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Lack of access to technology is a massive issue that schools face, and we are years away from the gap year being eliminated (Wolohan, 2016). The students who need it the most are the ones that have the lack means for it (Wolohman, 2016). The interactive map is a great way to analyze where the biggest needs are in the United States.
Click here to view the link to the interactive map.
“The novel coronavirus pandemic has changed the nature of the homework gap, exacerbated existing inequalities in education, and heightened the urgent need for Congress and the states to provide emergency funding to ensure all students have equal access to distance learning” (Chandra et al, 2020).
It can be very uncomfortable for students who do not have access to technology like their peers. As educators, we must identify this need early so students are not challenged or awkward. Typically, individuals who do not have access to technology are a part of the minority. They have a completely different set of priorities than those with access to technology. The quote, “Parents with less education and lower income tend to help their children less, but to depend on their children more” (Wolohan, 2016). Students in these situations focus on ensuring food and a safe home environment. They cannot solely focus on academics because they are needed to perform different roles.
Image from (Ali et al., 2021)
Not only do educators have to take on a different role to advocate for all students to have access to technology, but some teachers are also advocating for themselves. “300,00 to 400,000 K-12 teachers live in households without adequate internet connectivity, roughly 10 percent of all public school teachers, and 100,000 teachers lack adequate home computing devices” (Chandra et al., 2020).
In order for effective learning to take place, both adequaate devices and internet connections are needed. If one or both of these necessities are missing, effective learning cannot take place. Federal, state, and local policy must ensure that all students have access to connectivity and devices and that broadband networks capable of serving student needs are available everywhere (Ali et al., 2021).
“Approximately 15 million to 16 million K-12 public school students, or 30% of all public K-12 students, live in households either without an internet connection or device adequate for distance learning at home, a higher number than previously recorded; and of those students, approximately nine million students live in households with neither an adequate connection nor an adequate device for distance learning” (Chandra et al, 2020).
As educators, it is our job to be proactive. We can provide extra opportunities for technology by providing technology workshops, lists of places with public wifi, and opening schools early and staying open later so students have access to school devices and wifi (Wolohan, 2016). Aside from what educators can provide, they can also advocate for more resources for their school and community by applying for grants, providing more professional development, and even purchasing digital hotspots for families in need (Wolohan, 2016). Take the challenge. Be the change. Advocate for students.
Image from (Chandra et al., 2020).
“Digital inequality can contribute to educational inequality, which in turn perpetuates economic inequality.” Hence, this is not just a problem of students, teachers, or parents – it’s everyone’s problem (Wolohan, 2016)
Ali, T., Chandra, S., Cherukumilli, S., Fazlullah, A., Galicia, E., Hill, H., McAlpine, N., McBride, L., Vaduganathan, N., Weiss, D., Wu, M. (2021). Looking back,
looking forward: What it will take to permanently close the K–12 digital divide. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.
Chandra, S., Chang, A., Day, L., Fazlullah, A., Liu, J., McBride, L., Mudalige, T., Weiss, D., (2020). Closing the K–12 Digital Divide in the Age of Distance Learning. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media. Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Consulting Group https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/featured-content/files/common_sense_media_report_final_7_1_3pm_web.pdf
Chandra, S., Fazlullah, A., Hill, H., Lynch, J., McBride, L., Weiss, D., Wu, M. (2020). Connect all students: How states and school districts can close the digital divide. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.
Teaching Through the Digital Divide. (n.d.). Common Sense Media. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/digital-divide-stories#/state
Wolohan, S. (2016, April 13). How Teachers Can Provide Equal Learning in a World of Unequal Access. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-04-13-how-teachers-can-provide-equal-learning-in-a-world-of-unequal-access