Digital Citizenship Project: Impact of Emergency Online Teaching on the Digital Divide ＆ Digital Equity in P-12 Educational Settings

Open Chromebook laptop computer. Component Detail.

Group Members:. Bridget Barlow Thomas Edwards Amanda Howard James McGriff.

Guiding Questions: Was remote teaching during the pandemic a valid solution? Moreover, was it a fair solution to the shutdown of schools and institutions?.

Impact of Emergency Online Teaching on the Digital Divide: Exploring how remote learning affected teachers and students of all grade levels..

Challenge #1: Rerouting a lesson plan to fit a remote setting.

Challenge #2: Broadband Connection. 2020 School Shutdown created a massive influx of online users at once. A major issue with forced online education was students struggling with overall “availability of wifi, speedy internet, and adequate connectivity” (Reynolds et al., 2022). The FCC determined that while “97% of Americans in urban areas have access to a high-speed, fixed service, that number falls to 65% for rural areas and on tribal lands to 60%” (Roese, J. 2021) 5G is still, 2 years later, not universally available so it definitely was not available during the pandemic. This made internet usage slow and inconsistent among students and their teachers..

Economic Vulnerability/ Internet Access. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/covid-digital-divide-learning-education/.

Possible Opportunities for Digital Growth After COVID-19.

Opportunity #1 Expanded Internet and Technology Access.

Opportunity #2 Increased Digital Literacy for Educators and Students.

Digital Equity in P-12 Educational Settings.

Like this video about closing the digital divide and subscribe here: https://freeth.ink/youtube-subscribe-digitaldivide Up next- The Homemade Internet Service: https://youtu.be/p52PY_cwIsA It’s estimated that in the U.S. today, there are approximately 42 million people without a reliable internet connection. Geographic challenges play a role, but economic factors are just as crucial. America’s digital divide has never been more apparent than it has in the face of COVID-19, as more individuals work remotely and children attend classes from home. Until the digital divide is closed, the unconnected will remain particularly vulnerable in times of crisis. Should internet access be a basic human right? See the full article on the digital divide here: https://www.freethink.com/videos/the-digital-divide Follow Freethink. -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freethinkmedia -Twitter: https://twitter.com/freethinkmedia -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freethink -Website: http://www.freethink.com Join the Freethink forum: http://www.facebook.com/groups/freethinkforum.

Challenge #1- Access Issues. Geographic location matters a great deal when looking at digital equity. “Access to the digital infrastructure and technologies remains a challenging first- level issue for all countries. For instance, in the country that spends the most for student education, 11.6 million students do not have the Internet access they need for digital learning” ( https://crires.ulaval.ca/full-text/resta2018_referenceworkentry_issuesandchallengesrelatedtodi.pdf ) Despite the rapid spread of internet throughout the United States, many students living in rural areas go without internet due to broadband being unavailable. Another challenge within education is the speed of internet. When audio or video content must be accessed, the strength and speed of the broadband internet affects student usage..

Challenge #2- Affordability Issues. According to the National Education Association: Nationwide: School-aged children in households that are below the federal poverty threshold are much less likely (53%) than those above (79%) to have access to both broadband and a computer. Alabama: 62% of children in under-resourced households lack full digital access, 47% of native americans or students of color do not have access to broadband or devices, and 23% of teachers do not have access to broadband or devices at home. https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/NEA%20Report%20-%20Digital%20Equity%20for%20Students%20and%20Educators_0.pdf.

Nationwide Opportunity for Digital Equity. There has been an urgent need for legislation to close the digital gap and Digital Equity Act has done just that on a national level . The Digital Equity Act was included within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This act passed on November 6 th , 2021. The Digital Equity Act will: 1. Provide digital skills training and education to low-income populations 2. Improve online accessibility of social services for individuals with disabilities 3. Empower rural communities to measure and address their own broadband needs https://www.digitalequityact.org.

Digital Equity Act. 3 Grant Programs within the Digital Equity Act: State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program: A $60 million grant program for states and territories to develop digital equity plans. State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program: A $1.44 billion grant program for states and territories. It will fund an annual grant program for five years in support of digital equity projects and the implementation of digital equity plans. Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program: A $1.25 billion grant program. It will fund annual grant programs for five years to implement digital equity projects. https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/digital-equity-programs.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how essential the internet is to everyday American life. In the 21st century, an affordable high-speed broadband connection is a prerequisite for a wide range of economic, educational, and business opportunities. Unfortunately, too many of our citizens cannot access a reliable internet connection or do not know how to use the technology – leaving them further and further behind in an increasingly-digital world. Our bipartisan bill will make critical investments in digital equity and digital inclusion, so we can ensure that Americans of all ages and backgrounds can not only access a broadband connection, but make the most of the opportunities it provides.”.

Statewide Opportunity for Digital Equity. On May 17, 2021, Governor Kay Ivey signed the Connect Alabama Act. The Act created three entities: The Alabama Digital Expansion Authority to advise, review, and approve the statewide connectivity plan The Alabama Digital Expansion Division of ADECA to develop and begin executing a statewide connectivity plan The Alabama Digital Expansion Finance Corporation to administer the Connect Alabama Fund https://adeca.alabama.gov/broadband/.

Alabama Broadband Map and the Alabama Connectivity Plan- January 5th, 2022.

“Broadband is vital infrastructure for Alabama, and this new map gives us the clearest and most accurate picture to date of broadband availability throughout the state,” Gov. Kay Ivey said. “Expanding access to high-speed internet will help bring more jobs, improve educational opportunities and bolster our economy. I commend ADECA, the internet service providers and all others involved in this mammoth effort to create this valuable new tool that will enhance our efforts to provide broadband services to every corner of Alabama.”.

Strategies to stay on the path towards digital equity: Continue to focus on access for every student and household. The national nonprofit EducationSuperHighway and its Digital Bridge K-12 project offers resources to school districts to help make sure internet access is available to all households! ( https://www.educationsuperhighway.org ) We need to continue to expand access to high quality virtual learning opportunities for students. Offer more and varied professional learning opportunities that target technical and pedagogical skills. It is essential that teachers have adequate technical support and more time to create, plan, and experiment with technology. https://www.iste.org/explore/education-leadership/3-ways-stay-path-digital-equity.

Examples of Schools or other entities that are trying to (help) resolve the issues.

References. Alabama Digital Expansion Division . ADECA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://adeca.alabama.gov/broadband/ Bote-Vericad, J., Lowry, J., & Sutherland, T. (2021). Challenges for the educational system during lockdowns: A possible new framework for teaching and learning for the near future. Education for Information , 37 (1), 149-153). Digital Equity Programs . BroadbandUSA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/digital-equity-programs I bacache, K., Koob, A. R., & Vance, E. (2021). Emergency remote library instruction and tech tools: A matter of equity during a pandemic. Information Technology & Libraries , 40 (2), 1-30. Leech, N., Gullett, S., Howland Cummings, M. and Haug, C., 2022. The Challenges of Remote K–12 Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Differences by Grade Level. Online Learning, 26(1), pp.3-17. Murray, S. P., Portman, S. R., King, S. A., & Siefer, A. (n.d.). Digital Equity Act. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.digitalequityact.org/.

References continued. Sellers, R. (2022, March 8). ADECA releases state's official Alabama Broadband Map, connectivity plan . ADECA. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://adeca.alabama.gov/2022/01/05/adeca-releases-states-official-alabama-broadband-map-connectivity-plan/ Resta, P., Laferrière, T., McLaughlin, R., & Kouraogo, A. (2018). Issues and Challenges Related to Digital Equity: An Overview. Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education . Springer International Handbooks of Education : 987-1004. Reynolds, R., Aromi, J., McGowan, C., & Paris, B. (2022). Digital Divide, critical-, and crisis informatics perspectives on K-12 emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24654 Roese, J., G. C. T. O. (n.d.). Covid-19 exposed the digital divide. here's how we can close it. World Economic Forum. Retrieved June 11, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/covid-digital-divide-learning-education/.