Wireless Technologies Bridging the Digital Divide in Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v1i1.5Abstract
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the latest wireless standards and technologies may overcome the digital divide in education in the developed and developing worlds. The concept of the digital divide is discussed in the traditional socio-economic sense and expanded in terms of the learner's location, age, culture and background. It is important that we understand the full extent and complexities of this division if we are to effectively bridge it. Why and how the digital divide may be bridged is examined. Apart from the inherent inequalities that need to be addressed from an ethical perspective, it is very much in the interests of governments and citizens globally that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is made available to all as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. New forms of wireless protocols are overcoming challenges of terrain, infrastructure and finance. It is proposed that, by leveraging open broadband wireless standards, like Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi*) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX*), and implementing Mobile Computing architecture, it is now possible to make dramatic strides in this direction. The paper continues with a general overview of these wireless standards and technologies followed by an in-depth look at Wi-Fi and WiMAX. The paper goes on to give examples of the Innovation Centre's involvement in delivering solutions and new usage models for eLearning that utilize the latest wireless standards and technologies. The challenges and successes of these projects are outlined and metrics are presented where available.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The submitting author warrants that the submission is original and that she/he is the author of the submission together with the named co-authors; to the extend the submission incorporates text passages, figures, data or other material from the work of others, the submitting author has obtained any necessary permission.
Articles in this journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC-BY What does this mean?). This is to get more legal certainty about what readers can do with published articles, and thus a wider dissemination and archiving, which in turn makes publishing with this journal more valuable for you, the authors.
By submitting an article the author grants to this journal the non-exclusive right to publish it. The author retains the copyright and the publishing rights for his article without any restrictions.