The Digital Divide in 2016

Submitted by David Rosen on Wed, 09/28/2016 - 11:30
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Colleagues,

I would like to call your attention to an unusual and, in my view, especially important Technology Tips for Teachers blog article, The Digital Divide in 2016. The author, World Education's Leah Peterson, asserts that "The digital divide is alive and well in the United States, but it isn’t the same divide it was twenty years ago, or even ten years ago." The article is very short, less than a 5-minute read.  I would be very interested to hear your thoughts about it.

  • Does the 2016 digital divide look this way to you, to your colleagues and students?
  • How would you describe the digital divide gap in your community?
  • Are your students on the right or wrong side of this divide?
  • Are you seeing a "homework gap" for your students? Are they seeing it for their children?
  • Do you agree that you can teach literacy along with computer skills?

If you have more time, also look at the Horrigan report on digital readiness gaps, cited by Leah Peterson.

  • Are your students reluctant to use technology for learning?
  • How important do you think using technology for learning is or will become, not only for lifelong career related learning but also for "lifewide" learning that is related to the other aspects of their lives: family, friends, community, personal growth, and more.

If any of these questions interest you, or if you have other thoughts, please tell us what you think -- about the new digital divide, about what we should be preparing students to do online, and how to help them use technology for learning.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Technology and Learning and Program Management CoPs

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

 

Comments

Thank you so much for posting this article.  I was working on something and it fit right into the topic I was writing about.  My dissertation centers around implementing technology into adult learning and implementing critical thinking.  Thus, this article presents insight into the continued needs of adult learners and confirms some of my concerns for adult learners in certain socio-economic areas. 

By the way, this Community Group always has interesting information related to Adult Learning and all of the posts are helpful to understand various issues and ideologies of multiple professionals.  Keep up the great work.

 

Dr. Nash

 

 

Thanks Dr. Nash. If you have a link to your dissertation, please share it. It sounds like it would be of interest to the LINCS Program Management community, the LINCS Technology and Learning community and, of course, to me!

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Program Management and Technology and Learning CoPs

djrosen123@gmail.com

Thanks Steve for posting the link to this important (short) report. For me a key finding is this:

"But whether smartphones are an adequate substitute is open to question. Those who depend on their smartphones to go online encounter constraints with data caps and small screens, and the device is not their “go to” tool for personal learning at home.

Instead, those with smartphones but not home broadband rely on a kind of “workaround ecosystem” that is a combination of using their mobile devices along with other resources such as computers and Wi-Fi available at public libraries."

The "workaround system" describes the access environment for many adult basic skills learners, and both small screens on smartphones and data caps are serious problems for their using smartphones alone as an Internet-access learning tool. The Public library solution could be a good possibility for many learners -- if they can access computers there for a reasonable amount of time for learning. Some adult basic skills teachers routinely provide their students with a letter addressed to local public librarians asking that the student be allowed to access a library computer to learn using the Internet for at least one-hour sessions.

Has anyone here tried that solution and, if so, how it has worked for your students?

What other solutions to students' "workaround Internet Access" have your students tried and how have these worked for them?

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Technology and Learning, and Program Management CoPs

djrosen123@gmail.com

David and all, 

I have found that students need to create a structured plan about when, where, and how they will access study materials. Students are often cell phone dependent, meaning the cell phone is their only access to the Internet, and as you have described - that access often comes with barriers. Also, attempting to establish routine study habits while using a variety of locations and tools can add a layer of difficulty to learning. Before students develop a work around to the Internet access, the first step is to help the student establish intentional learning goals. Then, the student will identify the resources to be used to reach that goal, and finally - the student can determine when and where they will study. Establishing an access to the Internet plan without connecting it to planned, structured, and intended learning goals may set the student up for failure. 

Thanks Kathy for this great observation. I certainly agree. I wonder if you -- or others -- have any examples of students' Learning plans that include their learning goals or objectives, resources to help them reach these, and their study plan schedule. If so, could you post a link to it?

Thanks.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Technology and Learning, and Program Management CoPs

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

Colleagues,

To continue a LINCS discussion thread on the digital divide begun in 2016, here's a current article from the Philadelphia Inquirer that focuses on Philadelphia but also includes how 24 other cities fare in residents' access to the Internet. The theme is that we still have a digital divide in the U.S. in cities (as well as in rural areas).

Are you experiencing a digital divide in your community? In your classes? Who has access and with what devices? Who does not? What is your community doing to address the digital divide?

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

I just completed this Hyeprdoc called "Undivided Digital Literacy" to use in a workshop.  I created it to fulfill a requirement in the ISTE Certification process.  If you have a chance to take a look at it, you'll find out more about the state of the digital divide in Texas - and possibly give me some feedback to make it easier to use and understand.

 

Thanks,

Glenda  

Hello Colleagues,

A LINCS CoP discussion thread on the digital divide in the U.S. that began in 2016 continues. Although the digital divide in the U.S. has narrowed, it has not been fully bridged; the U.S. still has a considerable number of homes without computers and reliable access to the Internet. On the other hand, there has been significant growth in access to the Internet through portable digital devices, especially smartphones. Many adult basic skills (including ESL/ESOL) teachers and volunteer tutors are finding that a great majority of their students use smart phones and, especially because of the Adult Literacy XPRIZE and its current Communities Competition, that more adult learners now are using (currently free through the Communities competition) adult literacy and English language learning apps.

In a May 28th Generocity Interview, "The digital divide is also about the policies that affect ordinary people’s lives,"  adult basic skills practitioner, researcher and public policy advocate Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, with the National Skills Coalition, has some interesting observations on how the digital divide is changing. I encourage you to read it.

Here are some highlights for me:

"If you have a computer and broadband internet access at home, it’s not surprising that you would have more of an opportunity to build your digital skills. Unfortunately, many Americans, especially those who earn less than $30,000 per year, don’t have such access."

"... these immigrants may have digital experience that is not shared by their American-born peers — or even their fellow immigrants. At the same time, their tech skills may be what is called 'fragmented knowledge'. That’s the idea that people learn how to use technology to do a specific task that they urgently need to do, but they may not have the skills to do other tasks that could help them improve their lives...The trick to overcoming fragmented knowledge is to make sure that people have bridges to go from the familiar to the new. Maybe they haven’t used an online tool to check their kids’ homework, or designed a simple website for their new business, but that doesn’t mean they can’t learn."

"If we want to help people learn — whether they are immigrants or U.S.-born — they typically need three things: access, equipment, and coaching. You can get each of these things in different ways, but in general, we need policymakers to invest in systems that can reach all people. We’ve done this before as a country in efforts like our rural broadband investments, and we can definitely do it again."

"We know that sometimes you need to have a full computer — not just a phone or tablet — in order to apply for public benefits or complete an online job application. "

"We’re already seeing documented examples of companies silently weeding out job applicants just because their computer system detects that the applicant is using an 'old' web browser. Currently, our algorithms are much more sophisticated than our shared understanding of how these digital tools can either shut people out of opportunity or help to overcome our all-too-human biases. Ethicists can help us make sense of these tensions."

How are you as a teacher, tutor, technology coach, program administrator or researcher experiencing changes in the digital divide for adult basic skills students now?

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group