Equity and Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Education

The Author: Neil Anderson is the Pearl Logan Chair in Rural Education at the Cairns campus of James Cook University in Australia. His research has focused on equity issues arising from the effective use of information communication technologies. His research and publications span the areas of gender and ICT, rural education, pedagogy, e-learning, ICT use in developing countries, and ICT use for people with disabilities. Professor Anderson is a foundation member of CAMOT (China Association for the Management of Technology) and is the Director of SiMERR QLD, the state centre for the National Centre of Mathematics, Science and ICT research for regional and rural Australia.

«This book is a must for all educators. Developments in communication technology are having a profound effect on education. What has become increasingly important is to ensure that the advances facilitate efforts to meet disadvantaged groups – to close the widening information gaps. Professor Anderson does a masterly job in weaving innovations in the educational uses of ICT with research and evaluation (including the important work he and his team have done) to address equity issues. As the book rightly points out, empowering disadvantaged groups is not just about developing technical expertise but also developing the skills needed to select and apply appropriate software. Strengths of the book include the chapters on equitable access for girls and women, people with intellectual and physical disabilities, and closing the digital divide using low cost hardware and open source software. The book represents a thoughtful, state-of-the-art analysis and synthesis, and should serve as a handbook for practitioners and education policymakers.» (Emeritus Professor Colin Power, Chair of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education; Editor-in-Chief of Educational Research for Policy and Practice)