Digital Access

Digital access is the ability for individuals to access digital resources such as the internet and computers. 

---

Ali, C. (2021). Farm fresh broadband: The politics of rural connectivity. MIT Press.

In this book, Ali provided an extensive history and survey of broadband in the United States, primarily in rural areas. Specifically focused on the failure of broadband policy to solve the digital divide between urban and rural communities, Ali identified the weaknesses of existing policies and proposed new democratic policies, similar to electric and phone policies. Sandra Braman provided the forward for the book.

---

Chandra, S., Chang, A., Day, L., Fazlullah, A., Liu, J., McBride, L., Mudalige, T., & Weiss, D., (2020). Closing the K–12 digital divide in the age of distance learning. Common Sense Media. Boston Consulting Group.

Common Sense prepared a four series report on the digital divide for America’s K-12 public school students and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. They found that there is a greater homework gap than expected, particularly in the majority of the southern states and disproportionately affecting Black, Latinx, and Native American students. The three major causes of the divide are: affordability, availability and adoption. Other findings include approximately 400k teachers lack proper internet connectivity and 10 percent of public school teachers don't have computing devices at home. While many government and private sector initiatives were introduced during the pandemic, many of these projects will end after 3 years and are not permanent solutions. The report concludes that to close the gap for students by addressing affordability and adoption, it will cost billions of dollars. Teachers will also need more support, devices, paid service fees, repairs and connectivity to close the gap.

---

Dolan, J. (2017). Withering opportunity: Technology implementation in K-12 Schools, the opportunity gap and the evolving digital divide. Journal of Current Issues in Media & Telecommunications, 9(1), 15–37.

The author of this literature review investigated how schools and teachers contributed to the growing digital divide, which resembled previous opportunity gaps in American schools. Specifically, Dolan described multiple barriers teachers experience that impact their ability to implement technology effectively in their classes. The barriers she described are described as a: pedagogical barrier, technological knowledge barrier, power barrier, and cultural barrier. The next section of the article considered how the technology opportunity gap impacts students outside of the classroom. Dolan ended the article with suggestions for how teachers can address the opportunity gap. One specific suggestion is to use a culturally responsive approach to technology in order to reduce the barriers discussed previously in the article. 

---

Eubanks, V. (2018). Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. St. Martin's Press.

Eubanks second work (first work Digital Dead End is also recommended) examined the systematic implications of data mining, policy algorithms, and risk models for poor and working class people. Her analysis included several cases which demonstrated the experiences of people whose daily lives are impacted by challenges related to using online systems. These stories exemplified misuse of digital access, digital literacy, and digital privacy for vulnerable populations. Eubanks concluded that system developers need to consider ethical approaches to computing which will not further oppress users. 

---

Fisher, K. W., Williamson, H. J., Guerra, N., & Kupferman, S. (2021). Digital citizenship: Technology access and use for youth with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Inclusion, 9(4), 263-275.

The authors used the National Longitudinal Transition Study with a digital citizenship framework to analyze how youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) were able to access technology. Looking across the nine elements (and accounting for demographic characteristics like parent education, poverty, race and grade), researchers found that youth with IDD had less digital citizenship and digital citizenship participation than those without IDD. The authors considered different reasons for this, including how students with IDD are placed in different classes which limit their exposure to digital citizenship opportunities. 

---

Hall, J., Roman, C., Jovel-Arias, C., & Young, C. (2020). Pre-service teachers examine digital equity amidst schools' COVID-19 responses. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 435-442.

This article described a module pre-service teachers completed on digital equity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many pre-service teachers were unaware of the extent of issues surrounding digital equity. A thematic analysis of discussion board posts in the module were analyzed and the researchers determined that the pre-service teachers learned about: 1) awareness of societal contexts for technology integration 2) critical perspectives on how technology is integrated and 3) reflection on why technology should be integrated (p. 438).

---

Kelley, B., & Sisneros, L. (2020). Broadband access and the digital divides. Policy Brief. Education Commission of the States. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED610063

This policy brief reviewed the current state of broadband access in the United States. A digital divide exists between those who have access to broadband internet and those who do not. Three primary reasons for the divide are identified. They are: 

1. 1. Absence of availability
   2. Lack of affordability
   3. Unequal access to devices (pp. 4-8).

The brief also highlighted which students in both K-12 and higher education are most likely not to have access to broadband. Students in rural areas, from a low socioeconomic background, and minorities are more likely to be without broadband access. 

---

Lai, J., & Widmar, N. O. (2021). Revisiting the digital divide in the COVID‐19 era. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(1), 458-464.

The authors of this article described how the digital divide is increasing due to COVID-19 and the ensuing need for social distancing. The increased digital divide is particularly prominent in rural areas that often lack access to high speed internet, or any internet service providers. Due to the digital divide, school districts have had to provide additional technology such as hotspots for students to complete work. As the digital divide becomes more apparent and more severe, public policy will need to change to address the necessary infrastructure needs so that all people can engage in the work needed to complete their jobs and schooling.

---

Lawrence, E., & Fry, R. J. (2016). Content blocking and the patron as situated knower: What would it take for an internet filter to work?. The Library Quarterly, 86(4), 403-418.

The authors of this article argued that internet filters are not capable of working well, because they are limited in what they know. Internet filters take a generalized view of content and filter based on criteria without considering the individual searching for information. Using the concept of a “situated knower from feminist epistemology” the authors argued that in order for internet filters to be effecitve they must be able to know the individual and make decisions based on their situation. 

---

Noguerón-Liu, S. (2017). Expanding notions of digital access: Parents’ negotiation of school-based technology initiatives in new immigrant communities. Equity and Excellence in Education, 50(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2017.1395301

The author conducted a practitioner inquiry study that took place over two years in order to understand how immigrant families manage school-issued technology. Specifically, the author examined digital access, use, and beliefs about technology in these families. Eight families were part of the study. Study results indicated that families with similar backgrounds hold different beliefs about technology access. Some families do not readily adopt new technology even if it is provided by the school district. To encourage families to use technology they need to be partners in school technology initiatives. 

---

Ong, P. (2020). Covid-19 and the digital divide in virtual learning. UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. https://knowledge.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Digital-Divide-Phase2_brief_release_v01.pdf

This report summarized data from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey to determine if there were differences in digital access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that Hispanic and Black families had less digital access than Asian and White families. Further, digital access is greatly divided by income level with those in a lower socio-economic group having reduced digital access. These results mean that individuals in lower socio-economic groups and Hispanic and Black families now have less access to educational opportunities, which will likely increase achievement gaps. The report concluded by calling for ways to close the digital divide.

---

Peterson, C., Oltmann, S. M., & Knox, E. J. (2017). The inconsistent work of web filters: Mapping information access in Alabama public schools and libraries. International Journal of Communication, 11, 4583.

The authors of this article examined the various internet configurations of schools and libraries in Alabama to understand how they blocked content. Specific internet filtering configurations at different libraries were compared to identify errors and inconsistencies across institutions due to the design choices and category schemas used by each institution. This study is consistent with others which found that schools and libraries may overblock content.

---

Prescott, S. (2021). Bridging digital equity and culturally responsive education in preK-12: Leveraging pandemic pedagogy to rethink the status quo. New America. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED612434

This article reported on a roundtable discussion between educators who were brought together by New America to discuss digital equity and culturally responsive education. Leaders at New America felt that the COVID-19 pandemic could serve as a catalyst for necessary change in these areas. The roundtable discussion centered around three questions: 

1. 1. What types of content and materials do students and teachers need most right now?
   2. How do practitioners define digital equity and cultural responsiveness, and to what degree do they factor into the challenges or opportunities or accessing these materials?
   3. What are the biggest barriers to accessing and teaching these materials and what solutions are educators using to meet these challenges? (p. 8)

The article concludes with the identification of key ideas and themes from the discussion. These were:

1. 1. Expand definitions of curriculum “quality” to include representation, relevance, and inclusion.
   2. Reconceive what digital equity means and what it looks like in practice.
   3. Provide teachers the support and learning they need to deliver digital equity and culturally responsive learning experiences. (pp. 8- 11)

---

Ravi, V. (2020). Digital equity. In A. Ottenbreit-Leftwich & R. Kimmons (Eds.), The K-12 educational technology handbook (p.  3.2).  https://edtechbooks.org/k12handbook/digital_equity

This chapter within a handbook provided background on the digital divide. The author discussed digital equity for children who are learning online. Ravi describes the digital divide and then specifically writes about the digital divide in relation to student achievement. The next section of the chapter focused on strategies to achieve digital equity. Ravi suggests Universal Design for Learning and the PICRAT technology integration model. 

---

Santillana, M., Sraubhaar, J., Schrubbe, A.., Choi, J., & Strover, S. (2020). Digital inequalities: Homework gap and techno-capital in Austin, Texas. First Monday, 25(7). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v25i7.10860 

The homework gap is a term that refers to school children lacking internet access to complete their homework. This study examined how much the people of Austin were impacted by the homework gap. Their findings show that people were more concerned about lack of access to computers than they were internet access, as computers make it easier to complete homework. Parents in this study were also worried about their student’s skills to complete homework. Finally, 50% of the respondents in this study accessed the internet and computers at the public library, which indicates a need for libraries.