Montana is an interesting state. It is one of the most densely populated states in the U.S., and is also one of the largest in size. Montana has some unique problems in the realm of digital inequality and digital divide, and I will discuss those problems today. First, I will focus on perspective, followed by rural areas and internet, and ending with my final thoughts on low-income families and internet access.

Digital inequality and digital divide encompass the lack of access to communicative devices due to financial and/or social reasons. Students in Montana are particularly familiar with this issue as many of them live in rural areas. Internet service providers are often unwilling to expand their services to these lowly populated areas. Therefore, many Montanan children experience digital inequality. A number of families do have cell phones (with the occasional smart phones), but rural areas often experience a lack in cell coverage, thus resulting in reduced abilities to communicate digitally. Speed of Montana's internet has also come under scrutiny in recent years. The Great Falls Tribune highlights many of these issues in this article http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/money/2014/07/11/information-highway....

After conducting research at the school in which I am employed, one thing was glaringly obvious. The perspective of digital inequality and digital divide appeared to really depend on the age of the person who considered digital inequality.

The teachers I interviewed were mostly 25-35 years old, and all of those teachers said digital inequality was a huge problem for our area. They seemed mostly concerned with the students ability to get screen time due to two primary reasons: familial financial hardships and unreliable technology in the school. These teachers even sited concerns with their own ability to use technology in the classroom, as the teachers, on average, only have one classroom computer. However, when I interviewed teachers that were near retirement age, one thing was very obvious; they felt that students today have plenty of access to technology, even perhaps too much. The teachers near retirement age felt that students spend too much time communicating and learning digitally, and they cited no concerns with the actual technology being used in the school.

After conducting the interviews, I felt I had an understanding of two very different sides of the digital inequality coin: the side of teachers that grew up in the "digital-age", and the side of teachers that did not.

In reference to the difference of perspective among teachers related to digital inequality, it is important that teachers consider the future. Today's youth will only require more and more technology skills to be employable in a competitive job market. The AECT Code of Professional Ethics elaborates this point, stating in Section 1, Code 1 "[members] shall encourage independent action in an individual's pursuit of learning and shall provide open access to knowledge regardless of delivery medium or varying points of view on the knowledge" (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008). As educators, the future is our destination, so it is imperative to avoid analyzing our students in the context of our past. This is especially true in Montana where the digital-age has a long way to go. If we stagnate at our current state, students will not be competitive in a future job market.

In Montana, there are approximately six nationally-known Internet providers. In some areas of the state, there is only one provider. In Great Falls, one of the four largest cities in Montana, the service providers keep getting "bought up" by larger companies. The larger companies raise the current rates, thus forcing customers to pay more money. There is only one reliable provider, Charter, which has changed companies three times in the past eight years.

I can only see one fix for the lack of internet service providers in the state. More providers need to see Montana as a worthy area to deliver services.

Governor Steve Bullock is making an attempt to get Montanan students the internet speed they deserve. He recently partnered with EducationSuperHighway to upgrade nearly 160 Montana schools with high-speed internet (http://newstalkkgvo.com/governor-steve-bullock-partners-with-educationsuper...). Hopefully, more work will be done in the ISP consumer sector once the foundation is paved by EducationSuperHighway.

A major point in the opinions teachers expressed to me about digital inequality and the digital divide in Montana related to low-income families. The school where I am employed is the same school that I conducted the interviews at, and each teacher interviewed mentioned that many of our families do not have access to internet and other digital devices simply because they do not have the money. The statistics I found online at http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/map-detail.aspx?state=montana verify many of the concerns the teachers had. In addition to the lack of ISPs, many Montanans are unable to make ends meet, which often results in students having little to no access to the internet at home.

Many companies offer subsidized internet, such as those companies listed here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3048574/is-subsidized-internet-for-the-poor-fina.... In Montana, the main provider is Charter Communications, and I was unable to verify if Charter has LifeLine government subsidies through the FCC. Some of the smaller companies in Montana do provide income-based internet options, but the speeds of many of those companies are not adequate.

Without adequate internet service, many families struggle to advance their educations. Subsidized internet within a competitive market does help students further their education and end the cycle of poverty (http://www.fastcompany.com/3048574/is-subsidized-internet-for-the-poor-fina...). Montana needs a competitive ISP market, along with multiple providers that use the FCC's LifeLine program, in order to bridge the digital divide.

Thank you for allowing me to inform you about the digital divide and digital inequalities Montanan students are currently experiencing. With more ISP options, government funding, and an outlook toward the future, Montana's students can be competitive in the job market of tomorrow.