After having competed in the ThinkQuest competition during its previous cycle, Ammu and Ngoc began to realize something: when students create their own original content for the Web, it is content that has personal, regional, or cultural relevance. The Internet, since it is essentially demand-driven, has a dearth of content for low-access users and communities. This led to another thought: as the "Digital Divide," as it has been termed, steadily gains infamy, the main point of focus of media and awareness campaigns remains that of mere physical access to computers and the Internet; however, is it not just as important to have access to relevant, meaningful content? Similarly, in education, it is imperative that students have access to teachers who are willing and able to use technology effectively in their curricula and that their communities acknowledge, accept, and embrace technology's importance and potential. Many people do not realize that the Divide extends beyond simply the fact that some people have computers and others do not. Computers by their mere presence are of very limited use.

We thereby determined that we would create a site regarding this Divide; moreover, a site that breaks it down into four easy-to-understand sections, each of which discusses a distinct set of barriers to digital equity in the classroom: the physical barriers, digital barriers, human barriers, and socioeconomic barriers. We hope that such a division will make the Divide more easily conceptualized, consequently making potential solutions more apparent.

At first we thought about classifying the Digital Divide based on geographic locations. However, the more we researched on the topic, the more we discovered that Digital Divide is not a simple division between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Access to hardware and software, presence of an instructor, affordability and awareness made up the multiple barriers that need to be crossed. They explain the division in terms of geographic location, gender, race and income that we observe.

Under this new way of thinking, the solutions become more transparent. In order to fill the access gap, we need organizations who can provide the students with computers and the Internet. We need teachers who are willing to learn and implement new technology in their lessons. We need a society in support of usage of technology. We need students who are aware of the importance of IT for their future careers. This is not a one man’s job. Spreading awareness of the topic is therefore important – and that is also the main aim of our website.

How big is the digital division now? Being a dynamic issue, reports and statistics in 2001 can quickly become out-of-date. It is difficult to find recent statistics on the Digital Divide.

We carried out a first-hand survey on the Digital Divide to provide fresh information on the current situation of the Digital Divide in education. The surveys were carried out on 3000 students in total and took two months from start to finish. Based on these results, we propose plans to fill the gap.

We believe that taking action is important, and although a team of six teenagers may not be able to make significant changes, the voices of six billion people can. We hope that our ideas will inspire others to take actions, to get involved and make a difference.

Behind eDivide is a team of six teenagers and two assistant coaches from five continents, six countries of the world. Almost all of us have some personal experience with the Digital Divide. Click on the location on the map to find out more about each team member.