Overuse and poor use of technology: a new aspect of the Digital Divide

As school districts across the country upgrade networks and integrate more technology, the divide in digital devices is decreasing, although is some districts serious inequities still about.  (www.digitaldivide.com)    With that said, educators are beginning to take note of a new trend:  a digital use divide.  Previously, the digital use divide seemed to revolve around access time, with wealthier students having more access at home while students of poverty had less access due to a variety of economic factors.   Now, though, the quality of digital use is coming into question.  Interestingly, recent studies have shown that lower income children often spend more time with technology as it has become a type of "digital baby sitter" for parents who have to be out of the house for extended periods of time.   A recent survey from Common Sense Media discovered that " that low-income parents sat their young children, from birth to age eight, in front of a television or a computer screen for 3 hours and 29 minutes a day, on average. That's almost double the 1 hour and 50 minutes of daily screen time that the typical high-income child has."  U.S. News Article on Digital Divide.  

This observation screen time and media usage has profound implications for educators.  Technology use is not going away in the modern world and students need to be well versed in order to be prepared for life after school.  The solution is not taking away technology.  Rather, educators need to develop and/or renew a focus on digital citizenship.   Often seen as an "add on" consideration in many districts, it really does need to be addressed intentionally.  Most of our students have not had a formal in depth instruction on digital citizenship.   Although many students get some instruction at home, many of our high poverty and immigrant families do not have the background to do this.  In fact, research has shown that it is often students who are teaching their parents about technology.  This landscape necessitates a formal and deliberate approach to teaching digital citizenship.

www.digitalequityforlearning.org This means not only teaching specific digital citizenship skills across the curriculum, but it also means communicating (and teaching) parents as well.  Most report cards and online grading platforms do not communicate any information on digital citizenship skills and the appropriate use (and overuse) of technology.  While organizations like Common Sense Media are playing an important role in educating families, schools and school districts must also participate in a systemic manner as well.

Redefining Connectivity in small town America and the masking of the digital divide

At a recent trip to a small town on the Oregon Coast, I was sitting in a restaurant and overheard a nearby conversation about connectivity.  4 locals (that was my impression anyway) were talking about their cell phone reception in certain parts of town.  Most agreed that the most expensive carrier in town (Verizon) offered the best coverage.  The discussion then moved on to the geographical challenges of every other carrier and where they received the best reception.

This discussion, remember, is simply about cell phone reception.  It is a fairly common discussion that occurs in small town America on a frequent basis.  In general, though, discussions of cell phone reception and of wireless broadband have been two distinct discussions.   People can certainly use their phones as very slow hotspots, but this type of connection has never been classified as broadband connectivity.  Indeed, some students use phone connectivity to do some research, but this type of work is often limited by speed and data costs.

In a few weeks, though, the FCC will be voting to reclassify some types of cell phone connectivity as broadband.  Although this might not seem that significant, it can/will have a potentially severe long term impact that will mask the digital divide for years to come. Deb Socia, the executive director of Next Century Cities, a coalition of municipalities aimed at expanding local broadband access, observes that "it seems antithetical to all the other efforts we’re doing. “I spent a good part of my life as a teacher and a principal. If I had a classroom full of children that included a lot of failing students, I wouldn’t change my standards [to increase the number of passing grades,] I’d change the intervention.”  (The FCC's Next Stunt: Reclassifying Cell Phone Data Service as 'Broadband Internet')

Redefining connectivity in order to show that people have connectivity when they really don't is poor public policy.   The vast majority of Americans might not notice this change or care all that much as it doesn't affect them directly.  If a household already has access to high speed broadband, then a reclassification of cell phone plans as broadband might not matter.  However, if you listen closely to conversations about connectivity in smaller towns, you might be surprised at how difficult being connected (through broadband and/or cellphone) can be.