文章基本信息

标题：Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
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作者：Hanlie Liebenberg ; Yuraisha Chetty ; Paul Prinsloo 等
期刊名称：The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning
印刷版ISSN：1492-3831
出版年度：2012
卷号：13
期号：4
页码：250-268
语种：English
出版社：AU Press
摘要：Amidst the different challenges facing higher education, and particularly distance education (DE) and open distance learning (ODL), access to information and communication technology (ICT) and students’ abilities to use ICTs are highly contested issues in the South African higher education landscape. While there are various opinions about the scope and definition of the digital divide, increasing empirical evidence questions the uncritical use of the notion of the digital divide in South African and international higher education discourses. In the context of the University of South Africa (Unisa) as a mega ODL institution, students’ access to technology and their functional competence are some of the critical issues to consider as Unisa prepares our graduates for an increasingly digital and networked world. This paper discusses a descriptive study that investigated students’ access to technology and their capabilities in using technology, within the broader discourse of the “digital divide.” Results support literature that challenges a simplistic understanding of the notion of the “digital divide” and reveal that the nature of access is varied.
关键词：Access;digital divide;ICT;open distance learning (ODL);skills;University of South Africa (Unisa)