Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors
Many government-sponsored policies and programs have been implemented in recent years to reduce digital inequality, but research on the effectiveness of such programs is severely lacking. We examine the short-term effects of participation in Lehava, the largest such program in Israel. Participants i...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cogitatio
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5669 |
| _version_ | 1797975473198727168 |
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| author | Azi Lev-On Hama Abu-Kishk Nili Steinfeld |
| author_facet | Azi Lev-On Hama Abu-Kishk Nili Steinfeld |
| author_sort | Azi Lev-On |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many government-sponsored policies and programs have been implemented in recent years to reduce digital inequality, but research on the effectiveness of such programs is severely lacking. We examine the short-term effects of participation in Lehava, the largest such program in Israel. Participants in our study completed a survey before and after taking introductory computer and internet classes. The findings demonstrate that motivations for participating in the program (measured before taking the course), as well as knowledge gains (i.e., differences between levels of familiarity with concepts before and after taking the course), were predicted almost exclusively by participants’ perceptions of technology and the internet, and not by socio-demographic or other variables. We conclude by discussing the significance of perceptions over and above socio-demographic considerations for bridging digital inequality gaps. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:36:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab0310b23b3a45309072dc90bd4b239c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:36:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab0310b23b3a45309072dc90bd4b239c2022-12-28T16:46:06ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392022-12-0110434735610.17645/mac.v10i4.56692750Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic FactorsAzi Lev-On0Hama Abu-Kishk1Nili Steinfeld2School of Communication, Ariel University, IsraelSchool of Communication, Sapir Academic College, IsraelSchool of Communication, Ariel University, IsraelMany government-sponsored policies and programs have been implemented in recent years to reduce digital inequality, but research on the effectiveness of such programs is severely lacking. We examine the short-term effects of participation in Lehava, the largest such program in Israel. Participants in our study completed a survey before and after taking introductory computer and internet classes. The findings demonstrate that motivations for participating in the program (measured before taking the course), as well as knowledge gains (i.e., differences between levels of familiarity with concepts before and after taking the course), were predicted almost exclusively by participants’ perceptions of technology and the internet, and not by socio-demographic or other variables. We conclude by discussing the significance of perceptions over and above socio-demographic considerations for bridging digital inequality gaps.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5669digital dividedigital inequalitydigital literacyisraellehavamedia literacyperceptions about technologyperceptions about the internet |
| spellingShingle | Azi Lev-On Hama Abu-Kishk Nili Steinfeld Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors Media and Communication digital divide digital inequality digital literacy israel lehava media literacy perceptions about technology perceptions about the internet |
| title | Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors |
| title_full | Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors |
| title_fullStr | Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors |
| title_short | Joining and Gaining Knowledge From Digital Literacy Courses: How Perceptions of Internet and Technology Outweigh Socio-Demographic Factors |
| title_sort | joining and gaining knowledge from digital literacy courses how perceptions of internet and technology outweigh socio demographic factors |
| topic | digital divide digital inequality digital literacy israel lehava media literacy perceptions about technology perceptions about the internet |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/5669 |
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