Literacy, Technological Literacy and the Digital Divide

The United Nations estimates that there are one billion illiter-ate adults in the world today (about one-quarter of the world’s adult population), the vast majority of whom are located in the poorest half of the world. Furthermore, recent surveys suggest that this situation is even more serious than previously believed. Industrialized (OECD) countries now admit to having very serious problems of their own in liter-acy and basic skills, with up to 25 % of adults considered to be lacking the basic skills needed to function effectively in the workforce (see OECD/Statistics Canada, 1995; Tuijnman et al., 1997). Of course, we should quickly note that these two statistics are a result of changing standards and definitions for literacy that have taken place over recent decades. Indeed, if the OECD standard for literacy were used to measure literacy in devel-oping countries, the number of adult illiterates in developing countries would likely go up by at least two or three fold. This seems to be the case, in great measure, due to the often poor quality of primary schooling in many developing coun-tries (Wagner, 2000). Technological Literacy Clearly, the problem of inadequate literacy remains a sur-prisingly large and pressing issue around the world. As we move into the information age, many policy makers have been raising the issue of individual standards for knowledge of information and communications technologies (ICT) – what is often called “technological literacy. ” Interestingly, no country appears to have on record exactly what technological literacy really means, probably due to the rapidly changing nature of ICT developments across the globe. We know also that educational and literacy levels play an important role in the likelihood that a person will own a computer or be linked to the Internet. This has led to the popularization of the notion of the “digital divide ” – a gap that separates the “haves ” and “have-nots, ” irrespective of country. Consider recent statistics in the US (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1999): • 61.6 % of those with college degrees now use the Inter-net, in contrast to only 6.6 % of those with an elementar