Loyola University of Maryland - ET 680

Issue Paper (Equitable Technology Access)

May 9th, 2017

Steven Boone
David FitzSimons
Issue Justification

There is a glaring issue throughout our education system that is creating an achievement

gap between students, largely along socioeconomic lines. Students in many areas lack equitable

access to technology. This issue is often referred to as the “digital divide” and has causes and

effects at home, school, and throughout the community. Students without effective access to the

internet are at a clear disadvantage compared to their better-connected classmates. Lack of

access reduces students’ connection to each other, to the wider world, and to opportunities for

education and advancement.

The impacts of unequal access to technology go beyond the ability to simply access the

internet. Students with less exposure to and less training in technology find themselves getting

less value out of what technology access they do have. The digital divide has as much to do with

quality of participation in online conversations as it does with physical access. Lack of

participation creates a feedback loop that continues to exacerbate the problem. Under-

represented groups, such as low-income families and families in rural areas, are less likely to

form connections in online groups, which then makes them even less likely to participate, and

the cycle continues. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 22% of rural residents

are still not online. Similar numbers of African Americans and Hispanics are also not connected.

Even in the event that teens have internet-capable phones, this means there may not be a

computer-savvy adult in the home to model responsible use and to help with modern tasks such

as internet research and typing. According to “How Digital Equity Can Help Close the

Homework Gap” in The Journal, almost one third of low-income households still do not have

broadband access at home.

 In a similar vein, access to the internet does not guarantee responsible use of technology.

Many low-income homes are “smartphone dependent” for their internet connections. Students

are accessing the internet largely outside of the guidance of their parents. Without appropriate

guidance, many are not using technology in a positive, pro-social way. This impacts not only

performance at school, but healthy social interaction and the ability to build a network of support

both in person and online. For this reason, schools must be involved in the process of

technology education at multiple levels and in multiple ways. Community outreach and

assistance must be combined with structured technological education and robust resources at

school to guarantee that the digital divide narrows instead of widening.

Comparison to Other Issues

There are many issues a technology leader should address, but equitable access to

technology resources must be a top priority. Many technology issues can’t even be a primary

concern until the students have access to the technology. Only when schools can get internet-

connected devices into their students’ hands can teachers start educating them about concerns

like cyberbullying and acceptable use policies. In fact, since half of equitable access is about

effective use of the internet, both of those issues can be addressed while efforts are being made

to ensure equitable access.

Cyberbullying is an extremely concerning issue. There are many dangers associated with

the idea that a person or group could bully another person or group through electronic

technology. It has many forms that include mean and harmful messages, or embarrassing

pictures through text message, email, or social media, or can even include the creation of fake

profiles. Cyberbullying can have a deeper and broader impact than physical bullying because it

can happen at anytime, be done anonymously, and the offending pictures or text may reside on
the web permanently. Maryland has taken steps to deal with cyberbullying with an anti-bullying

measure referred to as Grace’s Law. According to the legislation, anyone proven to be

cyberbullying someone under the age of 18 could be punished with a fine or possible jail time.

As part of a comprehensive program to improve technological proficiency and responsibility for

all students, cyberbullying can be addressed. Lessons about online discussions or any

communication online would be the perfect time to address the issues of cyberbullying and

online etiquette.

All of that said, cyberbullying is not an issue that can be easily or quickly addressed with

legislation or school policy alone. However, ensuring that all students have fair access to

computers and the internet and receive effective training in digital citizenship and how to make

positive connections with others online will help address cyberbullying concerns in a proactive

way.

Acceptable use policies in a school system are a set of standards for technology use

approved by the school or district. The policies are intended to protect the students and the

technology of the schools. They will often include the purpose of the policy, definitions of key

terms, appropriate/inappropriate uses, and consequences. A great deal of any acceptable use

policy focuses on the internet and how it should be used. Several topics that are usually covered

are negligence or misuse, social media, and filtering.

While all of the aspects of acceptable use policies are important to confront, many can be

addressed in hands-on ways once equity is established in the students’ access to technology. To

begin with, many key technology terms will be defined for the students and they will come to

truly understand their meaning through experiences with the technology. When teaching students

about technology or, more specifically the internet, the goal is for the students to understand its
value and how to leverage that value responsibly. This could lead to indirectly addressing several

topics in the acceptable use policy.

As the students come to technology as a useful tool and use it regularly and responsibly

in class, they learn the importance of treating equipment with care, leading to less negligence.

Also with more experience and knowledge, many students could potentially “filter” on their own

and avoid any misuse. The students would be better informed on using the internet and and could

use that knowledge to find appropriate websites without an extremely restrictive filtering

program or constant teacher supervision them. Students will naturally continue to need teacher

oversight, but any teacher can tell you that the perceived need to watch every minute of a

student’s computer time can waste valuable instructional minutes. If students can start seeing

available technology as an education tool and not just an entertainment tool, schools may begin

to see more acceptable use of technology.

Cyberbullying and acceptable use are problems that will only get worse if not addressed,

but neither can be handled in a robust way when the gap between the technological haves and

have-nots remains so wide. Inability to access the internet or lack of experience in its responsible

use or in basic online academic skills affects not only current performance, but potential future

results. Important issues such as cyberbullying and acceptable use should still all be individually

addressed, but through initiatives based on creating equitable access to technology resources

there will be a foundation to build off of for future training.

Plans, Procedures and Solutions

Access to the internet and opportunities to effectively use the internet must be provided

both in and out of school. The following outline addresses issues for students, the community,

and teachers.

1) Students

a) Regular access to computers at school (during and after)

Not everyone has access to technology or the internet at home, but the school can provide

access to both within its walls. The simplest solution to creating equitable access to technology

use is by providing the students with as many opportunities to use technology as possible.

Teachers should be encouraged to use technology whenever it is available, as long as it is

appropriate to the lesson being taught. Of course this only deals with half the issue of equitable

access, but just this simple exposure can go a long way in helping every student feel more

comfortable with technology. Access to technology should be available after school as well, so

that students can still take advantage of the school’s resources out of class. By providing the

means to learn how to use technology throughout the school day and after school, we can lessen

the impact of lack of access for many students at home.

b) Every content or grade team be responsible for teaching a specific technology

As each student is given more opportunities to use technology, teachers should be

demonstrating how to use that technology. Each grade team or content team should be

responsible for covering specifics topics. Teachers should be given choice on how they

incorporate the technology they are responsible for, but the technology to be used should be

selected by the technology committee. Then those teachers will create a lesson or lessons that
highlights the features and education uses of the technology. The purpose of doing this isn’t to

just have students use technology, but for them to learn how it can be used as a tool. This will

ensure that the necessities of technology use are being taught. One team could focus on school

communication system while another teaches Microsoft Office or Google Apps for Education.

The most important part is there is a system in place to make sure the most vital skills of

technology use are taught to all students. For example, the social studies and science teams

would logically teach students about effective research and responsible citation. Health,

language arts and citizenship courses can tackle issues such as cyberbullying and maintaining a

healthy online presence. Math and computer science classes can help students learn to code and

use interactive tools as powerful educational opportunities.

c) “How to” resources made available online or on physical media

Now that both Howard County and City Neighbors Charter School are using Google

Apps for Education (GAFE), students must develop proficiency with GAFE and other cloud-

based collaboration suites. A wide array of help and support documents and videos are already

freely available online. It is not necessary for our schools to reinvent the wheel in this area as

long as we curate a robust list of resources for our students and teachers to access. This list,

managed by the technology leader at the school, can be available in hard copy in each classroom

as well as prominently posted on the school website or online learning portal. For example,

tutorial videos demonstrating the use of Google Docs such as this one by Flipped Classroom

Tutorials allow users to receive help for a wide range of questions at any time. In the event

that a teacher has a specific project in mind, that teacher could create a tutorial video which

addresses that need. As an example, David FitzSimons created this video for his 8th Grade

Algebra section.
 d) School content created specifically created for low income or underrepresented

groups

A large part of why many students of low income families or underrepresented groups

don’t participate online is that they lack the skills to do so. This in turns means that will continue

to be underrepresented online. This creates a cycle of lack of interest and lack of available

content. Until these students learn how they can participate online and find the content that they

truly relate to, the cycle will continue. Once this cycle is broken in the students minds the digital

divide can begin to close. This can be dealt with in two ways. First, the school can create online

content on its website that appeals to theses demographics. Second, teachers can show student

how they can be part of the conversation online whether it’s an online blog with comments

disabled or taking part in an online discussion board. This in turn creates content that relates to

them.

2) Community

a) Parent only technology training events

Half of equitable access to technology is the knowledge to effectively use the technology.

For many students that lack that knowledge or those skills, their families lack, and most

importantly their parents, them as well. The Pew Research Center study referenced provides data

to support what many of us have already expected: older demographic brackets have

progressively less access to and experience with the internet. By inviting parents to a technology

training event, the parents can become another role model at home for effective and appropriate

use of technology and the internet. Educating the parents means that students will have another
available resource to rely on when out of school. It will also help reinforce at home what is being

taught at school.

b) Establishment of a tech committee to increase parent representation and plan for

the school’s tech needs for the future

In order to avoid falling into the trap of constantly playing catch-up, the school must

establish a functional technology committee with the power to implement policy changes and

guide purchasing and programming. Doing this in committee takes some of the load off the

shoulders of the school’s technology leader and also invites stakeholder groups from around the

community to engage in the process. By reaching out to students and parents in addition to

teachers and technology professionals, people in groups that are otherwise under-represented

online can have a fair say in shaping the school’s technology vision for the future. The

technology committee can take on some of the projects outlined in this document such as

creating a map of local WiFi spots, promoting awareness of low-cost internet, and encouraging

responsible use among students.

c) Build relationships with community center for access to technology outside of

school

Equitable access to technology use isn’t just a school issue, it’s an issue for the whole

community. That’s why it’s important that schools work with their communities to help solve the

problem. Despite the importance of this issue, a CoSN study on technology equity revealed that

63% of schools still do not have provisions for off-campus access to technology. Libraries and

rec centers are safe environments that schools need to highlight as technology resources.

Community centers could be use to host technology related school events or even be used for

extra-curricular activities. On designated nights there could be school representatives at these

centers to help and assist students that need to use the resources there for assignments. These

community centers could even be used for distributing technology use information in the form of

brochures, pamphlets, and one sheets. Teaming with community centers can bring awareness to

available resources and in some regards go beyond what the school can provide.

d) Generate awareness of Comcast low-income programs

The school should also work to generate awareness of programs such as Comcast's

Internet Essentials, which provides affordable broadband access to low-income families, seniors

and community college students. This can help close the divide by helping families in the

Baltimore area get access to affordable internet and allowing students to maintain that affordable

access even if they move on to a community college that doesn’t provide housing with

broadband service, or to a four-year institution but do not live on-campus. The program provides

internet access for $10 per month and the option to purchase a computer for only $150. There is

no long-term contract and no credit check, making it ideal for families in tight financial

situations. Other major cable and internet providers such as Cox and Time Warner offer similar

programs. Signs can be posted in parts of the school parents frequent and information can be

sent home in existing school mailings. Partnering with the school’s social worker would also

help increase outreach as that person has most likely already built relationships with the school’s

families of need.

e) Create a map of local free Wi-Fi spots

The library is an excellent resource for internet access in the community. Unfortunately,

it isn’t always practical for everyone’s situation. For some, the library isn’t open late enough. For

others, it’s too far to travel to without a car. To help people in those situations the school can

create a map of local low income areas that reference free Wi-Fi spots. Nowadays even many
supermarkets offer free Wi-Fi. Some of these locations could even partner with the school for

free advertising. This map would be another alternative solution for those without internet

access.

3) Teachers

a) Training in best practices in tech education

The reality of the situation is that socioeconomic status, language skills and family

location affect more than just whether or not one has access to a computer and high-speed

internet. These factors can also influence how much guidance in the use of modern technology

children and teens receive at home. Families who can afford to have one or both parents home

during crucial times of day when kids are home from school can help teach responsible digital

citizenship, especially if they are proficient users themselves.

For many students across the country, this is not the case. As a result, this role primarily

falls to the teachers at school. In order to maximize that opportunity to impact how young

people interact with others online, teachers need training that addresses their own technology

concerns as well as effective ways to teach technology use and digital citizenship. The NEA

study Access, Adequacy and Equity in Education Technology had numerous findings that should

impact our thinking on educational technology in schools, but three are particularly relevant

here. First, teachers reported that access to technology was often available, but tech support was

not. Second, most educators believed that the professional development they had received was

most helpful for non-instructional tasks. Third, as a result, many teachers use technology in

school, but fewer use it for true instruction. These findings underscore the importance of
providing teachers with the training they need to teach technology proficiency as an integrated

part of their practice.

b) Ongoing access to resources

Much like students, teachers need ongoing access to resources to keep up with the rapidly

changing world of technology. Services like EDPuzzle were unheard of even 3 years ago and

are now making waves in the educational world. Many teachers may even be unfamiliar with the

basics such as the ISTE standards. Showing teachers where to find resources and encouraging

them to be thoughtful in the use of those resources is just as important as putting together a

program of professional development workshops.

Memorandum

TO: Cher Jones and Kate Seidl

FROM: Steven Boone and David FitzSimons

RE: Equitable access to technology for our students

In order to improve equitable access to technology and close the digital divide at Bonnie

Branch Middle School and City Neighbors Charter School, we must take actions that affects the

students, teachers, and local community. There are two problems within the issue of equitable

access to technology. The first is a lack of physical access to technology and the second is a lack

of knowledge and skill to effectively utilize the technology. Our plan will address both problems

on two levels, within the school and within the community. This is a pervasive, all-encompassing

issue that will require the effort of the whole school and other members of the community.

Physical access to technology should first be addressed. While it would be difficult to

provide all students with computers or other devices at home, we have a great deal of control

over this at the school. Students need to have regular access to computers at school. The

administration should encourage and even incentivize teachers to incorporate student computer

use in their lessons. There also needs to be time that students can use computers after school,

even if they are only available on certain days. This will give students who lack internet access at

home an opportunity to use a computer for school work.

Access to technology outside of school will require help from community resources. The

first step in doing this should involve building relationships with community centers. For

example, the Howard County Public Library Central Branch would be an excellent starting point.

By aligning with them we can highlight the many available resources there and even host
technology focused events. Another step we need to take is generate awareness of Comcast’s

low-income programs. Not nearly enough families that could take advantage of this program

even know it exists. Even our most disadvantaged families could likely afford $10 per month if

they could see the benefits for their children. Finally, we need to create a map of local free Wi-Fi

spots. This will help students and parents find free Wi-Fi when the library or access at home isn’t

an option. (When work needs to be done at inconvenient hours or the distance is too great, for

example.)

Providing students with the knowledge and skills to effectively access technology is

probably an even bigger issue within our school. To deal with this problem, we should focus on

training teachers and providing them with ongoing access to resources. A student’s knowledge

and skills will not grow without the right role model. Our teachers should be those role models.

Once the teachers are trained, each grade team should be given specific topics to teach the

students. This way we can ensure everyone is learning necessary technology skills. For example,

6th grade focuses on Canvas (Google Classroom at City Neighbors), 7th grade focuses on GAFE,

and 8th grade focuses on social media. Recent studies and surveys have shown that teachers have

not received adequate training in teaching with technology and teaching how to use technology.

As we teach students these topics, teachers should also be collaborating to find or make

useful “how to” video for the students. This way they can access the community’s expertise

outside of school. The staff should also be creating specific technology content for our English

language learner (ELL) students and families. Information on our school website needs to also

appeal to them. As we work to provide access to a broader network of people, we need to ensure

there is content available for them. This has the potential to encourage our ELL students and

families to access our resources more and get more practice by showing them why it’s relevant to
them. Ideally, our technology committees would be diverse enough to have parents and families

help create some of this online content.

Building the knowledge and skills in our students to effectively access technology is a

community issue and should be dealt with as one. Many students lack the basic technology skills

because their parents lack those same skills. To deal with this, we propose that Bonnie Branch

and City Neighbors host parent-only technology training sessions. This could be done several

times throughout the year and focus on the same skills we are teaching the students. We could

even have students as our “technology ambassadors,” to demonstrate effective technology use

and to show their parents what they are learning in school. These trainings would not just help

the general community indirectly, but also help are students directly because their parents will be

more equipped to help them with technology.

For more information on our plan, please see our outline. We have an opportunity to

close the digital divide. We just need to take the first step.

Thank you,

Steven Boone

David FitzSimons
 Works Cited

“Americans’ Internet Access 2000-2015.” Pew Research Center, 26 June 2015,

www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/26/americans-internet-access-2000-2015/ Accessed May 8th,

2017

“How Digital Equity can Help Close the Homework Gap.” The Journal, 10 September 2015,

thejournal.com/articles/2015/09/10/how-digital-equity-can-help-close-the-

Homework-gap.aspx Accessed May 8th, 2017

Consortium for School Networking. CoSN’s 2016 Annual Infrastructure Survey. CoSN, 2016.

http://cosn.org/sites/default/files/CoSN_4th_Annual_Survey_

Nov%202%20FINAL.pdf Accessed May 8th, 2017

National Education Association. Access, Adequacy and Equity in Education Technology. NEA,

AFT, 2008. https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/NEA-Access,Adequacy,and

EquityinEdTech.pdf Accessed May 8th, 2017