10 110 students (2004 and 2007) quantitative analysis of 58question survey qualitative analysis of the questionnaire’s open-ended questions student interviews (2009) – preliminary findings Survey of OLE at UCT (2008)

16. The digital divide • On-campus, access is fair and equivalent • Off-campus access is varied and unequal

17. HE digital divide worsening • Digital divide exacerbated • Small (11%) but distinct group of South African students display characteristics of “digital natives” in that they have: • grown up with computers; • are independent when solving computer problems and learning new skills, and • draw extensively on their social networks. • But a significant group of student (22%) still lack both experience and opportunities, as they have: • been using a computer for less than 4 years; and • have no direct access to ICTs off campus. 2007 survey of South African university students

18. SA “digital natives” • Even gender mix • From high to average socio economic groups • Mostly speak English or Afrikaans speaking (74%) • Have excellent off-campus access at home often • multiple forms of off-campus access (inlc .portable) • Are confident of their own abilities • 81% rate their ICTs skills as good or excellent • Have high social use of ICTs • Are usually doing courses in science, engineering or health sciences

19. The “digital stranger” • More women than men • Largely South African (95%) with 80% speaking an African language as a home language. • 90% have no access to ICTs off campus • Those with off-campus access have very low practical access • Low self confidence • Mostly doing business degrees • Very low social use of ICTs • Mostly learn in formal structured ways

20. Rethinking the digital divide • However, in other ways, the digital divide is being reconstituted or bridged by cell phones • Cell phones • in general • In Higher Education

21. Cell phones: general • Total mobile subscriptions 2009: over 4 billion, penetration rate of 61 % • 1.15 billion new phones sold in 2008 • Of all mobiles in use today, functionality: • Sms: 100% • MMS: 71% • Basic browser: 92% • Colour screen: 90% • Camera: 63% • Sms most widely used data application - 3.0 billion active users worldwide

23. Phones by country ITU 2007 1.3 billion fixed telephone lines worldwide 19 per 100 inhabitants ) Manuel 2009

25. Developing countries In 2006, 77% of the world already lived in mobile network footprint. The digital divide that really matters is those who live with access to a mobile network and those who don’t (James and Vesteeg, 2007)

26. South Africa • 67% of South Africans own a cell phone (AMPS, 2008) • In Africa, mobile usage higher than subscriptions or handsets • Handset shared by more than one person (friends, family etc) • Public mobile phones • Some people have sim card but not phone (eg a small minority – 4%- uses someone else’s phone but own a personal SIM card in Kreuzer 2009)

27. South Africa: mobile internet SA - third largest mobile internet using population in the world SA ranks 6th in the global Top 10 for mobile internet usage ahead of both the US (7th) and the UK (9th) (Opera Report) Double the number of mobile internet users compared to desktop users (Joubert 2008)

28. Cell phones in South Africa Are cheaper than other options Mobile internet in South Africa is among the least expensive in the entire world; traditional desktop access is still among the most expensive A respondent: we pay 5 Rand ($.60) for 30 minutes, while here I can use 1 rand for the whole day without having to leave my stall

29. Cell phones and youth Are being prioritised amongst youth of all backgrounds Within a low-income black South African youth at an urban township The majority (83%) access the Internet via their phone on a typical day About half of all these individual’s expenses are spent on cell phones Are pervasive amongst students ubiquitous (98.5% in 2007) Kreutzer 2009 survey of low income South African youth

30. Opportunity • In our study “digital strangers” • Are digitally cell phone literate • Use cell phones often for academic purposes • Use mobile internet for their studies

31. Cell phone internet Might be the only viable option available Can also be a choice Learning computers is expensive and needs time. I do not have time and money, so why waste what I have when I can do in this [mobile] what I can do on computer? I cannot stand computers because of the many upgrades requiring more learning…. The mobile phone is the new computer, and it has the advantage that I have it on me all the time. It is even easier to type on it Donner & Gitau 2009

32. Conclusion Mobile internet use means old dichotomies no longer apply Be alert for emerging divides Value for “digital stranger” and for “digital native” Need to research current student use of cell phone for learning Explore & pilot possibilities, innovate in local context

33. Thank you Laura.Czerniewicz@uct.ac.za