When the pandemic hit the United States in the spring of 2020, it became clearer that access to technology was not equitable.
As schools shut down and learning turned remote, this equitable access to educational technology went from being something we were aspiring toward to a downright emergency.
Throughout the pandemic, the educational equity gaps became illuminated. Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Roberto Rodríguez said it correctly when he said, “We’ve all understood that digital equity is no longer a “nice-to-have” condition, but a “must-have” to ensure that all may fully participate in the digital economy and society of today and tomorrow.”
As Rodríguez pointed out, digital equity is critical not just when the world is going through a pandemic but to ensure all students can become successful and contributing members today and in their future working worlds.
What exactly is digital equity, what is the state of digital equity in schools, and what are some strategies for closing the digital equity gap?
What is Digital Equity?
In a simplified definition, digital equity encompasses making sure all students have equal access to technology when it comes to devices, software, and the internet.
Additionally, students must have trained educators to help them navigate those tools. When any of these components are lacking, individuals will not be able to have full participation in our society, democracy, and economy.
It may not seem that dire, but then consider that all students today are digital natives. Digital equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access to essential services.
The State of Digital Equity in Schools
By many standards, the state of digital equity in schools is in crisis. For example, when it comes to the quality and type of students’ home broadband access, we have a problem.
Broadband access has been shown to impact a student’s participation in classes directly, their performance outcomes, and their overall digital literacy. One source even highlights that insufficient access to high-quality and reliable internet makes students less likely to plan for postsecondary education.
This, in turn, impacts their lifetime potential for their career earnings. When 32 percent of U.S households are considered “subscription vulnerable” (meaning these families are unable to afford and maintain internet services), we have a huge disparity in students’ digital literacy access and success. What are some strategies for closing the digital equity gap?
Strategies for Closing the Digital Equity Gap
Now that we know what digital equity is and how greatly it is affecting schools, what are some strategies we can start thinking about and working towards overcoming? Finding ways to provide affordable technology and internet access to all students would help eliminate some large inequalities.
Internet Service Providers
The Office of Broadband Development at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (as well as many other states) have created an interactive map where you can enter an address and find out which companies have service available for your location.
Links are easily accessible, so you can check to see what the companies offer and if they provide any discounted services. This is also a good resource for teachers to provide to families, or as a starting point for districts to help find the appropriate internet service providers.
Digital Literacy Training
While many teachers are familiar with what it means to be digitally literate, many parents and even students have never heard of that expression.
Another strategy to help close the digital equity gap is to provide digital literacy training to students, parents, and teachers.
This could mean having a digital literacy night where parents come and learn what it means to raise a digitally literate child and what cool opportunities technology has to redefine learning.
Discussions could include common digital literacy standards such as information literacy and how to identify credible sources; ethical use of digital resources and how to properly cite information; understanding digital footprints and the permanent mark they leave; protecting yourself online and handling digital communication; and the big one, cyberbullying. Parents, sometimes just as much as students, can benefit from familiarizing themselves with these core digital literacy standards.
Students often begin learning about these digital standards with grade level appropriate language as early as kindergarten.
As students progress through the grades, language and conversations around digital topics deepen as students connect and learn with devices in ever evolving ways.
Teachers, parents, and the students themselves need to keep these digital equity topics on the forefront of their teaching, planning, and learning.
Meaningful Uses of Technology
Lastly, another strategy for closing the digital equity gap is by providing students with meaningful uses of technology in the classroom.
Educational technology has always been meant to provide a redefinition of learning, and far too often it is used for substitution.
When teachers plan for integrating technology into their lessons, it may be helpful to keep the SAMR model on the forefront of their planning:
- Substitution
- Augmentation
- Modification
- Redefinition
Does the technology they are planning for replace something that otherwise could be done to the same degree of achievement without a device?
Or does it help create a more personalized, differentiated, and meaningful learning experience?
Does technology help to take the lesson further than it would be capable of going without the use of tech?
These are all questions that help shape students and their classrooms into 21st century learning.
Ever since the spring of 2020, it has been clearer than ever that access to technology is not equitable. If we want to ensure that all students can become successful and contributing members in their future working worlds, we need to continue thinking about what digital equity is, the state of digital equity in schools, and the strategies we can use to help close the digital equity gap.
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