The term digital divide has been characterized as the "Haves and Have Nots" of technology. Either people have access to the internet and use technology on a daily basis or they do not. There are various factors such as socioeconomic status, age, education background, and geographic location that limit people from using technology.

Remember the saying The Rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. The people who can afford those device and internet are getting the knowledge and skills need to be successful in the future. Our poor, the ones who can benefit from these skills, so move on in life, are not part of this opportunity.

This has been a common term used to discuss the difference between what people have access to and not have access to. However, time has changed as technology has become readily available, so the term is not as commonly used as before.

Digital inequalities is a “redefined” version of digital divide but it includes more measures such as infrastructure , access, most of which is interrelated and depend on one another. The result of the digital divide between people who know how to use the internet, skills, or the information.

Issue 1 -
Our district is 1:1 computing in grades 3-12. This roll out occurred over a 3 year time span. Various grade levels were given a device each year until the roll out us completed. Teachers were also given the devices a few months prior to the students receiving them in order to become proficient with the Chromebook. Courses were offered, either after school or during the summer, to all grade levels that received the device that year, but it was not mandatory to attend. Since it was not mandatory, most teachers were not motivated to attend this training, so our teachers were not effectively trained to use a Chromebook. Though a Chromebook is not a hard tool to use, it was critical teachers come to training so they can learn various website tools to implement and become proficient in Google Apps, since these elements would be used on a daily basis.

Possible Solutions:
In order for our teachers to gain the experience as a district we need to offer various types of training at different times.

Some options are;
1. Face to face training after school, since there are teacher who do attend these. We should keep this option for those individuals who need that learning time with the instructor.

2. Offer more online courses for teachers to take so they are learning the content at a time convenient for them. As a district we could have teachers complete a survey of topics they would like to see offered for online training.

3. Should the district invest in the training? Our District used to pay for substitutes so teachers could attend training during the day. This is no longer an option, but teachers were more inclined to sign up for training because it was during the day. Attendance has dropped drastically since this change.

4. We should think about how to motivate teachers to come to training. At my school it is not mandatory to attend a training. Our principal wants teachers to have that desire to come on their own. Could we make a minimum requirement of hours per semester?

Issue 2:
At our school in grades 3-5, we are 1:1 computing, having Chromebooks for each student. Our 2nd grade classes have 5 Chromebooks to use. Kindergarten and 1st grade do not have any. Here is an example of the "Haves and Have Nots". We have our 2nd grade classes that are begging for more devices because they have ideas and are motivated to have each student working on a project at the same time. Currently, they borrow from one another and try to plan how to achieve technology goals they have as a team.

Possible Solutions:
The District has no plan to give our elementary schools more devices. As a school, we need to find funding to add Chromebooks to these classes. As the Technology and Learning Coach, I am working with our school's grant coordinator to locate options so we can bridge this gap for our 2nd graders and then move into the lower grades.

Another possibility is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) option and have students check out devices if they do not have one or if their own device is broken. Our high schools are starting to move to this option, but elementary levels have not discussed this yet.

Issue 3:
Along the lines of digital divide, our school has many students and families who do not have internet access at home or even a device. Teachers are asked to not assign homework that requires a device or internet for this purpose. Could this pose another issue? If these families do not have internet access or devices, do these parents have the experience to assist their child with their homework or skills using a device?

Possible Solutions:
Our district has started to pilot a take home device with "hotspot" option. Parents pay for an insurance plan on the device, leaving them responsible for any damage. Data is being collected to determine if this option could be moved into more schools.

Issue 4:
Even though our students and teacher have been issued a device, we still have outdated and old equipment in our schools. Our desktops have been re-imaged and RAM added, but we are finding these computers are running slowly and breaking down frequently. It is difficult to effectively teach a planned lesson when equipment does not work. Another issue we are battling are the student devices. When they break down, there is nothing to give them as a replacement until their device is fixed. As a school, we are issued 1 device per student and nothing for the "just in case" situation. That student now has to go to plan B, paper/pencil option or use a device when someone is absent.

Possible Solutions:
This was suggested before, but a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) option. Have an option for our students to check out devices if they do not have one or their own device is broken.

Our school has refurbished equipment and received money through companies when we are changing out devices years ago. Much of that money has gone to the 1:1 program and now we are needing to determine the next step. There is discussion of taking computer labs out the schools, since most schools are 1:1. Selling the devices back to the company could raise money for the district to have extra funding.

Issue 5:
Technology skills and components are not tested. There is a lot of discussion about teacher accountability. If teachers jobs and salaries are determined by test scores, they are not going to be motivated to invest their time using technology.

Possible Solutions:
Testing is now shifting to be computerized. Teachers have to change their mind frames and understand that computer skills are an essential part daily living. Without the essential skills of opening documents, flipping through tabs, researching, and etc, students will be fumbling with the device and not focused on the question or task being asked. Ultimately, it may alter the test score because they were focused on learning the skill instead of test element.

Our school has a computer class in our Related Arts, which teaches some skills. However it is 1 every 6 days for 50 minutes. This is hardly enough time to teach all skills. Teachers have to spend some time teaching the students these types of skills. Even 10 minutes of typing practice each day as morning work

I think about how technology has changed in the past 15 years. In most professions and jobs you will find technology being used. In our personal lives, we have shifted from writing checks in our checkbooks to using debit card/credit cards. More and more people no longer have a home telephone line, cell phones are the primary phone numbers for most people. Now we have Smart phones that have the internet available at our fingertips at any moment. I also think about how cable is less common, streaming through Smart TVs, whether it is Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime, just to name a few.

I wonder where we will be in 15 years and that is why it is critical we address Digital Divide/Digital Inequalities.
The ability to use computers is critical for the success in the future not in in America, but worldwide.