Is the Digital Divide widening or narrowing? New research is needed to answer this question. Such research needs to evaluate the needs of the "have-nots" and provide updated statistics on this continually evolving topic.
Aim of Our Project
Our Project is a survey conducted on 2751 students of two schools in the United States and Vietnam. We aim to provide first-hand information on the digital gap in education between developed and developing countries
In particular, we aim to answer the following questions:
- Is there a difference in the frequency of computer usage between the students of the two countries?
- Is there a difference in IT skills between the students of the two countries?
- What are some factors that affect how often students use computers?
- Do the students use computers at school for schoolwork?
Methods
The survey consists of a questionnaire with 20 multiple choice questions, approved and administered with support from Pinkerton Academy (United States). All students of Pinkerton Academy and students in four classes of Kim Lien High School (Vietnam ) were given the questionnaire during class.
Statistical analysis
One of our team members, an undergraduate in mathematics, analyzed the data using Stata, a statistical software. In addition to statistical calculations, she used a complex mathematical model called proportional odds - ordinal logistic regression to analyze the data. The methodology was approved by Dr. Tuan Tran, an epidemiologist.
Please click here for more details on the methodology, mathematical methods, and to view our questionnaire
Results
Please click here to read highlights of our results. If you prefer the long, detailed version of the report, please click here to read the full report.
The Special Visual Report
Are you a visual learner? Would you like to browse through our graphs and figures? Please click here to start your visual tour of the results report.
Discussion and Actions
Our research indicated that between Kim Lien High School and Pinkerton Academy, the Digital Divide in education exists only at school in terms of physical access and usage of computers. We identified that Vietnamese students have a high awareness of the important role that computers play in their future occupations. Therefore, lack of awareness or acceptance of technology is not the major issue. In fact, Vietnamese students have difficulties in accessing compu ters at school. The number of courses requiring computers for assignments are low, and the students do not often use computers at school for schoolwork. This indicates that Human resources arethe main barrier. The curriculum should be modified to incorporate technology. Teachers should be trained to use computers as part of their teaching method.
Please click here to read about the actions we took based on the results of our research.
Acknowledgement
This is the largest research project any one of us has ever carried out, both in terms of size and depth of analysis. The project took us three months to complete, from scratch to the final report. Such a study would not be possible without the help from others. Please click here to read our acknowledgement.
The survey was a slightly modified version of a survey administered by Pinkerton Academy. Questions 6 and 7 measure the student's computer usage frequency, while other questions measure factors which we thought may affect that frequency. We included these factors because they can be easily measured by asking students simple questions. Other factors such as teacher's IT literacy are harder to measure by a questionnaire.
The sample
In this survey we used a convenience sample. In total, 2600 students at Pinkerton Academy and 151 students at Kim Lien High School completed the survey. However, all forms with missing answers were excluded from analysis, so the sample size for analysis was 1909 US students and 136 Vietnamese students.
Data collection
At Pinkerton Academy, students in all grades were presented with a printed questionnaire during their first period class. The survey was a mandatory questionnaire approved and administered by Pinkerton Academy administration. All students in attendance on the day of the survey took the survey. The data was then input into Microsoft Access for further analysis. Printed questionnaire was also given to four classes chosen at random at Kim Lien High School.
Statistical analysis
We model the effect of the factors using the proportional odds ordered logistic model - a type of mathematical model. (David W. Hosmer 2000). This model is used when the outcome variable is categorical, polytomous and ordered. In this case, our outcome variable is the frequency of computer usage at home, which has 4 levels: "Never", "Monthly", "Weekly" and "Daily", and these levels can be compared in magnitude. To select factors which are most influential to the frequency of computer usage, we used a procedure called backward elimination. (Kutner 2005). This involves fitting all the potential factors into the model and identifying the one with the largest p-value. If this p-value is over a threshold (e.g.: p > 0.05), the factor is dropped. The model with the remaining factors is then fitted, and the process continued until no more factors can be dropped. Frequency of computer usage at home and at school was considered separately.
The mathematics
This part cannot be displayed in text-only because this paragraph contains a mathematical explenation with the use of images. For the mathematics paragraph, please click here to go to the full site.
Reference:
David W. Hosmer, S. L. (2000), Applied Logistic Regression (Second ed.), Wiley-Interscience Publication.
Kutner, N., Neter, Li (2005), Applied Linear Statistical Model (Fifth ed.), McGraw-Hill Irwin.
This is an abbreviated version of our detailed results report. Please click here if you would like to read the full report. Our results section provide answers to the four questions mentioned in the Aim of the project
Is there a difference in the frequency of computer usage between the students of the two countries?
Yes. American students tend to use computers more frequently, both at home and at schools than Vietnamese students
Is there a difference in IT skills between the students of the two countries?
No. Our research found no significant difference. Students of the two countries score similarly on our self-defined IT literacy questionnaire, although American students on average have slightly higher scores than Vietnamese students.
What are some factors that affect how often a student use computer?
The factors identified vary between the countries and between home use and school use. Some interesting results are highlighted below:
- American students with home Internet connection are 50 times more likely to use computers more frequently at home than those without.
- Year of graduation affects computer accessibility at school for both Vietnamese and American students. In Vietnam, seniors do not get as frequent access as juniors. In contrast, in America, seniors access computers more frequently than juniors.
- There is no significant gender inequality in computer access for both schools. In other words, boys use computers as often as girls.
Do the students use computers at school for school work?
At Pinkerton Academy, senior students use computers more frequently. Students with one or more courses that require a computer for at least one assignment are 1.4 times more likely to use computers at school. These results imply that students at Pinkerton Academy often use computers at school for schoolwork. At Kim Lien High School, seniors do not use computers as often as juniors. The average IT skills score for activities done on school computers is ten-times lower than the score for activities done on computers outside the school. These results indicate that students at Kim Lien High School do not often use computers at school for schoolwork.
Comparisons between the two schools
Awareness of the role of computers in the future
Most students at Pinkerton Academy think that computers are important for their future career. However, Vietnamese students have much higher awareness of this issue. While only 38% of American students think that computer is very important to their future career, this number is 70% in Vietnamese students.
Accessibility to computers at school
Computers at Pinkerton Academy are considered easy to access by students. 92% students rarely or never have difficulties in accessing computers at school. In contrast, this number is only 21% at Kim Lien High School. This difference clearly illustrates the difference in infrastructure between the two schools.
Number of courses requiring computers for at least assignments
Courses at Pinkerton Academy seem to require heavy IT usage. By the end of semester 1, only 4% of students at Pinkerton Academy have no course which requires computer usage for at least one assignment. In contrast, the curriculum at Kim Lien High School does not require much use of computers. 54% students indicated that in semester 1 they do not have any assignments requiring usage of computers.
Students at Pinkerton Academy use computers more frequently at home than at school. 78% use computers at home daily, while only 28% at school. A closer inspection indicated that there is a relationship between year of graduation and computer usage frequency at school. Students who graduate earlier are more likely to use computers at school than those who graduate later. There is a sharp difference between those graduating this year (2006) and others. A senior student at the school revealed that "…it's simply easier for upperclassmen to get access to computers: for instance, in most cases, our writing center gives preference to seniors and juniors, especially at the time of year when senior and junior essays are due. In addition, members of the National Honor Society, all of whom are juniors and seniors, have permanent library passes, making it easier for them to get into the library on a fairly frequent basis. Also, I believe that many computer-related electives at our school give preference to junios and seniors when students are selecting courses." Students at Kim Lien High School use computers at home much more frequently than at school or outside of school. A high percentage of students never use computers at school (55.88%).In contrast to the American case, students who graduate in 2006 are less likely to use computers at school than students who graduate in 2008. 2006 students also have more difficulties in accessing computers at school: 60% reported that they never have access to computers at school, while this number is only 5% in 2008 students. This can be explained partly by the fact that computer studies is a compulsory subject for 2008 students only. Also, 2006 students are preparing for the university entrance examination in July, and only a small portion of universities chose computer studies as one of the three exam subjects.
American results
By fitting the proportional odds model for computers usage frequency at home, we obtain the following odds ratio:
| Variable | Odds ratio | 95% Confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Number of computers at home | 1.873574 | 1.610324 2.179858 |
| Home Internet connection(0 = no, 1 = yes) | 50.82075 | 28.88601 89.41174 |
| Number of courses with at least 1 assignment requires computer |
1.207664 | 1.108726 1.31543 |
| Consider IT important for future career (3 = most important, 0 = not at all) |
1.441165 | 1.233448 1.683862 |
| Gender(0 = female, 1 = male) | .7450006 | .5854082 .9481007 |
These odds ratios can be interpreted as followed:
- An increase in 1 computer at home increases the odds of the student using computers at home more frequentlyby 1.8 times.
- Students with Internet connection at home are 50.8 times more likely to use computers at home than students without.
- Students with 1 more course requires computer for at least one assignment are 1.2 times more likely to use computers at home
- Students who consider IT important for future career 1-degree more are 1.4 times more likely to use computers at home
- Male students are 25.5% less
Overall, physical factors such as number of computers at home and home Internet connection, as well as schooling and awareness factors determine the computer usage frequency at home of American students.
The oddsratios for frequency of computer usage at school can be interpreted similarly.
| Variable | Odds ratio | 95% Confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Year of graduation | 0.5872182 | 0.5417246 0.6365322 |
| Gender | 1.821334 | 1.535469 2.16042 |
| Number of courses with at least one assignment requires computer |
1.414568 | 1.328547 1.506158 |
| Consider IT important for future career | 1.754853 | 1.564012 1.96898 |
| Ability to access computers at school (3 = never a problem, 0 = never available) |
1.340151 | 1.18134 1.520313 |
- Students who graduate one year later have a 41% lower odds of using computers at school more frequently
- Males are 1.8 times more likely to use computers at school than females
- Students with 1 more course requires computer for at least one assignment are 1.4 times more likely to use computers at school
- Students who consider IT important for future career 1-degree more are 1.7 times more likely to use computers at school
- Students who can access computers at school 1-degree more easily are 1.3 times more likely to use computers at school
Similar to the home-access results, computers usage frequency at Pinkerton Academy is affected by both physical access as well as awareness factors.
VN results
By fitting the proportional odds model for computers usage frequency at home, we obtain the following odds ratio:
| Variable | Odds ratio | 95% Confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Number of computers at home | 10.14106 | 3.63165 28.31804 |
| Home Internet connection(0 = no, 1 = yes) | 3.193632 | 1.482194 6.881205 |
| Number of courses with at least 1 assignment requires computer |
1.506857 | 1.063428 2.135186 |
These odds ratios can be interpreted similar to the American results.
- An increase in 1 computer at home increases the odds of the student using computers at home by 10.1 times.
- Students with Internet connection at home are 3.2 times more likely to use computers at home than students without.
- Students with 1 more course requires computer for at least one assignment are 1.5 times more likely to use computers at home
Compared to the American results, number of computers at home plays a much more important role in home computer usage frequency, while home Internet connection plays a lesser role. In contrast to the American results, awareness does not appear to be a significant factor that affects the computers usage frequency at home. This is expected as 100% Vietnamese students think that computers are important for their future career.
Below are the ratios for computers usage frequency at school:
| Variable | Odds ratio | 95% Confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Year of graduation | 25.28974 | 10.97104 58.29627 |
| Computer usage frequency outside of school | 0.4552899 | 0.2484155 0.8344444 |
These odds ratios can be interpreted as followed:
- Students who graduate one year later are 25 times more likely to use computers at school more frequently
- Students who use increase their frequency of computer usage outside school are 46% more likely to use computers at school less often than before
Students graduating in 2008 are more likely to use computers than those graduating in 2006. This can be explained partly by the fact that computer studies is a compulsory subject for 2008 students only. Also, 2006 students are preparing for the university entrance examination in July, and only a small portion of universities chose computer studies as one of the three exam subjects. This is further shown by the high correlation between accessibility to computers at school and year of graduation. (Pearson's correlation coefficient: r = 0.62). This also indicates that students at Kim Lien High School do not often use computers outside of computer studies classes.
The significance of the outside-school computer access factor indicates that students seem to prefer using computers outside than using computers at school.
All Vietnamese students think that computers are important for their future career. Therefore, awareness cannot help to explain the difference in computer usage frequency between the students.
Ability to access to computers at school does not appear as a significant factor since it has a high correlation with year of graduation.
Relationship between gender and computer usage frequency
The odds ratios above showed that girls tend to use computers at home more frequently than boys, while boys tend to use computers at school more frequently than girls. However, the overall use difference between boys and girls is not significant at the 95% level. (chi-square test of independence: x2 = 7.69, p = 0.053). There is no significant gender inequality in computer usage frequency in both schools.
We define our own "eDivide index", a measurement of IT accessibility, composed of 50% IT skills score and 50% physical and digital access score. The scores follow a normal distribution, and the mean score of American students is 34, while the mean score of Vietnamese students is 30.5. Although the mean score of Vietnamese students are slightly less, this difference is not statistically significant (two sample t-test, p = 0.47). So in terms of our IT accessibility index, on average there is no difference between students of the two countries, although American students appear to be slightly better off than their Vietnamese cohort. If you would like to know how the eDivide index is computed, please click here.
The eDivide index is composed of 50% IT skills score and 50% physical and digital access score. The maximum score possible is 70.
- IT skills score: this is based on the activities the student does on computers at school in the last semester, which is measured by question 8 in the questionnaire
o Each activity which does not require the student to produce something of their own gives a score of 1 point. These activities are: playing games and using simulations
o Activities which require heavier computer knowledge are scored as 3 points. These activities are: gathering data electronically, using a database, using a desktop publish program, editing or making a graphic, editing a video, or writing a computer program.
o Other activities give a score of 2.
o The total IT skills score is the sum of score for all activities that the student answered "yes" to. The maximum score possible is 34.
- Physical and Digital access score: this is based on questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 20 of the questionnaire
o The score of each question correspond to each answer. (for example, having 2 computers at home give a score of 2).
o For the "how often" questions, "daily" gives a score of 3, "weekly" is 2, "monthly' is 1, and "never" is 0.
o The total score is the sum of all scores. The maximum score possible is 18. To balance it with the IT skills score, this score is doubled. Therefore, the maximum score possible for this section is 36.
Do the students often use computers at school for schoolwork?
At Pinkerton Academy, senior students use computers more frequently. Students with one or more courses that require a computer for at least one assignment are 1.4 times more likely to use computers at school These results imply that students at Pinkerton Academy often use computers at school for schoolwork.
At Kim Lien High School, seniors do not use computers as often as juniors. Although there is a correlation in the number of assignments requiring PCs with computer usage frequency at home, this factor is not significant in explaining the computer usage frequency at school. This indicates that Kim Lien High School students do not often use school computers for schoolwork. This is also supported by the fact that the IT skills score for Vietnamese students based on activities at school alone is very low, with mean equals 1.5 points (max score = 34). This score, when based on activities students does on computers outside of school is significantly higher (one-sided t-test, p-value < 0.0001) , with mean of 12 points.
The Digital Divide between the two schools
Although Pinkerton Academy and Kim Lien High School students have similar physical access to computers at home and similar IT literacy, Pinkerton Academy students use computers more often than those at Kim Lien High School. In this case, the Digital Divide in education exists only at school in terms of physical access and usage of computers.
- Vietnamese students have high awareness of the important role that computers play in their future occupations. Therefore, lack of awareness or acceptance of technology is not the major issue.
- Vietnamese students have difficulty in accessing computers at school. The number of courses requiring computers for assignments is low, and the students do not often use computers at school for schoolwork. This indicates that Human resources are the main barrier. The curriculum should be modified to incorporate technology. Teachers should be trained to use computers as part of their teaching method.
Our actions
We hope to inform the two schools as well as students, parents, educators, policy makers, and the general public of the results of our study. In February 2005, we have informed Pinkerton Academy as well as Kim Lien High School of the main results of this study. Currently Dr. Tuan Tran is helping us to write a newspaper article on the survey and we hope to get them published in both the US and Vietnam. The main aim of this study is to describe the current status of the Digital Divide. By puting this report on the eDivide website, we hope to share our results with all of you.
Sampling method
The survey was conducted at two schools, hence it is too early to expand the discussion to all students of the United States and Vietnam. Pinkerton Academy students are equally distributed across the years and in gender. In contrast, a high percentage of students in the Vietnamese sample are female. This is partly due to the simple fact that male students tend to not complete the questionnaire properly. Better sampling method should be used in future studies.
Future research topics
Human resources and social acceptance of technology play an important role in bridging the Digital Divide. While this study looked at physical access, IT skills and awareness of the students, further research should take into account IT skills of teachers and teaching method.
A total of approximately three months was needed to complete the data collection and analysis for these surveys. Countless hours of effort were put into this final product, and we would like to extend our thanks to those who helped us make it possible.
We would like to thank the administration of Pinkerton Academy and Kim Lien High School for allowing us to carry out the surveys. We also would like to thank all students at Pinkerton Academy and Kim Lien High School who completed the questionnaire.
In addition, our sincerest thanks to the following individuals for their generous help in completing this monumental task:
- Dr. Tuan Tran, for providing useful reference materials on statistical analysis and for providing generous help on writing reports and articles
- Mr. Bruce Berchtold, for providing the survey and results for Pinkerton Academy
- Mr. Charles Varney, for approving the use of the survey data
- Ms. Hoai, Mr. Phong and Ms. Lan, for helping us with distributing and collecting the questionnaire at Kim Lien High School
- Dr. Dung Thi Mai Van, Ms. Tho Hai Dang and Mrs. Ha Thu Tran, for evaluating the Vietnamese version of the questionnaire and giving helpful comments
- Dr. Truong Xuan Truong and Ms. Lan Thi Truong, for their enthusiasm and help with the data collection process