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Bridging The Digital Divide. Sara Kerbs Jason Sanger Jessica Vigil. What Is It?. The gap between individuals, households and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels with regard to both their opportunity to accessing information and communication technology.
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Bridging The Digital Divide Sara Kerbs Jason Sanger Jessica Vigil
What Is It? • The gap between individuals, households and geographic areas at different socioeconomic levels with regard to both their opportunity to accessing information and communication technology
“[The digital divide is] a symptom of a larger and more complex problem – that of persistent poverty and inequity.” ~Lisa Servon
What Do We Use Technology For? • Discussion
What Do We Use Technology For? • Job Searches • Research • Socializing • Schooling • Entry Level Job Skills • Timesheets • Typing • Organizational Tools • Resume Building • Job Applications • Banking • Entertainment • Shopping • Collaboration • News
Socio-Economic Status • Access to technology in schools is divided based on funding • There are both temporal and emotional costs to lower SES children in regards to access to technology • Additional time spent getting to technological resources • Not as adept at performing efficient, deep Internet searches projects
Federal Title I Program • Title 1 Students • Students who come from low-income families and attend funded schools • 2007 survey show severe discrepancy of technical skills between students from Title 1 schools and those who are not • Non-Title 1 schools have significantly higher access to computers at home and access to Internet
Technical Skills Of Teachers • Digital Natives • Digital Immigrants • Teachers must have knowledge of technology in order to impart these skills to their students
“[The digital divide is] the troubling gap between those who use computers and the Internet and those who do not.” ~Bharat Mehra
Arnie Duncan, Secretary of Education • What does he have to say?
Federal E-Rate Program • Provides up to $2.25 billion annually in discounts on telecommunications, Internet access, and internal networking to American schools and libraries. • These discounts range from 20% to 90% to applicants in rural and urban areas. • Larger discounts go to those applicants deemed economically disadvantaged based on the federal student lunch program.
Federal E-Rate Program Study • E-Rate could only bring efficacy to the education sector by providing less than seamless Internet connection to schools. • Problems were noted in the application process. • Distribution of awarded funds was unequal within school districts.
Federal E-Rate Program Study • Consider the potential benefits of access to education and social services beyond simple network connection and pricing. • The education sector must work together with the telecom sector and other funding agencies at federal, state and local levels to ensure that the investment in schools is utilized effectively. • Web site: http://www.usac.org/sl/.
Community Technology Centers • Offer access and, in some cases specialized training, to people of all ages who lack home computers and Internet. • Offer a wide range of technology-related and other services in urban and rural communities nationwide; many of the these cannot be found in public libraries and schools. • Example locations: housing projects, community centers, storefronts; some are located within larger organizations and others are stand-alone centers.
Community Technology Centers • Offer a range of services from access and basic skills training, to highly specialized technical training and an outlet for honing these skills. • Younger people are attracted to these centers for their state-of-the-art hardware and software. • They offer a supportive environment where younger people enjoy the camaraderie they share with other young people and adults while at the CTC. • CTCs can also play an important role in the community, offering other neighborhood services, such as social services, and community advocacy and organizing.
Community Technology Centers • In addition to improving technology skills, CTCs improve social capital for youth by building more resilient families and help disadvantaged youth find successful paths out of disadvantage. • Another benefit is that CTCs offer an outlet for youth to express their creativity and self-expression through digital means.
Spokane Area Example • “Tincan” www.tincan.org.
Bridging The Digital Divide Program (BDDP). A program created to: • Increase both teacher and student access to tools of information technology. • Provide professional development for in-service teachers. • The intent was that through these interventions, the technological gap would be narrowed.
Bridging the Digital Divide Program (BDDP). • BDDP took place at five inner-city Chicago Catholic schools over a 2-year period during the academic years 2001 to 2003. • Each school received the following types of equipment: Computers; network servers and cables, along with the associated software (Microsoft Office, etc.)
Bridging The Digital Divide Program (BDDP). • Technology instructors were hired and responsible for conducting classes on information technology products and methodology of implementation.
Bridging The Digital Divide Program (BDDP). • Changing the hearts and minds of teachers is one of the obstacles that creates a barrier in bridging the digital divide.
Bridging The Digital Divide Program. • Teachers who engaged in the professional development opportunities made a difference in technology implementation. • Students, as well as teachers, increased their use of electronic educational tools such as spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, digital cameras, and word processing software.
BDDP Information • Website: http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/city/en/depts/doit/provdrs/dei.html. • This is the City of Chicago’s “Digital Excellence Initiative” program web site.
State of Washington • http://access.wa.gov/education/community_programs.aspx.
