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ERIC Number: ED570935
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Sep-20
Pages: 30
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Digital Readiness Gaps
Horrigan, John B.
Pew Research Center
For many years concerns about "digital divides" centered primarily on whether people had "access" to digital technologies. Now, those worried about these issues also focus on the degree to which people succeed or struggle when they use technology to try to navigate their environments, solve problems, and make decisions. This report uses newly released Pew Research Center survey findings to address a related issue: digital readiness. The new analysis explores the attitudes and behaviors that underpin people's preparedness and comfort in using digital tools for learning as researchers measured it in a survey about people's activities for personal learning. Specifically, the researchers assess American adults according to five main factors: (1) their confidence in using computers; (2) their facility with getting new technology to work; (3) their use of digital tools for learning; (4) their ability to determine the trustworthiness of online information; and (5) their familiarity with contemporary "education tech" terms. It is important to note that the findings in this report just cover people's learning activities in digital spaces and do not address the full range of important things that people can do online or their "readiness" to perform them. To better understand the way in which different groups of Americans line up when it comes to digital readiness, researchers used cluster analysis. The analysis shows there are several distinct groups of Americans who fall along a spectrum of digital readiness from relatively more prepared to relatively hesitant. Those who tend to be hesitant about embracing technology in learning are below average on the measures of readiness, such as needing help with new electronic gadgets or having difficulty determining whether online information is trustworthy. Those whose profiles indicate a higher level of preparedness for using tech in learning are collectively above average on measures of digital readiness. Details on digital readiness and other metrics across groups are appended.
Pew Research Center. 1615 L Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-419-4500; Fax: 202-419-4505; Web site: http://pewresearch.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Pew Charitable Trusts
Authoring Institution: Pew Research Center
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A