Abstract:

The original operational definition of digital divide is the difference in information technology penetration rate among subgroups by social economic background. The recent evolving trend of digital divide is the gradual shift in its primary criteria from the external access to internal engagement. Based on a large sample of 64,949 undergraduates from 39 universities in Shanghai, the current study found that the original digital divide nearly closes, for only the students living in villages or towns purchased more laptops or broadband services than urban students during Covid-19. The new digital divide, however, deserves more attention. Female students more frequently read novels or play games during online courses than males. First-generation college students are more difficult to focus and engage in online learning than second-generation college students. Rural students face more challenges in all above-mentioned six dimensions. After controlling other variables in regression models, the internet access has little impact on the self-evaluation of online learning outcomes, while the usage preference and learning engagement measured as the new digital divide are statistically significant and have relatively larger effect sizes.

Key words: Digital divide, Online learning, Learning engagement, Education equality