With the rapid progress of ICT and fast popularization of the Internet, it is widely recognized that ICT has the potential for facilitating the social equity and the balanced development, though in the meanwhile there has also been more and more debate on whether ICT could lead to new inequity and inequality. Traditionally, the"digital divide", measured in terms of personal computers ownership and Internet penetration rates, refers to the different opportunities people possess to physically have access to ICT. Normally, traditional"digital divide"focuses on the aspect of physical access, while"new digital divide"pays more attention to the new type of gaps influencing access. One is the skill gap caused by differences in digital skills for using computer or Internet; the other is the usage gap caused by differences in the bandwidth, the time-consuming, and the usage mode when using network or digital technologies. Though China has made great progress in promoting educational equity with ICT, existing policies and practices focused more on the aspect of physical access. From the perspective of the "new digital divide", it is hardly to close the digital gap and promote equality in education depending merely on the routine way of narrowing physical gap. Therefore, it is necessary for policymakers, researchers, schools and even enterprises to put more emphasis on the skill gap and the usage gap.%随着信息化进程的加快和互联网的迅速普及，信息技术在促进社会公平和均衡发展方面的潜力已经得到普遍认可甚至推崇，但与此同时，关于信息技术是否可能导致新的不公与不均也出现了越来越多的争论。传统意义上的“数字鸿沟”指的是人们在信息技术使用机会上存在的差异，通常以个人电脑和互联网普及率作为重要测算指标，聚焦“物理接入”层面。“新数字鸿沟”更多关注因计算机或上网技能差异而导致的“技能鸿沟”，以及因网络使用带宽、时长及使用方式差异而导致的“使用鸿沟”。虽然我国在运用信息技术促进教育公平方面取得了很大成效，但已有政策和实践从整体上看还是更多着眼于“物理接入”层面。从“新数字鸿沟”的视角看，按照解决传统“数字鸿沟”问题的惯用路径，仅仅关注“物理接入”已不足以缩小数字差距和促进教育公平，对“技能鸿沟”和“使用鸿沟”的关注应该成为决策者、研究者、学校甚至企业未来制定政策和开展实践的新着力点。
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