Bridging the digital divide: Promoting equal access to online learning for health professions in an unequal world.
Online learning has the potential to enhance open and equitable access to medical education resources globally. Conversely, there are also concerns that it can perpetuate and exacerbate digital inequalities between developed (global North) and developing (global South) countries. In this article, we...
| Publicado en: | Medical Education Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 56 - 65 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | review tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Jan2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=181803786&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 181803786 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 03080110 ESF jtl: Medical Education issn: 03080110 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jan2025 vid: 59 iid: 1 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 181803786 177770911 181803786 181803786 10.1111/medu.15455 181803786 ppf: 56 ppct: 9 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Bridging the digital divide: Promoting equal access to online learning for health professions in an unequal world. aug: au: Han, Siew Ping Kumwenda, Ben affil: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University,, Singapore sug: subj: Education, Medical Digital Divide Evaluation Online Education Access to Information Learning Methods Internet Utilization Digital Technology Utilization Geographic Locations Socioeconomic Factors Collaboration Information Technology Utilization Information Literacy ab: Online learning has the potential to enhance open and equitable access to medical education resources globally. Conversely, there are also concerns that it can perpetuate and exacerbate digital inequalities between developed (global North) and developing (global South) countries. In this article, we describe the historical lack of representation of the global South in the design of online medical education, as well as the resulting consequences and potential solutions. We compare the Northern and Southern views of online learning in medical education and identify the different types of barriers to its adoption. We describe how socioeconomic disparities and the historical dominance of the global North over the global South have led to systemic digital inequalities in the design and implementation of online learning in education generally, and in medical education particularly. The lack of representation of global South voices hinders the development of digital learning solutions relevant to local contexts, therefore limiting their effectiveness and sustainability. Thus, we propose approaches to build more equitable partnerships by soliciting local input and local expertise. Further, we discuss the need to maintain local relevance while setting global standards. Overall, we hope to inform and guide the development of more equitable and accessible online education training for a diverse global population. Han and Kumwenda offer a discussion of how and why online learning differs between the global North and South and how we can work towards equitable access. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: review tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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