Learning To Bridge the Digital Divide: Schooling for Tomorrow. Education and Skills. [National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL)/Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Roundtable (5th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 8-10, 1999)

Across The Oecd, Attention Is Focusing Increasingly On What Has Been Dubbed The Digital Divide - A Term That Refers To The Gaps In Access To Information And Communication Technology (ict). The Stakes Are High, As Ict Is Now Integral To The Social Fabric And Is The Catalyst For New Economies To Emerge. Exclusion Threatens The Ict Have-nots, Whether Individuals, Groups Or Entire Countries. Political Awareness Of The Stakes At Issue Grows Sharply, As Indicated By The Prominence Of The Digital Divide In G-8 Discussions. Education And Learning Lie At The Heart Of These Issues And Their Solutions. They Are The Lifeblood Of Our 21st Century Knowledge Societies, And Ict Is Critical To Them. The Gaps That Define The Learning Digital Divide Are Thus As Important As The More Obvious Gaps In Access To The Technology Itself. Learning Is Central In The Still More Fundamental Sense That The Machines And Equipment Are Useless Without The Competence To Exploit Them. Nurturing This Competence Is In Part The Job Of Schools And Colleges, In Part Dependent On The Learning That Takes Place Throughout Life In Homes, Communities, And Workplaces. This Volume Meets An Important Need In The Contemporary International Literature On Education Policy, Lifelong Learning, And Economic And Social Development. It Presents Analysis Of The Learning Digital Divide In Different Countries - Developed And Developing - And The Policies And Specific Innovations Designed To Bridge It. The Evidence Shows That Ict Can Be The Solution To Inequalities Rather Than Their Cause - Digital Diversity And Opportunity Rather Than Digital Divide. Chapter 1. The Emerging Policy Agenda By Stephen Mcnair -- Chapter 2. Different Educational Inequalities: Ict An Option To Close The Gaps By Guillermo Kelley-salinas -- Chapter 3. The Digital Divide: Making Knowledge Available In A Global Context By Nolan A. Bowie -- Chapter 4. Emerging Trends And Issues: The Nature Of The Digital Divide In Learning By The Oecd Secretariat -- Chapter 5. The Digital Divide Within Formal School Education: Causes And Consequences By Richard L. Venezky -- Chapter 6. Basic Skills In Adult Education And The Digital Divide By Lynda Ginsburg, John Sabatini, And Daniel A. Wagner -- Chapter 7. Towards Bridging Learning's Digital Divide By The Oecd Secretariat -- Chapter 8. Ict, Equity, And The Challenge Of Lifelong Learning: The Swedish Approach By Sten Ljungdahl -- Chapter 9. Other National Approaches: Portugal, The United Kingdom, Japan, The United States, Finland By Joao Santos, Robin Ritzema, Takashi Sakamoto, Robert Muller And Jouni Kangasniemi -- Bibliography Centre For Educational Research And Innovations, National Center On Adult Literacy (ncal). This publication builds on the papers and discussions of the Fifth National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL)/Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Roundtable. The volume presents an analysis of the "learning digital divide" in different countries--developed and developing--and the policies and innovations designed to bridge it. Chapters are: "The Emerging Policy Agenda" (Stephen McNair); "Different Educational Inequalities: ICT and Option to Close the Gaps" (Guillermo Kelley-Salinas); "The Digital Divide: Making Knowledge Available in a Global Context" (Nolan A. Bowie); "Emerging Trends and Issues: The Nature of the Digital Divide in Learning" (Synthesis by OECD Secretariat); "The Digital Divide within Formal School Education: Causes and Consequences" (Richard L. Venezky); "Basic Skills in Adult Education and the Digital Divide" (Lynda Ginsburg, John Sabatini, and Daniel A. Wagner); "Towards Bridging Learning's Digital Divide" (Synthesis by OECD Secretariat); "ICT, Equity and the Challenge of Lifelong Learning: The Swedish Approach" (Sten Ljungdahl); and "Other National Approaches: Portugal, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Finland" (Joao Santos, Robin Ritzema, Takashi Sakamoto, Robert Muller, Jouni Kangasniemi). Includes a bibliography. (Contains 98 references.) (AEF)