You’ve heard the term: digital divide. It refers to the valley that stretches between those who do and do not have ready access to computers and the internet. Perhaps you’ve thought, well, that doesn’t apply to us, or even to my kids’ schools. And yet it might well.
Digital divide includes more than just computer hardware and internet access, but also better computers and faster, higher quality internet. Let’s be honest, in any school district you will find families that have more or less access for any number of reasons, and that will affect everyone enrolled in the digital classroom.
Household income and location are just two factors in the digital divide. Only 56 percent of households with incomes under $30,000 have access to broadband internet, according to Pew Research Center. Additionally, students living in rural areas will be less likely to connect to mobile hotspots and cellular service from their homes.
Ongoing connectivity has become a real and serious problem.
It’s not a new problem, however it has extended its reach. Broadband access became an American problem long before the pandemic, with limited competition, high prices, slow speeds, and a simple lack of coverage affecting communities nationwide. About one-quarter of Americans lack broadband internet service at home, and that gap disproportionately affects those with lower incomes and education.
Access also largely affects those living in rural areas of the country where little to no broadband coverage is available, making these households less likely to have multiple devices to go online. And now, with so many working and learning from home, access to multiple devices and the infrastructure to enable them has become a necessity.
Clearly, connectivity issues have a drastic effect on our ability to educate the young people of our country. Last spring in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures, one survey found that 35% of respondents reported online class attendance as low as 0 to 25%; 55% reported that less than half of enrolled students were attending. The same survey indicated that Michigan had the highest rate of online absences among states with at least 100 respondents, with 62% saying less than a quarter of their students attend remote classes. Over 40% of teachers surveyed in North Carolina, Ohio, and California also reported low attendance in remote classes.
Obvious efforts have been made to bridge the digital divide as schools and governments have implemented programs to subsidize and provide hotspots and devices. Unfortunately, problems remain.
As schools in California commenced the 2020-2021 school year online this week, we have heard of students’ struggles to access learning applications; students falling in and out of virtual classrooms due to poor internet connections; and students, families, and even teachers frustrated at home and lacking technical support.
For example, on the first day of school in San Jose, California, parents received an email from the district office recognizing that some students would experience technical difficulties and that absence reports would be used to help the district identify and provide technical support for missing students. Absence reports starting on the first day of school, when students should be bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and shouldering a new backpack… What a different school year this will be.
Access to WiFi or even relatively simple measures like increasing your network speed won’t solve all problems. Many at-home factors can affect the quality of a WiFi connection. For example, the proximity or distance between device and router, the type of router, the number of online users, and even the weather can impact critical learning applications affecting attendance and education.
Troubleshooting technology can be overwhelming, and it’s an unnecessary burden to place on our children. Providing students, parents, and teachers with much needed and easy to use support tools for navigating connectivity issues will be critical to the success of distance learning.
These days laptops and hotspots are essential school supplies just like the pencils and books that once overflowed our children’s backpacks. And along with the laptops and hot spots school districts have provided to students who require them, schools must be prepared with a long-term technology strategy to support distance learning. It’s safe to say that every student will need tech support at some point.
That’s where we come in. HubbleIQ can support distance learning by empowering students and teachers to proactively identify connectivity issues and take steps to resolve them on their own. Additionally, while HubbleIQ can certainly benefit the individual user, its ‘experience insights’ can help schools identify at-risk students for proactive support.
The bottom line? HubbleIQ can help to bridge the digital divide. Let us help you support your digital learner and your school district. Begin your #ITsupport #Self-empowerment journey by downloading our FREE chrome extension. For digital insights, contact us at HubbleIQ.com.
HubbleIQ’s free Chrome extension tests your WiFi and tells you if it’s fast and reliable. HubbleIQ anticipates WiFi issues and detects outages to help you fix them.
