Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context

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 landscap...

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Autores principales:	Hanlie Liebenberg, Yuraisha Chetty, Paul Prinsloo
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Athabasca University Press 2012
Materias:	Access digital divide ICT open distance learning (ODL) skills University of South Africa (Unisa) Special aspects of education LC8-6691
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8d4445ffd16c4aa8b5b40c036031d97a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8d4445ffd16c4aa8b5b40c036031d97a2021-12-02T19:20:30ZStudent access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context10.19173/irrodl.v13i4.13031492-3831https://doaj.org/article/8d4445ffd16c4aa8b5b40c036031d97a2012-10-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1303https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831 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. Hanlie LiebenbergYuraisha ChettyPaul PrinslooAthabasca University PressarticleAccessdigital divideICTopen distance learning (ODL)skillsUniversity of South Africa (Unisa)Special aspects of educationLC8-6691ENInternational Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 13, Iss 4 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Access digital divide ICT open distance learning (ODL) skills University of South Africa (Unisa) Special aspects of education LC8-6691
spellingShingle	Access digital divide ICT open distance learning (ODL) skills University of South Africa (Unisa) Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Hanlie Liebenberg Yuraisha Chetty Paul Prinsloo Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
description	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.
format	article
author	Hanlie Liebenberg Yuraisha Chetty Paul Prinsloo
author_facet	Hanlie Liebenberg Yuraisha Chetty Paul Prinsloo
author_sort	Hanlie Liebenberg
title	Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
title_short	Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
title_full	Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
title_fullStr	Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
title_full_unstemmed	Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
title_sort	student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context
publisher	Athabasca University Press
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/8d4445ffd16c4aa8b5b40c036031d97a
work_keys_str_mv	AT hanlieliebenberg studentaccesstoandskillsinusingtechnologyinanopenanddistancelearningcontext AT yuraishachetty studentaccesstoandskillsinusingtechnologyinanopenanddistancelearningcontext AT paulprinsloo studentaccesstoandskillsinusingtechnologyinanopenanddistancelearningcontext
_version_	1718376805721702400

Student access to and skills in using technology in an open and distance learning context

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