As noted before, the digital divide
is the difference between the people who have access to technology and the
people who do not. In other words, this difference creates an inequality in the
access to technology between people, especially students. However, how does
this divide affect the students who do not have the same amount of access to
technology as other students? As it turns out, it usually affects them in a
very negative way, which could eventually hurt them later in life. While the
digital divide has been around for over a decade, many poorer households are
still experiencing the harmful effects, and are not seeing much improvement. The
people who have been affected the most by the digital divide are the
lower-income students and also many students of color. This is because these
groups of people have been known to have very limited access to the technology
that is so important to their success in schools today. Technology is too
prevalent within the education system in the United States for certain students
to have limited access to it.
One of the main reasons as to why
the digital divide has taken place for such a long period of time is due to
household income. In fact, it has been said that household income is the single
greatest predictor of Internet use for Americans. Many American families who
earn more than $75,000 a year tends to have greater access to the Internet at
home than the families who make $30,000 a year or less. This creates a huge
problem for the students who make up the lower income class, especially in
terms of education. If these students don’t have consistent access to
technology, then they are getting significantly left behind the students who
make up the middle to upper social classes. The lower class students are not
able to learn any of the basic technological skills that the other social
classes are able to enjoy. The reason for this is because the lower income
students won’t have as great of a chance to “surf the web” as their
counterparts. If Internet access to harder to come by, then time spent on it
will be drastically reduced. This in turn, will cause lower income students to
immediately fall behind other students in terms of education because they won’t
have the skills needed in order to use the Internet and other technological
devices.
problem for the students who make up the lower income class, especially in
terms of education. If these students don’t have consistent access to
technology, then they are getting significantly left behind the students who
make up the middle to upper social classes. The lower class students are not
able to learn any of the basic technological skills that the other social
classes are able to enjoy. The reason for this is because the lower income
students won’t have as great of a chance to “surf the web” as their
counterparts. If Internet access to harder to come by, then time spent on it
will be drastically reduced. This in turn, will cause lower income students to
immediately fall behind other students in terms of education because they won’t
have the skills needed in order to use the Internet and other technological
devices.
Access to technology and the
Internet is another problem that the digital divide has created within the
educational system. Many schools that occupy lower income neighborhoods
generally tend to have fewer computers within them than wealthier schools due
to government funding. If poorer schools have fewer computers, and the students
that occupy these schools have less access to technology, then where are these
students going to find access to the thing that is continuing to dominate the
school curriculum? The answer tends to be for these students to use the
computers and Internet that are available through libraries, or any other
public place where computers are available. However, according to the article
titled, Failing to Close the ‘Digital
Divide’ by Susan Crawford, libraries are “scrambling to fill the gap left
by our nation’s yawning digital divide (paragraph 2). In fact, this article
even goes on to say that the demand for library resources is higher than the
demand for both computers and bandwidth. In other words, libraries are becoming
one of the main resources for students who do not have access to technology at
home, but these libraries don’t have enough resources in order to serve all of
the students who need help. Therefore, one of the main places where students
can get access to the internet is still not a guarantee. There are too many
people seeking access and not enough computers for everyone. This once again
puts the lower income students at a disadvantage in terms of education due to
the lack of Internet access and computers for every student.
Whether
or not a student has access to technology at home, or any other public place,
can also affect students directly within the classroom. Due to the fact that
many of the lower income students don’t have access to computers at home, they
aren’t able to maneuver through the activities that are assigned to them in
class as well as the students that do have a computer at home. This is because
they aren’t able to spend some of their free time just surfing the internet or
playing games. In other words, they don’t have as much time, if any, to learn
how to use the computer. This disadvantage can transcend throughout the child’s
schoolwork. Many teachers may think that the student is not competent enough to
do the assignment, resulting in lower grades and a loss of confidence for the
student.
In
fact, this loss of technological skills within the classroom can even transcend
into a larger problem later in life. Today, much of the workforce relies on
their employees to be able to navigate the Internet and also many different
types of technological items. If some students are unable to have the knowledge
about these things, then they are at a severe disadvantage within the
workforce. All of the students that are fortunate enough to attend wealthy schools
immediately have the advantage. They will know how to use technology much
better than the students who were forced to attend the poorer schools. This
will be prevalent later in life when they enter the workforce because the
middle to upper classes will be much more efficient when using the technology. The
large majority of employers are looking for new employees that are able to
navigate the technological world. Therefore, what starts out in the classroom
quickly can end up affecting other aspects later in life. This is a good
indication of the importance of technology in the classroom today.
While
the digital divide creates many problems for the students within the education
system, how does it affect education itself? This can be a very complicated
question to ask because while it is very important for students to learn how to
use technology, it shouldn’t dominate the curriculum, which it often does. However,
the big issue here is that the world we live in now demands the use of
technology. We live in a technological world, and the schools are attempting to
keep up with it. Yet, there are many schools that are una
ble to afford all of this technology. This also contributes to the digital divide because the
wealthier schools are able to buy more technological supplies than the poorer
schools. Since the wealthier schools are able to buy more supplies, then their
curriculum can contain more technology. This in turn allows their students to
be able to learn how to use technology effectively, unlike the students who attend
the poorer schools. This can severely affect the education that many students
are getting because ultimately students from different schools are getting
different educations based on which schools they end up attending. Therefore,
it appears that the digital divide has a negative effect on both the education
that students receive in schools and also many students personally.
ble to afford all of this technology. This also contributes to the digital divide because the
wealthier schools are able to buy more technological supplies than the poorer
schools. Since the wealthier schools are able to buy more supplies, then their
curriculum can contain more technology. This in turn allows their students to
be able to learn how to use technology effectively, unlike the students who attend
the poorer schools. This can severely affect the education that many students
are getting because ultimately students from different schools are getting
different educations based on which schools they end up attending. Therefore,
it appears that the digital divide has a negative effect on both the education
that students receive in schools and also many students personally. 
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