Meet Lara. She is fourteen years old. The alarm on her phone wakes her up to the tune of her favorite song by Olivia Rodrigo. After hitting snooze a few times, she jumps out of bed and checks TikTok and Insta to discover what's trending before getting ready for school. At the breakfast table, she looks at her day's calendar. Phew! She barely handed in the essay she was supposed to hand in English class. It was great that Ms. Bada had them critique her essays designed by ChatGPT. It's much more interesting than her just writing about Homer's life. The odyssey. Coach Gonzalez just sent a message to the dance team to bring their new uniforms to practice this afternoon. After class, he checks his online fanart message board. He has been sharing his art for the past few years and got a paid job drawing some of his favorite characters. Lara doesn't know what she would do if she didn't have her phone; everything is at her fingertips. How do people live without it?
Meet Maria. She is also fourteen years old. She starts the day by checking on her two younger brothers. She prepares breakfast for them and helps her grandparents, with whom she has lived since she was little. She helps feed some of the livestock before walking to school. It takes approximately half an hour to complete the tour. He did his best last night to complete her homework, but it's harder to work during the fall semester when the sun sets so early and she gets home from school right at dusk. Maria's house has intermittent electricityand the nights are a challenge for her as she tries to do things with little sunlight. Since the pandemic, her school has focused more on technology and computers, which is fine for her at school., but what does that mean to her when there are no classes? She can't be at school all day; he needs to be close to her to help her family at home. With no computer at home, inconsistent electricity, and a smartphone she shares with her family, some days it's a struggle to use the phone to check on assignments. She really likes manga art and was given an artist position by one of her favorite teachers, who has been fostering her passion. Maria has been looking for a way to further develop her artistic skills, but she has no idea what is available.
Both Lara and María are in their first year of high school. They both have visions of being artists. They both look for ways to hone their skills. They are both teenagers. Digital access creates two very different lives and opportunities for each student. For many of us, when we read their stories, we assume that they live in separate worlds. The reality is that these two stories come from conversations and interviews with educators, caregivers, and students in the United States from the Southwest to the East Coast with statistics supporting these personal narratives.
How do we change the narrative?
The digital divide is not merely anecdotal but a widespread problem that affects countless students. Closing this gap is a complex task that requires comprehensive strategies. In 2021, the Biden Administration established the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the Digital Equity Act (DEA) to address the growing digital divide exposed by the Covid pandemic. With more than $48 billion dedicated to Internet connectivity and infrastructure needs in all 50 states and territories, state leaders were tasked with building Local and regional working groups will develop a five-year plan to address the gaps in hopes of reaching 5 million unconnected households.. At the Pew Broadband Summit in Cleveland, Ohio, in June 2022, as questions arose about the reality of the digital divide, local Cleveland leaders spoke about on-the-ground connectivity efforts that had begun as far back as 2000. Undersecretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Director of the NTIA, Alan Davidson, admitted that the goal of guaranteeing broadband for all Americans was more likely to be achieved within six to 10 years, a timeline of almost five more years. than the project plan that the state governments were designing. . So what does all this mean for students like Maria? How can we ensure that Maria and others like her don't have to wait ten years to participate in the digital world?
The way we engage students digitally has to be equitable. Digital equity thinks about access beyond conventional solutions and reaches students and their communities wherever they are, providing them with support and solutions that complement their current realities. For example, for teens like Maria, being able to complete homework at home would require two things: access to a device at home and access to a device that contains all the learning resources and apps they would need to complete the activity without needing Internet connectivity. consistent and reliable. Opportunities to access free or affordable devices are needed to solve the first requirement. Organizations like digitalitywith a network of computer restorers throughout the country, and the Endless laptop, an affordable laptop program from the Endless OS Foundation, ensures families can get their first laptop home without a financial burden. In the second requirement, the appropriate device is essential. Apps and device content are key to developing advanced digital skills. Unfortunately, these resources are usually not free and are usually online. The open source community noticed this dissonance and created openly available applications like LibreOffice, Blender, and GIMP in an effort to democratize access. The Endless OS Foundation took advantage of this response by developing a OS which supports all of these openly available tools along with a curated library of K-12 learning resourcesin collaboration with open source-aligned nonprofits like Kiwix and Learning equalitywhich can be used with or without Internet.
It takes a village: Ensuring digital access requires an ecosystem approach. Policies and funding from federal, state and local governments are needed to help shape the needle we move, but the colloquial “third sector” provides the forward momentum. Philanthropy, in collaboration with nonprofit organizations, is essential to ensuring digital access. Thinking about philanthropic giving as a community investment by employing a holistic approach to digital equity is what organizations like. Connect humanity We have been doing not only to move the needle but also to redesign a tool that is stronger and more sustainable than the needle. He Information Equity Initiative (IEI) is looking at digital access through a tried and true method, the television broadcast signal, thus creating partnerships with entities that we may not have previously considered as ecosystem players. As numerous organizations collaborate to form collective alliances, it is imperative that all stakeholders are actively included in discussions to actualize universal digital access.