EDUC 5333 Week # 2 Dividing Factors and Challenges
Data Collection
Recent data from the State of Connecticut indicates that there are still families within our state who do not have access to reliable internet service for a variety of reasons. As stated in my post last week, there are families who simply cannot afford an internet subscription. As I began researching this topic, I learned news of remedying the digital divide is making headlines in my state. In December 2023, The Office of the Governor Ned Lamont released a draft of the Digital State Equity Plan in the state of Connecticut. In the plan, Lamont indicates that the state "has taken significant steps to close the digital divide." The plan outlines multiple goals for the state, however, the one most pertinent to my call of action is "ensuring residents have options for getting online that are affordable and meet their needs." The goal of the Everyone Connected plan is to provide internet access for all. Throughout my research for this class, I expect to uncover disparities across the state where I reside and not just within the community where I work. It is my hope that the research I conduct will help guide me toward a solution for the families that I work with.
Dividing Factors Within My Community
As much of the research indicates, socioeconomic status plays a significant role in a family's ability to provide internet access at home. There are several ways it has been brought to my attention that some of our families do not have internet access. The first way I found this out was by visiting some of my families at their homes throughout the LEAP program. Ironically, both of the families whose homes I visited that did not have internet service also did not speak English. One of the concerns we were addressing during our home visit was the fact that the student was not completing assignments. These assignments were expected to be completed on the computer. The child had been struggling trying to get any work done on his phone. Once we were able to identify this issue, we were able to provide the family with a hotspot. Unfortunately, we do not have any systems in place to identify families with this need.
Another issue that came up recently was when a student in one of my classes was asking about signing up for sports. Our school recently moved to a completely digitized system. Again this was also a Spanish speaking family. I asked the translator to reach out to the family to explain the process of registering for sports online. This was very frustrating to realize that this student may be deprived of an opportunity to play a sport due to not only a language barrier, but also a technology one. Brown (2020) reports that according to a Pew research study, teachers in low-income areas reported that only 18% said their students had adequate access at home. The numbers who have access have certainly increased in recent years, but there is no denying that a problem still exists. Additionally, he goes on to address the "homework gap." Teachers may assume that students are able to complete assignments at home since they have a device. Are they aware that the students may not be able to use the device due to lack of reliable internet? "While many consider access to technology at home to be critically important to the quality of a student’s education, it is alarming that one-third of all students in America, mostly from low-income households, lack that access in their home settings" (Brown, 2020).
As a result of the pandemic, my district became 1:1 with devices. However, the types of devices and the access to devices varies from building to building across the district. Students in elementary schools are unable to bring their devices home, while secondary students are required to. The types of devices range from iPads, to Chromebooks, to Apple laptops. This creates a whole new matter in question surrounding the digital literacy required to operate these devices. There is no computer science curriculum or specific classes on how to use these devices. This is a whole other topic that needs to be addressed. However, this is not my focus for research at this point. My call of action is not only to investigate which families may need help with internet access, but also to begin to work on a system for identification in order to be proactive rather than reactive in assisting them. Finally, it is imperative to draw an awareness to this social issue of the digital divide, that my colleagues may not even realize exists.
Brown, Ph. D. W. (2020, August 28). The digital divide. Learning in the Digital Age. https://open.library.okstate.edu/learninginthedigitalage/chapter/the-digital-divide/
The Office of Ned Lamont (2023, December 22). Governor Lamont Releases Draft State Digital Equity Plan [PressRelease]
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