Abstract:

Technological developments have empowered research into, and enabled faculty to implement instructional strategies such as blended learning, online teaching, and distance learning to improve learning outcomes and access to education. The effectiveness of these approaches is dependent on digital literacy and access to technology, both devices, and the internet. The sudden school closings and forced movement towards online learning have fundamentally changed pedagogical approaches and bought the need for overcoming the digital divide to the forefront. Thus, while there is a growing realization of the importance of overcoming this digital divide, there is a need for further research into understanding the extent of resulting changes over time when resources are made available. Such knowledge will enable stakeholders to better focus resources on achieving the most benefit. This study compares students of two cohorts, who completed their K-12 education in offline mode and were among the first groups to move to online and/or blended learning in their undergraduate program, to understand changes in their attitude towards technology and ability to adapt based on demographic characteristics. The findings of the study and recommendations for sustainable approaches to overcoming the digital divide are discussed at the end.

Keywords:

Digital divide, internet access, education, gender, socio-economic.