אוריינות דיגיטלית בחברה הערבית והשפעות ההשתתפות בתוכנית להב"ה לטווח הקצר והארוך

In recent years the massive penetration of information and communication technologies, especially the Internet, into many spheres of our lives has shed light on a new phenomenon with deep roots: the digital divide. Many claim that digital inequality is linked to prior inequalities existing outside the digital space and which are exacerbated within it. The current study serves to fill the research lacuna in the field of evaluation of programs to reduce digital inequality through a study of the LEHAVA program (designed to reduce the digital gap in Israeli society) within Arab society, which suffers from considerable digital inequality. The study examines the impact of participation, in the short- and long-term, in one leg of the program in Arab communities. The research demonstrates that courses on learning about the computer and the Internet are perceived to have considerable impact on participants in terms of familiarity with concepts, ability to perform tasks, and sense of self-efficacy in their use. These influences are evident in the context of both the concrete tasks taught in the course and the general sense of self-efficacy and empowerment when functioning in online computer environments. The perceived short- and long-term benefits of the program are improvements in acquisition of new knowledge, establishment of prior knowledge, and social-familial empowerment.At the theoretical level, the study adds information to the sphere of evaluation of programs to reduce digital inequality and proposes recommendations in light of data arising from the study