Although educational technology promises innovation and inclusion, without deliberate design and support, it often widens existing inequities and creates what is not so fondly referred to as the digital divide.  While I was vaguely familiar with this term and realized from my own experience rural and more isolated communities were directly affected by this gap in access to modern technology and communications, my own research brought some further and unexpected learning. Following a thorough debate, this post explores how digital inequality manifests in education—and what must be done to address it.

First of all, as the debate explored, technology does not bring equality or equity to the world. Rural communities are often left high and dry from the global communication highway. Whether that is due to the lack of hardware (laptops, tablets, phone access, et cetera) or due to the lack of services that support said devices, either way, there is a massive disparity between the haves and the have nots. According to the Government of Canada,

• as of 2017, only about 37% of rural Canadian households had access to minimum broadband speeds of 50 Mbps/down and 10 Mbps/up, compared to 97% in urban areas.
• By 2021, only 59.5% of households in rural and remote areas met that standard, whereas just 42.9% of households on First Nations reserves did

Living on and being an administrator at an Indigenous independent school on an Indigenous reserve really forces this idea home. Our access to resources is always limited – even though the Tahltan Nation is quite affluent within BC.

One thing have mentioned in previous posts that also represents a glaring inequity is the regulation and censorship of the modern communications we do have access to. Even if the technology playing field was leveled and we all had access to the same technology, every country would still have different information at their fingertips. Several countries censor search engines, particularly Google, to promote the content they wish to pass on to the public. This is most evident in dictatorships – in particular, Russia, China, and North Korea. However, I know having traveled extensively between the US and Canada, Google will provide frustratingly different responses to the same search. Media and internet censorship fails to provide global technological equity, it instead fosters propaganda, manipulation, and blatant lack of freedom. Due to ongoing restrictions and pending laws, our online freedom is at more risk than ever.

Even something as innocuous as Disney, produced the Education for Death (1943) that blatantly demonstrative of propaganda gone wrong…even if rumours abound that Walt Disney himself had antisemitic leanings. With the Wicked Witch representing democracy and the white knight equating to the Nazi regime, this fundamentally illustrates how manipulative even the most mundane sources can be.

Another glaringly apparent inequity with technology is with the elderly. This facet of society face extreme barriers where technology is concerned. Not only are they unfamililar with how to use the rapidly changing technology, to the point of fear projected toward most devices that offer access, but with their limited fixed incomes well below the poverty line, they face economic challenges that prevent accessing the global forms of communication. Even if they do brave the unknown and dive into the world of tech, their inexperience and vulnerability leads them exposed to a world of scam artists and fraudsters.  Not only does this increase the disparity between seniors and other components of the population, it actually becomes dangerous and does not provide a safe space for seniors – thus increasing the inequity present in technology.

In fact, one of the few positive aspects of an increasing equity with technology is found within the social justice movement. Having an increased awareness of global struggles helps increase barriers for people. This is particularly relevant in the US with the No Kings movement. Having individuals witness how many individual’s protested for this movement was heartwarming. Technology was also beneficial in preventing more propaganda about protesters to show they were not violent with ill intent but were simply peacefully marching in cities across the US and even the world. This was spectacular and technology not only increased equity among the masses but encouraged resistance against fascism.

Does technology increase equity? Not inherently. While it certainly serves a purpose, it doesn’t automatically ensure fairness or equal access. Our responsibility is to work toward building equity—so that, over time, everyone can truly benefit from what technology has to offer.