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288 Tony Bateswho study entirely online (that is, distance students), the provision of theseservices online becomes essential. This means that administrative systemsneed to change alongside teaching systems.One of the big mistakes that many institutions made in setting up for-profite-learning operations was to underestimate the importance and the resultinghigh cost of these learner support systems. This is particularly true withrespect to online moderating. It is the ability of students to interact not onlywith a teacher but also with each other over time and distance that gives e-learning its pedagogical advantage. Experience and research have shown quiteclearly that, for quality learning to take place in most subject areas, the ratioof teachers to students in online classes has to be carefully controlled andmanaged (see Salmon, 2000; Paloff and Pratt, 2001; Bates and Poole, 2003,for more on online moderating).THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND OTHER SOCIAL ANDCULTURAL ISSUESThe same pattern of Internet development found in economically advancedcountries seems to be spreading to other less economically developed countries.The first locations are institutional, in universities, large multinationalcompanies, and select areas of government, such as the military and ministries.Services then spread to community centers, schools, and public cybercafés,smaller companies, and local government. At the same time, home access isgradually increasing, initially in the homes of the more wealthy, then spreadingto middle-income and, later, relatively low-income homes. The very poor,though, may never get access at home. In Canada, only 32 percent of homeswith incomes in the lowest quartile used the Internet, compared with 87percent in the highest income quartile (Statistics Canada, 2003). Access to theInternet, then, will spread, and high speed access will increase. The only questionis the rate at which this will happen, and this will depend primarily oneconomic factors in different countries.The post-secondary sector tends to be more privileged with regard toInternet access, with universities often being pioneers within a country forproviding access for students on campus. It is difficult to separate cause andeffect with regard to the digital divide. The digital divide can be seen as yetanother manifestation of inequalities between the rich and the poor. Indeed, acomparison of Canada with the United States suggests that where the wealthgap is wider, so is the digital gap. However, it is a moot point as to whetherthe Internet increases or reduces inequalities in itself. What is clear is thatstrong policies at governmental level can help reduce some of the digitaldivide by ensuring that schools and local community centers enable all