One of the greatest injustices of our time is the many parents who lack basic
literacy and numeracy skills, who may feel they are not able to give their children
the start in life they deserve. Theses basic skills are key to people becoming
independent and selfâ€confident individuals who can make a worthwhile
contribution to society. In my home village of Efail Isaf and my current place of
residence Treforest only 16.8 and 17 per cent of people respectively have no
qualifications, but in Rhondda Cynon Taff as a whole as many as 4 in 10 of people
do not have any qualifications.
As computers become as ubiquitous as the television then new opportunities will
open up for more people to learn new skills and gain qualifications through elearning.
Where adults fear going to a college to do a GCSE in English or
Mathematics because they do not want to be in a classroom full of schoolâ€leavers
who may know the basics, the Internet can and should provide them with the
chance to learn at their own pace and through the method that suits them at the
time that suits them.
Through eâ€learning, these adults can develop confidence in themselves by helping
them to realise that they have the ability to learn and by changing the negative
beliefs that they hold. Through changing such beliefs parents will experience less
doubt in themselves when their children ask them to help them with their
homework and they will be more likely to go into situations where literacy and
numeracy are required.
For eâ€learning to become a means of achieving social justice the digital divide
needs to be narrowed and eâ€learning materials need to become more interactive
and relevant.