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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

22/01/24 10:00 AM IST

Better use of technology needs free access

In News
  • Data from the recently released Annual Status of Education Report supports the point that once technology is in the hands of motivated users without constraints, they will learn to use it.
Access to education
  • Over 90% of boys and girls reported knowing how to use a smartphone, almost half of them, or 44% of the boys, owned their own smartphone.
  • Among girls, only 20% owned one. The difference in ownership of devices, gender-based or otherwise, can limit what these devices can be used for and can affect some abilities but not others.
  • For example, the ability to browse for information is equal among either boys or girls, regardless of whether they own the device or simply have access to one at home.
  • Finding a YouTube video, which also falls under the category of browsing, is equally easy among boys who own or do not own their phones.
  • But the skill of finding a video and sharing it depends on ownership of the device.
  • Other examples of how phone ownership makes a difference are visible in the youths’ self-reported use of smartphones.
  • For example, over 90% of those surveyed reported having used social media in the week prior to the survey, but the proportion of those who were familiar with safety features (such as changing a password or blocking a profile) was largely dependent on ownership.
  • These results suggest that while access to a common smartphone can be described as basic or superficial, owning a smart device is necessary for deeper access to information and services. Smartphone skills, like all other skills, need motivation combined with the opportunity to learn.
  • Entertainment is a great motivator. Products such as WhatsApp and YouTube have clearly motivated and helped youngsters to learn to use the new technology without a gender bias. However, in cases of certain online services and commercial activities, girls seem to show less participation than boys.
  • This may have less to do with barriers of technology and more to do with social obstacles.
  • Where there are no social barriers such as using the devices for school-related work, ownership of devices and gender make only a small difference: nearly 70% of youth, boys and girls, both report having used phones for studies at least once in the reference week.
  • ASER 2023 cannot say if this has made an impact on the learning of school subjects. 
  • Motivation to use and learn new technology came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without being taught, huge populations adopted the new technology and its applications that were useful and user-friendly.
  • But, even before the big push of the pandemic, we saw an example on a fairly large scale of how children pick up skills without being taught.
Way forward
  • There were different phases of this experiment including one where children started filming, editing, sharing and uploading their own videos on given themes or topics.
  • In one phase almost half of the 4,394 group leaders were girls (49%).
  • In other words, girls use the devices equally well as boys when they are given equal and unfettered access to the devices.
  • In contrast, when their access is constrained, their learning also is likely to be affected negatively.
  • The ASER 2023 reports a lower ability of girls to perform tasks such as accessing services, or making payments, or being safe on the Internet. This is strongly related to constraints in using the devices due to absence of ownership.
  • Free bicycles gave a boost to the enrolment of girls in secondary schools.
Source- The Hindu

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