Meet Lara. she is 14 years old. When my phone alarm goes off, I wake up to my favorite song by Olivia Rodrigo. After dozing off a few times, she gets out of bed and she checks TikTok and Instagram to see what’s trending before getting ready for school. At the breakfast table, she looks at the day’s calendar. Huh! She barely submitted the essay that was due in her English class. It was great that Bada had them critique the essays she designed on ChatGPT.It’s much more interesting than just writing about Homer. Odyssey. Coach Gonzalez sent a message to the dance team to bring new uniforms to practice this afternoon. After her class, she checks online fan art message boards. She has been sharing her own art for the past few years and has gotten paid work to draw her favorite characters. Lara doesn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have a cell phone. Everything is within her reach. How can a person live without it?
Meet Maria. She is also 14 years old. She starts her day by checking on her two younger brothers. She cooks breakfast for her grandparents, who have lived with her since her childhood, while helping them. Help her feed her livestock before walking to her school. She said the trek takes about 30 minutes. She tried her best to finish her homework last night, but it’s even harder to work during the fall semester because the sun sets early and it’s just at dusk when she gets home from school. At Maria’s house, intermittent electricityEvenings are a challenge for her as she tries to do something with limited sunlight. Since the pandemic, her school has been more interested in technology and computers, which is fine for her to spend time at schoolBut what does it mean for her when school is out? She can’t stay at school all day. She needs to be around to help her family at her home. Some days it’s hard to use her phone to check on assignments because she doesn’t have a computer at home, the electricity is spotty, and she shares her smartphone with her family. She is very interested in manga art and was gifted an Artist Pad by her favorite teacher who supports her passion. Maria is looking for ways to further improve her artistic skills, but she doesn’t know what’s out there.
Lara and Maria are freshmen in high school. Both of them have a vision of becoming artists. Both are looking for ways to develop their skills. Both are teenage girls. Digital access creates two completely different lives and opportunities for each learner. When we read their stories, many of us assume that they live in a world apart. In fact, these two stories of hers come from conversations and interviews with educators, caregivers, and students from the Southwest to the East Coast of the United States, and there are statistics to back up these personal stories. It contains.
How do we change the story?
The digital divide is not just an anecdote, it is a widespread issue that affects countless learners. Bridging this gap is a complex task and requires a comprehensive strategy. In 2021, the Biden administration Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) And that Digital Equity Act (DEA) This is to address the widening digital divide exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.He allocated more than $48 billion for the internet connectivity and infrastructure needs of all 50 states and territories, and state leaders Local and regional task forces develop five-year plans to address the gap, with the hope of reaching 5 million disconnected households. At the Pew Broadband Summit in June 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, questions about the reality of the digital divide came to the fore, as local leaders in Cleveland spoke about his vision for connectivity on the ground that began in 2000. We talked about our efforts. Alan Davidson, assistant secretary for communications and intelligence at the Department of Commerce and director of NTIA, said the goal of securing broadband for all Americans is likely to take six to 10 years and is being developed by state governments. He admitted that the schedule is nearly five years longer than the project plan. . So what does this mean for learners like Maria? How can she and others like her not have to wait 10 years to join the digital world? What should I do now?
The way you engage learners digitally must be fair. Digital equity considers access beyond mainstream solutions, meeting learners and their communities where they are, and providing support and solutions that complement current realities. For example, for a teenager like Maria, in order to complete his homework at home he needs two things. One is having access to a device at home, and the other is having access to a device that has all the learning resources and apps you need to do the activity at home. Consistent and reliable internet connection. Solving the first requirement requires the opportunity to access free or affordable devices.organizations like digital naturehas a nationwide network of computer refurbishers, endless laptopis an affordable laptop program by the Endless OS Foundation that allows families to receive their first home laptop without the financial burden. For the second requirement, the right device is important. Device apps and content are key to building advanced digital skills. Unfortunately, these resources are usually not free and are usually online. The open source community recognized this dissonance and created openly available apps like LibreOffice, Blender, and GIMP to democratize access. Endless OS Foundation leverages this support to operating system Along with supporting all of these openly available tools, A curated library of K-12 learning resourcesIn collaboration with open source-aligned nonprofits like Kiwix and learning equalitycan be used with or without internet.
It takes a village. Ensuring digital access requires an ecosystem approach. It takes federal, state, and local funding and policy to design the needle that moves us, and the driving force behind it is the colloquial “third sector.” Philanthropy in partnership with nonprofit organizations is essential to ensuring digital access.Organizations prefer to take a holistic approach to digital equity and think of philanthropy as an investment in their communities connect humanity has worked to not only move the needle, but to redesign tools that are more powerful and sustainable than the needle.of Information Equity Initiative (IEI) is focusing on a proven method of digital access via broadcast television signals, thereby building partnerships with entities that may not have previously been considered as players in the ecosystem. . With many organizations working together to form collective partnerships, it is essential that all stakeholders actively participate in discussions to achieve universal digital access.
