Opportunities and Challenges in Implementing Digital Equity Initiatives in Remote Areas in Taiwan
Project Background This year has marked a new milestone in my academic career by becoming a Fulbright Senior Scholar and embarked on a new research on promoting digital equity in Taiwan. I had the privilege to work with researchers in three host universities at National Sun Yat-sen University and Cheng Hsiu University of Science and Technology in Kaohsiung and Fu Jen University in Taipei. The topic of my project is “Promoting Digital Equity through the E-Tutor Program.” The E-Tutor Program is a nation-wide program implemented by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan, aiming to bridge the educational divide among students in the urban and rural schools. This program was implemented in 1996. The model is to recruit university student tutors to work with students in remote areas by means of video-conferencing through one-to-one learning. On average there are 1,000 e-tutors from 20 universities and 1,000 e-tutees from 95 K-12 schools and educational agents participating in the E-Tutor Program annually. I am interested in learning various models to bridge the educational divide around the globe. The E-Tutor Program has a great reputation and that’s why I was interested in learning more about what this program has achieved
