Nunavut and Nova Scotia students the
focus
in 'digital divide' study
-
Acadia professor and
educators worldwide discuss ways
to bridge the gap
For Release: December 16, 2003
(Wolfville,
NS) - Students and educators from Canada and around the
globe will benefit from research conducted on technology access by
an Acadia University professor. With collaborators and partners
worldwide, Dr. Dianne Looker will study the availability and uses of
technology particularly in communities throughout Nova Scotia and
Nunavut.
The study, Teaching
and Learning Technology: Enhancing Equity for Canadian Youth, has
recently received nearly $800,000 from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). It will be funded as
a Research Alliance under SSHRC's Initiative on the New Economy (INE).
Few researchers from small universities receive grants of this size.
"SSHRC is dedicated to
funding projects that give Canadians the tools to excel," said Dr.
Marc Renaud, president of SSHRC. "The impressive research
partnership led by Dr. Dianne Looker will help use new technologies
to ensure that more young Canadians, especially those who have been
traditionally marginalized, can overcome existing barriers and gain
new skills to compete and succeed in the new economy."
Looker, a professor in
Acadia University's Sociology Department, will examine how
technology can influence educational equity for Canadian youth.
There is concern about the 'digital divide', which disadvantages
some sub-groups of Canadians who lack access to Information and
Communication Technology (ICT). As a communication resource, ICT has
the potential to bridge barriers between rich and poor, rural and
urban, females and males, and between cultural groups.
"The research will
benefit those who are interested in how best to use Information and
Communication Technology to better prepare youth for full and
equitable participation in a more information based society," says
Looker. "In addition to data from surveys and interviews we will be
identifying resources available to students and teachers, as well as
"best practices", particularly for those working with rural students
and those working with Miq'kmaq, African-Nova Scotian and Inuit
youth."
Looker, the principal
investigator, will be sharing and discussing findings with eighteen
collaborators and nineteen partners from around the world. Four
co-investigators will assist Looker with the research: Dr. Cynthia
Alexander (Political Science, Acadia); Dr. Blye Frank (Faculty of
Medicine, Dalhousie); Dr. Jeff Karabanow (Social Work, Dalhousie);
and Dr. Victor Thiessen (Sociology and Social Anthropology,
Dalhousie). She is also working in alliance with the Departments of
Education in Nova Scotia and Nunavut.
"This project is a
tremendous opportunity for Acadia," says Dr. Thomas Ellis, Dean of
Research and Graduate Studies at Acadia University. "It will support
some of our best researchers in a project that brings people
together: locally, provincially, nationally and internationally. It
is a great example of how a technologically advanced university like
Acadia can reach out beyond its campus and make a contribution to
improving our society."
Dr. Looker's project
is one of three large-scale projects in Atlantic Canada funded this
year by SSHRC. It is one of eleven funded across the country by
SSHRC's Initiative on the New Economy (INE).
-30-
For more information contact:
Sheri Woodland
Communications Manager
Office of Public Affairs
Acadia University
(902) 585-1362
Acadia
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