THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: WHAT IS IT?

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT?

SCHOOL POLICY AND PERSPECTIVES

Donald OwenAssistant Superintendent for Curriculum and InstructionUrbana School District #116Second Annual Fall Lecture Series 2009 - 2010Graduate School of Library and Information Science

DEFINING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN SCHOOLS

Digital Divide: broadly defined as the gap in access to technology

Multiple Gaps: socioeconomic, racial, gender, rural/urbanConstantly changing definitions of technology and access

In Schools: also refers to opportunity gaps – leads to inherently unequal education

A BRIEF DIGITAL HISTORY OF URBANA SCHOOL DISTRICT #116

Pre 1990 – Plato Labs, Apple IIs, connectivity was almost non-existent

1992 – First “modern push” for technology, computers purchased via fund raising, CUSF, and Urbana Alumni Association

A BRIEF DIGITAL HISTORY OF URBANA SCHOOL DISTRICT #116

1994 – First connected classrooms – NCSA, NSF-RSE grant

1996 – Computer in (almost) every classroom, lab in (almost) every school: (equity/site based decision making)

1996-2006 – Stagnation

Pockets of innovation UMS received

numerous awards and grants

UHS and UMS art programs, CTE, and science courses were leaders

Elementary schools varied widely

A BRIEF DIGITAL HISTORY OF URBANA SCHOOL DISTRICT #116

2006 – today – Renaissance, BOE committed

funding to refresh computers

Dark fiber (Urbana City Fiber Project)

Interactive whiteboards in every school

Every school has a lab

POLICY

IL Learning Standards NETS (for students, teachers, and

administrators) NCLB

Accountability Title IID

E-Rate Acceptable Use Policies Internet Safety Act

IL LEARNING STANDARDS

IL Learning Standards were published in 1997 No separate strand for technology Technology was one of five “Applications of

Learning”: Solving Problems, Communicating, Using Technology, Working on Teams, and Making Connections Vague (and now dated) attempt at integration

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) first published the NETS in 1998, and recently finished revising them:

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Federal legislation adopted in 2001 Close achievement gaps – All students will meet

or exceed standards by 2014 Increased accountability via standardized tests

Reading, Math (and Science and Writing) Progressive penalties and over-sight for not

making Adequate Yearly Progress

And… Oh yeah… All students will be computer literate by the end

of 8th grade

NCLB: TITLE IID

Enhancing Education through Technology “(1) PRIMARY GOAL- The primary goal of this part is to

improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.

(2) ADDITIONAL GOALS- The additional goals of this part are the following:

(A) To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability.

(B) To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies”

Per pupil formula, adjusted for FRL%

NCLB CONTINUED

Intended consequences: Focus on closing gaps, social justice, and equity Move toward continuous improvement models of

school leadership Renewed interest in assessment, standards, and

curriculum Unintended consequences:

Many “off the shelf” solutions – few “out of the box” solutions

Forced changes in administrative (and some teacher) level technology literacy

Many parts of NCLB are un- or underfunded mandates that with little accountability (exception is Reading and Math)

E-RATE

Prior to NCLB, Congress was concerned with the digital divide. In 1997, E-Rate (managed via Schools and Libraries Program of

the Universal Service Fund) provided a funding system that attempts to close the digital divide Schools are ranked based on their Free/Reduced Lunch

percentage (FRL). Schools with higher FRL are more likely to receive rebates and reimbursements for telecommunications and internet services

E-Rate has been credited with increasing the overall number of public classrooms with Internet access from 14% in 1996 to 95% in 2005

E-Rate has been criticized for creating a complicated and hard to regulate disbursement system that is ripe with fraud (see “AT&T Missouri settles E-Rate fraud lawsuit” (October 13, 2009)).

E-RATE (IN 11 EASY STEPS)

Step 1 Determine Eligibility Step 2 Develop a Technology Plan (ISBE-NCLB) Step 3 Open a Competitive Bidding Process Step 4 Select a Service Provider Step 5 Calculate the Discount Level Step 6 Determine Your Eligible Services Step 7 Submit Your Application for Program Support Step 8 Undergo Application Review Step 9 Receive Your Funding Decision Step 10 Begin Receipt of Services Step 11 Invoice USAC

E-Rates plans must see 2-4 years ahead,but E-Rate reimbursements are 1-2 years behind

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES

Challenge is to balance restrictions and/or filtering (required by E-Rate) with educational purpose

What is an educational purpose? Curriculum, learning standards Research (Google vs. subscription data bases) Collaboration (social networking, YouTube, Twitter)

What is the risk? Cyber-bullying Predators

What is the solution? Dialogue Professional Development Involve students in the discussion (IL Mandates – Internet Safety Act)

IL INTERNET SAFETY ACT (105 ILCS 5/27-13.3)

“The purpose of this Section is to inform and protect students from inappropriate or illegal communications and solicitation and to encourage school districts to provide education about Internet threats and risks, including without limitation child predators, fraud, and other dangers.”

Requires districts to “incorporate a component on Internet safety to be taught at least once each year in grades 3 and above.”

PERSPECTIVES, CHALLENGES, AND SOLUTIONS

Funding and connectivity Technology does not wait for funding Bandwidth is beautiful

Partnerships University of Illinois (OET, MISTE, NCSA, STEM) City of Urbana (Fiber Project) The Urbana Free Library (Tutor.com, online

databases) Professional Development

Build on partnerships and expand capacity Balancing Safety and Educational Opportunities

Dialogue and experience Teaching and learning

REFERENCES

ISBE – www.isbe.net ISTE – www.iste.org E-Rate -- www.universalservice.org/sl/ NCLB -- www.ed.gov/nclb USD116 – www.usd116.org