Implications of the Digital Divide for Education

1
Implications of the Digital Divide for Education

• R. Scotty Auble and Roberta Niche
• 8/19/01
• ED 251

2
Introduction to the Digital Divide

• There is a disparity in access to computers and
  the Internet related to economic and/or racial
  status.
• This digital divide has been extensively reported
  by news media, educational institutions, and
  government agencies for the last 5-6 years.
• The digital divide has major impacts on fair and
  equal access to education and economic
  opportunity.

3
The Nature of the Problem

• Government and Private Statistics show that the
  digital divide affects lower-income and non-white
  persons ability to fully participate in the
  Information Age.
• Attempts to close the gap have been partially
  successful. Much of the burden has fallen on
  educational institutions with severe resource
  constraints.

4
The Digital Divide by the Numbers

• The report Falling Through the Net Defining the
  Digital Divide from the National
  Telecommunication and Information Administration
  (US Commerce Dept.) shows the following about
  home computer and Internet use
• Those with a college degree are more than eight
  times as likely to have a computer at home, and
  nearly sixteen times as likely to have home
  Internet access, as those with an elementary
  school education.
• A high-income household in an urban area is more
  than twenty times as likely as a rural,
  low-income household to have Internet access.

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The Digital Divide by the Numbers(cont.)

• A child in a low-income White family is three
  times as likely to have Internet access as a
  child in a comparable Black family, and four
  times as likely to have access as children in a
  comparable Hispanic household.
• A wealthy household of Asian/Pacific Islander
  descent is nearly thirteen times as likely to own
  a computer as a poor Black household, and nearly
  thirty-four times as likely to have Internet
  access.
• A child in a dual-parent White household is
  nearly twice as likely to have Internet access as
  a child in a White single-parent household, while
  a child in a dual-parent Black family is almost
  four times as likely to have access as a child in
  a single-parent Black household.

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The Digital Divide by the Numbers(cont.)

• In 2000
• White (46.1) and Asian American Pacific
  Islander (56.8) households continued to have
  Internet access at levels more than double those
  of Black (23.5) and Hispanic (23.6) households.
  
• 86.3 of households earning 75,000 and above per
  year had Internet access compared to 12.7 of
  households earning less than 15,000 per year.
• Nearly 65 of college graduates have home
  Internet access only 11.7 of households headed
  by persons with less than a high school education
  have Internet access.

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The Digital Divide by the Numbers(cont.)

• Between 12/98 and 8/2000 the gap in Internet
  access between Black households and the national
  average grew from 15 percent to 18 percent for
  Hispanic households the gap grew from 14 percent
  to 18 percent.
• About a third of the U.S. population uses the
  Internet at home only 18.9 percent of Blacks and
  16.1 percent of Hispanics do so.
• Of those who use the Internet outside the home,
  62.7 do so at work, 18.9 at K-12 schools, 8.3
  in other school settings, 9.6 at libraries, .5
  at Community Centers, and 13.8 use someone
  elses computer.

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Education Responds to the Digital Divide

• Government and business have increasingly relied
  on education to solve the problem of equal
  access.
• From the previous slide, 37 of those not having
  a home computer access the Internet at a school
  or library.
• Since 1994, wired schools have increased from
  35 to 98.
• In 2000, 77 of instructional rooms were
  connected to the Internet, up from 64 in 1999

9
The Digital Divide within Education

• There are still differences in Internet access in
  instructional rooms and student/computer ratios
  by school characteristics.
• In schools with the highest concentration of
  students in poverty, 60 of instructional rooms
  were connected to the Internet as opposed to
  77-82 of instructional rooms in wealthier
  schools.
• In schools with the highest minority enrollment,
  64 of instructional rooms had Internet access.
  In schools with lower minority enrollment 79-85
  of instructional rooms had access.
• In wealthier schools the student to computer
  ratio is 61, while in high poverty schools it is
  91.

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Digital Divide in Education the Trends

• The percentage of instructional rooms with
  Internet access increased between 1999 and 2000
  in these schools from 38 to 60 percent in
  schools with the highest concentration of
  poverty, and from 43 to 64 percent in schools
  with the highest minority enrollment.
• In schools with the highest concentration of
  poverty, the ratio of students to computers with
  Internet access improved from 17 to 1 in 1999 to
  9 to 1 in 2000.

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Issues for Education in Closing the Digital Divide

• While funding for hardware is available,
  infrastructure maintenance is under-funded.
• The average business spends between 3,500 and
  5,500 per worker in technology and technological
  support each year, compared to per student
  spending on technology that rarely exceeds a
  couple hundred dollars in the best of
  circumstances.
• Case in point, Alpine County USD. Enrollment 125
  students, technology budget 75,000. Tech
  funding per student 600.

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Issues for Education in Closing the Digital
Divide, (cont.)

• After hours access is a requirement, but many
  schools have trouble supporting it.
• 54 of public schools allow Internet access after
  hours
• 80 of secondary schools and 46 of
  elementary/middle schools support some form of
  after hours access.
• The numbers are about the same regardless of the
  school characteristics

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Issues for Education in Closing the Digital
Divide, (cont.)

• Access is limited by staff development and
  language or cultural barriers with the
  instructional staff, computers and/or content.
• Wealthier, or non-minority students usually have
  outside access and coaching or instruction, so
  they dont need to rely on school staff as
  heavily.
• The majority of the educational content is for
  English readers and is heavily Euro-centric.

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Solutions

• What the government is doing
• What the private sector is doing
• What private/government partnerships are doing

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• Many government agencies are working separately
  and jointly to bridge the divide. Their efforts
  include
• Donations Making used and surplus equipment
  available for schools. See Computers for
  Learning.
• Funding Community Access Centers The National
  Science Foundation, Department of Housing and
  Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of
  Education, for example. See Community Technology
  Centers.

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• Problems
• Duplicate programs
• Too much paperwork
• Donated equipment does no good without tech
  support, staff development, school/community
  culture shift

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The equity question is far more complex than
just a matter of hardware and funding, though.
Children in urban schools and children in
suburban schools have a very different sense of
self-efficacy when it comes to technology, says
Louis M. Gomez, an associate professor of
education and computer science at Northwestern
University. What I've come to understand of this
problem is that it's about a culture in schools.
There are urban schools that have access and
still don't use the technology. It is because
there is no culture of use. From The Benton
Foundations, The Learning Connection
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• Because of this, much focus is being placed on
  two key components that influence
  school/community culture
• Money for staff development
• The development of community technology access
  centers
• Mentoring initiatives to expose disadvantaged,
  minority, and female students to technology
  careers

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From The President No Child Left Behind
President George W. Bushs Education blueprint,
No Child Left Behind, addresses the digital
divide. It focuses on streamlining programs run
by various agencies into one source of
funding. It proposes to,
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• Send More Dollars to Schools for Technology
• Consolidate technology grant programs
• E-rate funds will be allocated by formula to
  states and school districts to ensure that more
  technology funds reach the classroom.
• Funds will be targeted to high-need schools,
  including rural schools and schools serving high
  percentages of low-income students.

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• Reduce Paperwork and Increase Flexibility
• Burdensome paperwork requirements will be
  eliminated by sending E-rate funds to schools by
  a formula instead of the current application
  process.
• Flexibility will be increased by allowing funds
  to be used for purposes that include software
  purchases and development, wiring and technology
  infrastructure, and teacher training in the use
  of technology.

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• Offer Matching Grants for Community Technology
  Centers
• Provide Matching federal grants through the
  Community Development Block Grant Program
  administered by the Department of Housing and
  Urban Development
• Establish Community Technology Centers in high
  poverty areas.

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Key government agencies and their plans/programs
for bridging the digital divide
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• U.S. Department of Education
• Community Technology Centers
• Promote the development of model programs that
  demonstrate the educational effectiveness of
  technology in urban and rural areas and
  economically distressed communities.
• CTCs provide computer and internet access as well
  as educational services using information
  technology.
• Most people who visit CTCs do not own computers
  and many do not have access at school or work
• September 1999, awarded 40 three-year grants,
  funded the creation of more than 100 new
  community technology centers. Year 2000 projects
  created 288 new CTCs (Including Selma, Alabama
  and Oakland, California) and expanded services at
  an additional 166 existing centers
• Similar programs funded by HUD and National
  Science Foundation (See the Community Technology
  Project )

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• Title I
• Provides funds to schools with disadvantaged
  students
• 1993-94 school year, schools where 80 percent or
  more of their students were eligible for Title I
  had one computer for every 26 students, while
  schools where just 20 percent of students were
  eligible for Title I had one computer for every
  13 students
• 1995-96 school year, poorest schools reported one
  computer for every 13 students, and the
  wealthiest one for every 10 students
• Source Quality Education Data

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• Federal Communications Commission
• http//www.fcc.gov/learnnet/
• E-RATE, the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
• First comprehensive revision of the USA's
  communications laws in more than 60 years.
• The universal service section of this law,
  Section 254, helps schools and libraries obtain
  access to state of the art services and
  technologies at discounted rates.
• Committed 3.65 billion to over 50,000 schools
  and libraries
• 70 of the Year Two funding went to schools from
  the lowest income areas, and portions of those
  funds reached 70 of the schools under the Bureau
  of Indian Affairs.

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• The Department of Commerce
• http//www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/part3.html
  
• Provides leadership to encourage Industry to come
  forward with significant assistance
• Companies are supporting the creation of
  community technology centers, helping connect
  schools through "Net Days," and donating
  computers and software to schools and
  neighborhood centers.
• Is the sponsor of the NTIA
• National Telecommunications and Information
  Administrations Telecommunications and
  Information Infrastructure Assistance Program
  (TIIAP) has funded pioneering Community Access
  Centers.

28
Computers for Learning http//www.computers.fed.go
v/School/user.asp
Transfers excess Federal computer equipment to
schools, giving special consideration to those
with the greatest need. The CFL website connects
the registered needs of schools with available
Government computer equipment. Federal agencies
use the website to transfer computers based upon
indications of need.
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Private Sector/Joint Efforts and Initiatives
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• PBS National Outreach Plan
• "Talking to Kids about Technology"
• http//www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/learning.html
• Encourages adults to share with young people the
  role technology plays in their professional and
  personal lives.
• Partnerships with the National Urban League,
  Community Technology Centers Network (CTCnet) and
  Boys Girls Clubs of America provide adults with
  a local community-based site where they can talk
  to young people, urging them to become
  technologically literate.
• Provides materials for teachers and community
  leaders to use in influencing young people

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National Foundation for the Improvement of
Education (NFIE) http//www.nfie.org

• Provides grants and technical assistance to
  teachers and educators to improve student
  learning in public schools.
• Key program of NFIE is The Road Ahead, a 3
  million project to support the use of technology
  in the classroom, funded by the profits of
  Microsoft CEO Bill Gates' book, The Road Ahead.

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• IBM's Reinventing Education initiative
• http//www.ibm.com/reinventing/education.html
• Promotes broad-based systemic change in public
  schools.
• IBM gave 35 million for research, technical
  assistance, consultation, hardware, and software
  to create customized solutions.
• CCT is evaluating how each solution will overcome
  a systemic barrier to high academic achievement,
  identified by each site.

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• The Digital Divide Network
• of the Benton Foundation
• http//www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sectio
  ns/index.cfm
• The Benton Foundation serves as producer and
  coordinator of the Digital Divide Network.
• Coordinates strong industry partnerships
• Provides leadership to nonprofits and government
  organizations wishing to bridge the digital
  divide.
• Serves as a catalyst for developing new,
  innovative digital divide strategies and for
  making current initiatives more strategic, more
  partner-based and more outcome-oriented, with
  less duplication of effort and more learning from
  each others' activities.

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• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
• http//www.glf.org/about/default.htm
• 350 million commitment to support education
  improvements including technology
• Support model schools and districts provide
  professional development opportunities for
  educators and help to eliminate financial
  barriers to higher education by providing
  scholarships
• Commitment to bring computers with Internet
  access to every public library serving a
  low-income community in the United States and
  Canada. The Library Program was their first
  large-scale, private philanthropic effort.
• -Studies show students and low-income patrons use
  library computers most frequently and for the
  longest periods of time. Also, library computers
  are the only source of access for more than half
  of those who are unemployed but looking for work.
  

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• Plugged-In
• http//www.pluggedin.org
• Is a community technology center with a mission
  to ensure that everyone in East Palo Alto
  California has the opportunity to fully benefit
  from all that the information revolution has to
  offer.
• Operate three programs Plugged In Enterprises,
  Plugged In Greenhouse, and the Technology Access
  Center.
• Enterprises trains teenagers in the latest web
  design technology. The teenagers operate a web
  design business that creates web pages for
  community members and paying commercial
  clients,including Pacific Bell, OICW, and Sun
  Microsystems.
• Greenhouse is a creative arts and technology
  studio for East Palo Alto children. It includes
  an after-school program, classroom partnerships,
  and special projects based on educational themes.
• Technology Access Center is the community
  production studio, copy center, cyber-library,
  self-paced learning studio, and telecom center.
  It provides community members with access to
  computers, the internet and information that
  helps them "get things done."

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More More private and government groups working
to bridge the digital divide can be found at the
U.S. Department of Educations Office of
Educational Technology home page.
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• Bridging the digital divide requires
• Money
• -For infrastructure (wiring, electrical power
  improvements, etc.)
• -For staff development
• -For technical support
• -For curriculum development
• -For equipment
• Leadership
• -To reduce paperwork
• -To coordinate the efforts of the many interested
  parties
• -To effect cultural change in disadvantaged
  communities

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Bibliography

• The Digital Divide, from PBS
• http//www.pbs.org/digitaldivide/index.html
• The eRate, a success story
• http//www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/2000/spwek002.
  html
• Falling Through the Net The Digital Divide
• http//www.digitaldivide.gov
• No Child Left Behind
• http//www.ed.gov/inits/nclb/partx.html
• The Digital Divide Network
• http//www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sectio
  ns/index.cfm