The Digital Divide and First-Year Students

Abstract

Current cross-campus computing initiatives demand both access and skill in employing technology as a tool for academic success. Consequently, lack of computer skills can affect first-year students' potential for success because many courses assume students are computer literate. In this study, 888 first-year students completed a survey—administered for three years—that examined technology variables. A chi-square statistic and associated p-value indicated that students' access to computers increased over a three-year period, albeit it was income-related. Results showed an improvement in word processing, Internet and library-searching skills, and developing computer-enhanced presentations. However, results from the last year of the study showed that more than 50% of students rated themselves unskilled at library-searching and developing computer-enhanced presentations, with approximately one-third of students rating themselves unskilled at e-mail. Implications for first-year student computer-training support are discussed.

Digital Collaboration in Higher Education: A Study of Digital Skills and Collaborative Attitudes in Students from Diverse Universities

“…Research indicates that disparities in technological access can significantly impact the correlation between digital skills and virtual collaboration [43,44]. The digital divide, particularly in terms of income-related access to computers, can further exacerbate these disparities [43].…”

“…Research indicates that disparities in technological access can significantly impact the correlation between digital skills and virtual collaboration [43,44]. The digital divide, particularly in terms of income-related access to computers, can further exacerbate these disparities [43]. This is particularly problematic for digitally excluded youths, who face challenges in developing digital skills due to poor access to technology and limited support networks [44].…”

Student Values and Research: Are Millennials Really Changing the Future of Reference and Research?

“…The demographics of Internet and media consumption are rapidly eroding this presumed generational difference" (Information behavior, 2008). Many contemporary studies are demonstrating that computer literacy does not naturally equate to information literacy (McDonald, 2004;Messineo & DeOllos, 2005;Goodfellow, 2007 2008), and that differences between generational behaviors is not always due to differences in core values. Elisa Topper sums it up in her article The Library as Intergenerational Workplace (2007): "Why do people at work think the values between generations are so different?…”