Impact Of The Digital Divide On Low Income And Minority Students

Computer applications in processing information have established computing as a necessary tool for industry as well as the home. In recent times, information has become a commodity that all people require in their professional lives, for entertainment as well as personal use. More and more educational institutions and libraries are employing computers to facilitate their activities in educational scholarship. Factors such as these establish the functionality of the computer as an essential requirement in the lives of all people who need to use information. The context of digital divide focuses on the separation between those who have easy access to computer facilities and those who do not. It is established by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that minorities, low-income persons, the less educated and children of single-parent household are some of those who are most affected by the lack of access to information resources particularly when they reside in rural areas or central cities. It can be argued that these are some of the very parties who need such facilities for personal development. The digital divide is thus a gulf that must be bridged if there is to be some form of equity in the aspirations of all people in the society. With many academic institutions now requiring that their students each own a computer as a basic tool for use during their college education, this paper will attempt to examine the impact of such requirements on minority students, students from low-income families, and those who are attempting to work and pay their own way through college.