How to Fight The Digital Divide Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Presented at The National School Boards Association Conference Dallas, TX, 11/12/99

Dr.AJEJ Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide This report, plus charts, and links to the original Census data and the survey instrument, can be obtained at: US Department of Commerce NTIA Office of Public Affairs Web: US Department of Education Office of Educational Technology Web:

Dr.AJEJ The Good News: As of 1998… Access to computers and the Internet soared for people in all demographic groups and geographic locations. Over 40% of American households owned computers. 25% of all households had Internet access. Access to telephones in the home was increasing among those groups least likely to have such access (chiefly, young and minority households in rural areas).

Dr.AJEJ The Bad News: Significant Disparities Persist  Households with incomes of $75,000+ are more than 20 times more likely to have access to the Internet than those at the lowest income levels, and more than nine times as likely to have a computer at home.  Whites are more likely to have access to the Internet from home than Blacks or Hispanics have from any location.

Dr.AJEJ Significant Disparities Persist (continued)  Black and Hispanic households are approximately 1/3 as likely to have home Internet access as households of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, and roughly 2/5 as likely as White households.  Regardless of income level, Americans living in rural areas are lagging behind in Internet access: at the lowest income levels, those in urban areas are more than twice as likely to have Internet access than those earning the same income in rural areas.

Dr.AJEJ The Digital Divide Has Widened The gaps with regard to home Internet access between White and Hispanic/Black households are now more than 6% larger than they were in Between 1997 and 1998, the divide between those at the highest and lowest education levels increased 25%. The divide between those at the highest and lowest income levels grew 29%.

Dr.AJEJ Minorities in the Technical Workforce African Americans account for roughly 12% of the U.S. workforce but only 4% of the doctors and 5% of the jobs in engineering, computer science, and scientific research. In higher education, African Americans earn only 5% of the bachelor's degrees in science and engineering and only 2% of the doctorates in related fields.

Dr.AJEJ Minorities in the Technical Workforce (continued) Of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, –In 1989, American Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics received 9.8%. –In 1995, underrepresented minorities received 13.5%. Proposition 209 was born in ; –In 1996 & 1997, a 20 % decline for first-year graduate enrollments of African Americans in all S&E fields and a 19.3% drop in the NSCSM&E (natural sciences, computer sciences, mathematics, and engineering). –This was twice the rate for all other ethic groups.

Dr.AJEJ Uneven Technology Access Persists in Schools National avg. of students per computer is improving (5.7 in 1998 versus 10.8 in 1993), but... Access to high technology and the Internet is still uneven nationwide. The number of students per terminal with Internet access: –Delaware (5.8), Alaska (6.0), Nebraska (7.2), South Dakota (7.3), and North Dakota (9.1), lead the nation. –District of Columbia (31.4), Alabama (30.2), Louisiana (25.0), North Carolina (24.9), and Mississippi (20.1) lag behind.

Dr.AJEJ Teacher Training Recent research shows... new teachers are no more likely than veterans to know how to teach with computers. 20% of US teachers feel prepared to integrate computers into classroom instruction. 3-5 years of training required before a teacher can effectively use computers in the classroom.

Dr.AJEJ Teacher Training And yet... 9% of school districts’ budgets is utilized for training, although US DOE advises 30%. less than 20% of the average school technology budget goes towards training teachers. 50% of teachers trained use their own funds.

Dr.AJEJ Teacher Training (continued) 2 million new teachers needed in US public schools by Budget constraints limit on-site help: –29% employ full-time. –42% struggle with part-time, and –29% have no on-site support personnel.

Dr.AJEJ Technology Planning Resources National Center for Technology Planning Offers information on the E-rate application, sample technology plans for high schools, institutions of higher learning, states, regions... Contact: NCTP, Dr. Larry S. Anderson, Founder/Director P. O. Box 5425 Mississippi State, MS phone: ; fax: Web:

Dr.AJEJ Sample E-rate Resource E-rate Central provides information for New York State schools on next steps, discount rate optimization, telephone audits, and vendor coordination. Contact:

Dr.AJEJ Technology Integration Resource Eisenhower National Clearinghouse’s “ENC Focus.” magazine for “classroom innovators;” available in print and online ( recent issue on integrating technology with classroom instruction. Contact: Kimberly S. Roempler, Ph.D. Associate Director, Instructional Resources ENC 1929 Kenny Rd. Columbus, OH phone: ; fax: Web:

Dr.AJEJ NASA Educator Resource Centers provide educators with access to NASA education materials (slides, prints, videos, publications, computer access ) and training; are located at each NASA center; and service educators in neighboring states. Contact: NASA GSFC, Code 130, Greenbelt, MD phone: ; fax: Web:

Dr.AJEJ NASA Central Operation Resources for Educators offers slide sets and CD-ROMs (and catalogs of offerings) Contact: NASA CORE, Loraine County JVS, Route 58 South, Oberlin, OH phone: , ext.249/293; fax: Web:

Dr.AJEJ Ensuring Access To Digital Age Tools  Public/private partnerships critical.  Private sector initiatives (Bell Atlantic) needed.  Public policies must expand affordable access.

Dr.AJEJ Ensuring Access To Digital Age Tools (continued)  Establish and support Community Access Centers.  Promote K-12/University partnerships, including minority college campuses.

Dr.AJEJ Give Back To Your Community Suggested actions and Web resources for parents:  Review your school’s technology plan –  Join a school committee  Become a webmaster or offer technical support –  Pull some wire –  Help generate funds –  Donate equipment or contact federal work sites for excess equipment donations –  Understand the big picture – – ericir.syr.edu

Dr.AJEJ Give Back To Your Community (Continued) Suggested actions and resources for non parents:  Adopt a school –

Aim High! Shoot for the moon and even if you miss, you’ll still be among the stars!!! Peace Dr. Aprille Ericsson-Jackson Aim High!