Can mobile technology reduce the Digital Divide? A study in a South African tertiary education context

Abstract

Undergraduate software engineering students are often required to participate in problem-based learning (PBL) and team-based project work. Assessment of information communication and technology (ICT) project deliverables contributes a major portion of the course mark. Collaboration and communication are supported to some extent by mobile hand-held devices, yet are limited by the digital divide created from not all students having access to smartphone devices and mobile Internet connectivity. This study describes the findings of a mobile learning and digital divide (MLDD) survey undertaken by the primary researcher as part of an ICT4D 2.0 project. The survey investigated the nature and extent of the digital divide between software engineering students on two Western Cape campuses of the same tertiary education institution. A survey questionnaire synthesised for this purpose was administered to 35 fulltime software engineering students in March 2012. Survey findings indicate the nature and extent of the digital divide between students enrolled for the same course on the same campus and between students at the two different campuses. Although survey findings indicate positive student attitudes to and perception of an m-learning solution to the digital divide, challenges associated with extending a face-to-face classroom experience to a blended mobile technology environment materialised. Study results indicate that whilst mobile technology does offer digital divide reduction opportunities, mobile technology implementation in itself could result in a paradoxical mobile technology digital divide.