Abstract
If digital fluency is enhanced by immersive digital experiences, the pivot to online learning during COVID should lead to increased levels of digital fluency. However, there is evidence COVID has broadened the digital divide in education. Pre-pandemic, a digital divide predicated on differing digital skills and usage patterns was emerging in the Australian higher education sector. Many students from underprivileged backgrounds entering university were grappling with the necessary digital skills required to participate in a digital learning setting. Conceptualising the growing inequalities arising from a widening digital divide, this chapter investigates the impacts of a digital divide on the university student experience. Using a quantitative approach, the chapter provides an analysis of the digital divide in Australian higher education. About 409 first-year business students were surveyed at regional and urban Australian universities. Empirical data is examined using descriptive analysis, Pearson’s Chi-Square, Cramer’s V test, and ANOVAs to determine the relationship between the students’ self-reported digital skills, prior digital experience, and preparedness for university study with access to digital resources, demographic factors, and geographic location. The chapter highlights the key differences in how school influences, digital experiences, and access to digital technologies influence digital fluency and preparedness for university study. Students who were immersed in digital learning environments during secondary schooling were more likely to be digitally fluent and self-report preparedness for university study. Disadvantage indicators, prior digital experience, and digital fluency are examined to provide an insight into the new barrier in higher education, the digital learning environment.
Journal
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Publication Name
Digital Literacy and Inclusion: Stories, Platforms, Communities.
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ISBN/ISSN
978-3-031-30808-6
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Pages Count
17
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Publisher
Springer
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Publisher Location
Cham, Switzerland
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EISSN
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DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-30808-6_6