WP4 Digital divides and e-learning

Adel Ben Youssef, WP leader

E-mail: adel.benyoussef@gmail.com (mailto:adel.benyoussef@gmail.com)

• General description
  
  
  MAIN RESULTS AND FINDINGS
  

  The French Case Study, March 2007
  

  
  
  RESULT 1 - E-Learning is an efficient way of reducing the second level digital divide (uses divide). We demonstrate in the French Case study that the intensity of uses is increasing relatively to the part of time of teaching spent on an e-learning setting. On average HET not implied in an e-learning experience have an intensity of use of 1.14 and this score increase up to 5.6 in full time teachers implied in e-Learning. The table bellow shows this result:
  
  
  

  Average of e-Learning in the total share of teaching hours	Intensity of use
  0 %	1.14
  Less than 50 %	2.73
  50 %	3.5
  More than 50 %	4.87
  100 %	5.6

RESULT 2 – Clear adoption of General Purposes Applications by Higher Education Teacher (HET). As this figure shows most of the well known software are used and adopted by HET.

RESULT 8 – SENIORITY AND DIGITAL DIVIDE Seniority exerts a positive effect on the use of EICT. This effect is unexpected and it is contrarily to the main findings in the Digital divide literature. Two arguments are presented: the network effect and the learning by doing effect. RESULT 9 - TENURE AND DIGITAL DIVIDE Tenure exerts a positive effect on uses of EICT. It reduces the digital divide. Teachers who are not occupying a full time teacher is about 33% in France. Specific actions are needed in order to reduce this divide RESULT 10 – RESEARCH ACTIVITY AND DIGITAL DIVIDE Research activity exerts an ambiguous impact on uses. It has a negative effect on Newly Qualified Teachers and a Positive effect on experienced teachers. Specific Public Policies are needed toward Newly Qualified Teachers in order to reduce the Educational Digital Divide.