An income-related divide in technology access and education
threatens to exclude lower income populations from opportunities
to raise their standard of living. The U.S. Department
of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics
have released several reports that point to discrepancies
in computer and Internet access, teacher preparation,
and technology use between low- and high-income schools.
These indicators suggest some technological divide related
to income level.
Access to Tools
Although the gap seems to be decreasing, students in high-poverty
schools are still less likely to have access to modern,
multi-media computers and computers connected to the Internet.
Schools with 71% or more disadvantaged students have a 1:17
Internet-connected computer per student ratio compared to
a 1:10 ratio in schools with 11% or lower disadvantaged
students. Classrooms in wealthier schools are also more
likely to have Internet connections compared to poorest
schools (82% vs. 60% of classrooms).
Sources: National Center
for Education Statistics, Internet Access in U.S. Public
Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2000 and Education Week, Technology
Counts '99.
Making Use of Technology
Despite improving access to technology, students in
high-poverty schools are more likely to use these
technologies for drill and practice activities (35%
vs. 26%) than research activities to promote higher
order learning (18% vs. 39%). (Benton Foundation 1997)
An even greater gulf exists in teacher preparation to use
these tools. Teachers have the power to turn computers
into enhanced learning devices, given the skills,
training, and support to succeed.
| Teacher Activities Lag Behind |
 |
| Teachers
who... |
Low-poverty |
High-poverty |
| felt
very well prepared to implement state or
district curriculum and performance standards. |
60% |
35% |
| use
computers and the Internet to create instructional
materials. |
52% |
32% |
| use
the Internet to communicate with colleagues. |
59% |
38% |
| assign
student work involving computer applications |
70% |
53% |
| assign
research using CD-ROMs. |
54% |
37% |
| assign
research using the Internet. |
61% |
35% |
|
Sources: U.S. Department
of Education, Promising Results, Continuing Challenges:
The Final Report Of The National Assessment Of Title I (1999);
The National Center for Education Statistics, Teacher Quality:
A Report on the Preparation and Qualifications of Public
School Teachers, January 1999; and the National Center for
Education Statistics, Teacher Use of Computers and the Internet
in Public Schools, April 2000; The National Center for Educational
Statistics, Teacher's Tools for the 21st Century, September
2000.
Home Access
The good news is that Internet use is increasing for people
regardless of income, education, age, race, ethnicity, or
gender. However, individuals who live in high-income households
are more likely to use a computer and have Internet access
than those who live in low-income households. Between December
1998, and September 2001, Internet use by individuals in
the lowest-income households (those earning less than $15,000
per year) increased at a 25 percent annual growth rate.
Internet use among individuals in the highest-income households
(those earning $75,000 per year or more) increased from
a higher base but at a much slower 11 percent annual growth
rate.
The highest growth rate among different types of households
is for single mothers with children (29 percent).
Source: U.S. Department
of Commerce's National Telecommunications Infrastructure
Administration, A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding
Their Use Of The Internet, February, 2002, based on findings
from the September 2001 U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population
Survey.
