How to Fight The Digital DivideDr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Presented at

The National School Boards Association Conference

Dallas, TX, 11/12/99

Dr.AJEJ

Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide

This report, plus charts, and links to the original Census data and the survey instrument, can be obtained at:

• US Department of Commerce NTIA Office of Public Affairs Web: www.ntia.doc.gov

• US Department of Education Office of Educational Technology Web: www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv.html

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The Good News: As of 1998…

• Access to computers and the Internet soared for people in all demographic groups and geographic locations.

• Over 40% of American households owned computers.

• 25% of all households had Internet access.• Access to telephones in the home was increasing

among those groups least likely to have such access (chiefly, young and minority households in rural areas).

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The Bad News:Significant Disparities Persist

Households with incomes of $75,000+ are more than 20 times more likely to have access to the Internet than those at the lowest income levels, and more than nine times as likely to have a computer at home.

Whites are more likely to have access to the Internet from home than Blacks or Hispanics have from any location.

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Significant Disparities Persist(continued)

Black and Hispanic households are approximately 1/3 as likely to have home Internet access as households of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, and roughly 2/5 as likely as White households.

Regardless of income level, Americans living in rural areas are lagging behind in Internet access: at the lowest income levels, those in urban areas are more than twice as likely to have Internet access than those earning the same income in rural areas.

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The Digital Divide Has Widened

• The gaps with regard to home Internet access between White and Hispanic/Black households are now more than 6% larger than they were in 1994.

• Between 1997 and 1998, the divide between those at the highest and lowest education levels increased 25%.

• The divide between those at the highest and lowest income levels grew 29%.

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Minorities in the Technical Workforce

• African Americans account for roughly 12% of the U.S. workforce but only 4% of the doctors and 5% of the jobs in engineering, computer science, and scientific research.

• In higher education, African Americans earn only 5% of the bachelor's degrees in science and engineering and only 2% of the doctorates in related fields.

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Minorities in the Technical Workforce (continued)

• Of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents,

– In 1989, American Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics received 9.8%.

– In 1995, underrepresented minorities received 13.5%.

• Proposition 209 was born in 1996-1997;

– In 1996 & 1997, a 20 % decline for first-year graduate enrollments of African Americans in all S&E fields and a 19.3% drop in the NSCSM&E (natural sciences, computer sciences, mathematics, and engineering).

– This was twice the rate for all other ethic groups.

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Uneven Technology Access Persists in Schools

• National avg. of students per computer is improving (5.7 in 1998 versus 10.8 in 1993), but...

• Access to high technology and the Internet is still uneven nationwide.

The number of students per terminal with Internet access: – Delaware (5.8) , Alaska (6.0), Nebraska (7.2), South

Dakota (7.3), and North Dakota (9.1), lead the nation.

– District of Columbia (31.4), Alabama (30.2), Louisiana (25.0), North Carolina (24.9), and Mississippi (20.1) lag behind.

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Teacher Training

Recent research shows...• new teachers are no more likely than veterans to

know how to teach with computers.• 20% of US teachers feel prepared to integrate

computers into classroom instruction.• 3-5 years of training required before a teacher can

effectively use computers in the classroom.

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Teacher Training

And yet...• 9% of school districts’ budgets is utilized for

training, although US DOE advises 30%. • less than 20% of the average school technology

budget goes towards training teachers.• 50% of teachers trained use their own funds.

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Teacher Training (continued)

• 2 million new teachers needed in US public schools by 2010.

• Budget constraints limit on-site help:– 29% employ full-time.– 42% struggle with part-time, and – 29% have no on-site support personnel.

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Technology Planning Resources

National Center for Technology Planning • Offers information on the E-rate application, sample

technology plans for high schools, institutions of higher learning, states, regions...

• Contact:

NCTP, Dr. Larry S. Anderson, Founder/Director P. O. Box 5425 Mississippi State, MS 39762

phone: 662-325-7253; fax: 662-324-0677

Web: http://www.nctp.com

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Sample E-rate Resource

E-rate Central • provides information for New York State schools

on next steps, discount rate optimization, telephone audits, and vendor coordination.

• Contact:

www.e-ratecentral.com

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Technology Integration Resource

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse’s “ENC Focus.”

• magazine for “classroom innovators;”

• available in print and online (www.enc.org);

• recent issue on integrating technology with classroom instruction.

Contact: Kimberly S. Roempler, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Instructional Resources ENC

1929 Kenny Rd. Columbus, OH 43210-1079

phone: 614-688-3485; fax: 614-292-2066

Web: http://www.enc.org

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NASA Educator Resource Centers• provide educators with access to NASA education

materials (slides, prints, videos, publications, computer access) and training;

• are located at each NASA center; and• service educators in neighboring states. • Contact:

NASA GSFC, Code 130, Greenbelt, MD 20771 phone: 301-286-8570; fax: 301-286-1781 email: gsferc@pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov Web: http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/educ/trl/welcome.html

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NASA Central Operation Resources for Educators

• offers slide sets and CD-ROMs (and catalogs of

offerings)• Contact:

NASA CORE, Loraine County JVS, 15181 Route 58 South, Oberlin, OH 44704

phone: 440-774-1051, ext.249/293;

fax: 440-774-2144

Web: http://core.nasa.gov

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Ensuring Access To Digital Age Tools

Public/private partnerships critical.

Private sector initiatives (Bell Atlantic) needed.

Public policies must expand affordable access.

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Ensuring Access To Digital Age Tools (continued)

Establish and support Community Access Centers.

Promote K-12/University partnerships, including minority college campuses.

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Give Back To Your Community

Suggested actions and Web resources for parents:

Review your school’s technology plan – www.nctp.com Join a school committee Become a webmaster or offer technical support

– www.techcorps.org

Pull some wire – www.netday.org Help generate funds – www.fdncenter.org Donate equipment or contact federal work sites for excess

equipment donations – www.detwiler.org Understand the big picture –

– www.computerlearning.org, ericir.syr.edu

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Give Back To Your Community(Continued)

Suggested actions and resources for non parents:

Adopt a school – www.partnersineducation.org

Aim High!

Shoot for the moon and even if you miss,

you’ll still be among the stars!!!PeaceDr. Aprille Ericsson-

Jackson

Aim High!