Eliminating the Digital Divide to Increase Access to Technology
Inequities with
technology access in our schools can cause students from different
socioeconomic backgrounds to fail to develop information capital which leads to
a shift in power. This concept has come to be known as a digital divide, and it
is a problem that schools take a close look at. Today, school districts are
seeking effective ways to increase access to digital tools and resources to
disadvantaged populations in an effort to close the achievement gap that the
digital divide has the potential to create.
California Superintendent
of Schools Darryl Adams of the Coachella Unified School District has a unique
strategy to combat digital divide. Coachella is located in the desert just 50
miles north of the Mexican border where nearly 90% of students qualify for free
and reduced lunch and few families have access to the Internet in their homes.
More than half of the children are not fluent in English. About 2,000 students
are the children of migrant farm workers where they labor on date groves,
citrus trees and grapes vines which flourish on irrigated land.
This article reports out on Adam’s efforts to introduce technology resources in the community. The school district invested money to become a one to one school district. Every student now receives a device from their school and teachers have been trained in how to incorporate them as valuable teaching and learning tools. To solve the access at home issue, Adams implemented a unique strategy that has now been duplicated in schools across the country. He outfitted his school buses with wifi capabilities, then he started parking buses at night in neighborhoods so that children and their families could make use of the free wifi from the bus. Although there were logistics to iron out, Adam’s idea was brilliant as it focused on equitable access to technology tools, thus eliminating a barrier to equity that his teachers face each day when working with students in the classroom.
Adam’s approach is inline with research that suggests that the digital divide can be overcome. In a 2016 research study in Israel, Zilka concluded that when a school provides students with technology in the home, it increases the acquisition of skills and study habits and the realization of individual potential. Zilkas wrote, “children spoke about self improvement as a result of exposure to the digital environment, about a sense of empowerment and of improvement in their advantage in the social fabric. Many children expressed a desire to continue their education and expand their knowledge of computer applications, the use of software, of games, and more.”
In my own New Hampshire community, we attempted to attack the digital divide by implementing a one to one technology system in 2016. We purchased and distributed devices to each and every student in our system, and invested resources to help train staff on various blended learning instructional techniques so that the technology tools would become a powerful learning tool for all children. In conjunction with that, the District took advantage of Internet Essentials, a program by Comcast NBCUniversal, to provide affordable Internet options in the home.
This article reports out on Adam’s efforts to introduce technology resources in the community. The school district invested money to become a one to one school district. Every student now receives a device from their school and teachers have been trained in how to incorporate them as valuable teaching and learning tools. To solve the access at home issue, Adams implemented a unique strategy that has now been duplicated in schools across the country. He outfitted his school buses with wifi capabilities, then he started parking buses at night in neighborhoods so that children and their families could make use of the free wifi from the bus. Although there were logistics to iron out, Adam’s idea was brilliant as it focused on equitable access to technology tools, thus eliminating a barrier to equity that his teachers face each day when working with students in the classroom.
Adam’s approach is inline with research that suggests that the digital divide can be overcome. In a 2016 research study in Israel, Zilka concluded that when a school provides students with technology in the home, it increases the acquisition of skills and study habits and the realization of individual potential. Zilkas wrote, “children spoke about self improvement as a result of exposure to the digital environment, about a sense of empowerment and of improvement in their advantage in the social fabric. Many children expressed a desire to continue their education and expand their knowledge of computer applications, the use of software, of games, and more.”
In my own New Hampshire community, we attempted to attack the digital divide by implementing a one to one technology system in 2016. We purchased and distributed devices to each and every student in our system, and invested resources to help train staff on various blended learning instructional techniques so that the technology tools would become a powerful learning tool for all children. In conjunction with that, the District took advantage of Internet Essentials, a program by Comcast NBCUniversal, to provide affordable Internet options in the home.
In this HuffPost article, Senior Vice
President of Community Investment for Comcast NBCUniversal and President of the
Comcast and NBCUniversal Foundations Dalila Wilson-Scott reports on the success
of the Comcast NBCUniversal program, which in its first five years enrolled
750,000 low-income households, benefiting three million Americans. seventy-five
percent of program users are people of color. Nearly 2,200 employees volunteer
their time to act as ambassadors in their community to explain the program to
those who could benefit from it. Wilson Scott states, “Knowledge is power for
families and communities, especially in this digital age. That’s why we are
committed to using the reach of our technology, storytelling and media
platforms to affect people in meaningful ways and change their lives for the
better.” With programs such as this on the rise, the ball is back in the court
of school leaders to find better ways to help students use the technology to
close the digital divide, once and for all.
This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education.
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