Abstract
Black, Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native, and economically disadvantaged students have been recipients of inequalities in technology access and use for well over 50 years in the United States and the same holds true today. These inequities in access and use exist in Black, Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native, and economically disadvantaged homes, schools, and districts requiring an equitable response to teaching. Furthermore, Covid-19 exposed just how prevalent and concerning these inequalities are as demonstrated in the hindering of delivery of home instruction during stay at home orders. Some Black, Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native, and economically disadvantaged students do not an adequate device to engage in virtual instruction, and if they do have access to a device, Internet access or broadband width is not available. In other cases, classroom use of technology is marginalized focusing on drills and skills instead of engaging in challenging, thought provoking activities. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the history of this inequity, to examine the current inequities that exist in US schools, and to provide sample interventions to help resolve the issue.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ark, T.V. (2018). What k-12 students should know about artificial intelligence. Forbes Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2018/12/12/what-k-12-students-should-know-about-artificial-intelligence/#22f1cfd96b11
Attewell, P. (2001). Comment: The first and second digital divides. Sociology of Education, 74(3), 252–259.
Ball, C., Huang, K. T., Cotten, S. R., & Rikard, R. V. (2018). Gaming the system: The relationship between video games and the digital and STEM divides. Games and Culture, 15(5), 501–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412018812513.
Banister, S., & Reinhart, R. V. (2011). TPCK for impact: Classroom teaching practices that promote social justice and narrow the digital divide in an urban middle school. Computers in the Schools, 28(1), 5–26.
Becker, H. J. (1985). How schools use microcomputers: Results from a national survey. In M. Chen & W. Paisley (Eds.), Children and microcomputers: Research on the newest medium (pp. 87–107). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Bendici, R. (2020). How K-12 leaders are closing the digital divide. District Administrator. Retrieved from https://districtadministration.com/solve-digital-equity-in-education-technology-issues
Bers, M.U. (2018). Coding as a literacy for the 21st century. Education Week. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/education_futures/2018/01/coding_as_a_literacy_for_the_21st_century.html.
Chapman, L., Masters, J., & Pedulla, J. (2010). Do digital divisions still persist in schools? Access to technology and technical skills of teachers in high needs schools in the United States of America. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36(2), 239–249.
Clark, A., & Ernst, J. (2009). Gaming research for technology education. Journal of STEM Education, 10, 1. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/173745.
Cuban, L. (1993). Computers meet classroom: Classroom wins. Teachers College Record, 95(2), 185.
DeGennaro, D. (2010). Opening digital doors. Educational Leadership, 68(3), 73–76.
Dolan, J. E. (2015). Splicing the divide: A review of research on the evolving digital divide among K–12 students. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(1), 16–37.
Emdin, C. (2016). For white folks who teach in the hood... And the rest of y'all too: Reality pedagogy and urban education. Boston: Beacon Press.
Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25–39.
Everyoneon. (n.d.). Our mission and history. Retrieved from https://www.everyoneon.org/history
Goodwin, B. (2011). One-to-one laptop programs are no silver bullet. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 78–79.
Gray, L., Thomas, N., & Lewis, L. (2010). Educational technology in US public schools.[National Center for education statistics NCES 2010-034]. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010040.pdf.
Herold, B. (2017). Poor students face digital divide in how teachers learn to use tech. The Education Digest, 83(3), 16.
Hohlfeld, T. N., Ritzhaupt, A. D., Barron, A. E., & Kemker, K. (2008). Examining the digital divide in K-12 public schools: Four-year trends for supporting ICT literacy in Florida. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1648–1663.
Kamenetz, A. (2020, May 27). Survey shows big remote learning gaps for low-income and special needs children. NPR. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/27/862705225/survey-shows-big-remote-learning-gaps-for-low-income-and-special-needs-children
Klein, A. (2019). What every educator needs to know about artificial intelligence. Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/artificialintelligence/index.html?print=1#current
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-bass.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2012). Through a glass darkly: The persistence of race in education research & scholarship. Educational Researcher, 41(4), 115–120.
Learning.com (2020). What four divides teach about digital equity, an analysis. [white paper]. Learning.com. Retrieved from https://resources.learning.com/whitepaper/digital-equity
Lee, N.T. (2020). Bridging digital divides between schools and communities. [Brookings Institute]. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/bridging-digital-divides-between-schools-and communities.
Mason, C. Y., & Dodds, R. (2005). Bridge the digital divide for educational equity. The Education Digest, 70(9), 25.
Moore, R., & Vitale, D. (2018). High school students' access to and use of technology at home and in school. Insights in Education and Work, 1–9. [ACT Center for Equity in Learning] Retrieved from https://equityinlearning.act.org/wp-content/themes/voltron/img/tech-briefs/technology-home-and-school.pdf.
Moore, R., Vitale, D., & Stawinoga, N. (2018). The digital divide and educational equity: A look at students with very limited access to electronic devices at home. Insights in. Education and Work, 1-14. [ACT Center for Equity in Learning] Retrieved from https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/R1698-digital-divide-2018-08.pdf
Muffoletto, R. (1994). Schools and technology in a democratic society: Equity and social justice. Educational Technology, 34(2), 52–54.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2018a). Percentage of children ages 3 to 18 living in households with a computer, by type of computer and selected child and family characteristics: Selected years, 2010 through 2017. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_702.10.asp
National Center for Education Statistics. (2018b). Percentage of persons age 3 and over and ages to 18 with no internet access at home and percentage distribution of those with no home access, By main reason for not having access and selected characteristics: 2010 and 2017. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_702.40.asp.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). National Assessment of educational Progress: An overview of NAEP. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/tel/results/scores.
Page, M. S. (2002). Technology-enriched classrooms: Effects on students of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 389–409.
Rafalow, M. H. (2014). The digital divide in classroom technology use: A comparison of three schools. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 3(1), 67–100.
Rauf, D. S. (2020). Artificial intelligence in k-12: The right mix for learning or a bad idea? Education Week.. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/05/20/artificial-intelligence-in-k-12-the-right-mix.html?r=925799106.
Reich, J., & Ito, M. (2017). From good intentions to real outcomes: Equity by design in learning technologies. Digital media and learning research hub. Retrieved from https://dmlhub.net/publications/good-intentions-real-outcomes-equity-design-learning-technologies/index.html.
Reinhart, J. M., Thomas, E., & Toriskie, J. M. (2011). K-12 teachers: Technology use and the second level digital divide. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 38(3/4), 181.
Rosas, R., Nussbaum, M., Cumsille, P., Marianov, V., Correa, M., Flores, P., et al. (2003). Beyond Nintendo: Design and assessment of educational video games for first and second grade students. Computers & Education, 40(1), 71–94.
Sawchuk, S. (2017). Virginia becomes first state to require computer science instruction. Education Week.. Retrieved from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2017/11/virginia_mandates_computer_science_learning.html.
Sutton, R. E. (1991). Equity and computers in the schools: A decade of research. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 475–503.
Tienken, C. H. (2020). Cracking the code of education reform. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.
Thieman, G. Y., & Cevallos, T. (2017). Promoting educational opportunity and achievement through 1:1 iPads. The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 34(5), 409–427.
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (1988). Power on! New tools teaching and learning. Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk2/1988/8831_n.html.
Villegas, A. M. (1991). Culturally responsive pedagogy for the 1990s and beyond. trends and issues paper, no. 6. [Educational Testing Service.] Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED339698.pdf.
Warschauer, M., Knobel, M., & Stone, L. (2004). Technology and equity in schooling: Deconstructing the digital divide. Educational Policy, 18(4), 562–588.
Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1), 179–225.
Washington State Department of Commerce (2020). Drive-in Wi-Fi hotspots launch statewide push for universal public access broadband. Retrieved from https://www.commerce.wa.gov/news-releases/community-programs-facilities/drive-in-wi-fi-hotspots-launch-statewide-push-for-universal-public-access-broadband
Wickham, B. M., & Mullen, C. A. (2020). Professional development for teaching students in poverty and impacting teacher beliefs. In C. A. Mullen (Ed.), Handbook of social justice interventions in education. Cham: Springer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Additional information
Notes
The author created three tables and three figures in this chapter from data retrieved from an NCES table retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_702.10.asp and NAEP retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/tel/results/achievement/ and https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/tel/results/gaps/.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ross, L.S. (2020). Equitably Responsive Teaching. In: Mullen, C.A. (eds) Handbook of Social Justice Interventions in Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29553-0_112-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29553-0_112-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-29553-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-29553-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education