Giving Compass' Take:

• Matt Hiefield and Vanessa Monterosa explain that as the digital divide (access to internet) closes, the participation gap (use of the internet to create) becomes more clear.

• How can funders help to facilitate creation online? How can disadvantaged groups be targetted to receive support? 

• Learn about supporting teachers in the digital age. 

First some good news: the divide in access to digital devices is decreasing. School districts across the country are upgrading networks and integrating more classroom technology, and smartphones have become increasingly ubiquitous across socioeconomic lines. With that said, there are still significant gaps for some students at home. Educators are beginning to take note of a new problem: a digital participation divide.

Previously, the digital participation divide seemed to revolve around access time. Wealthier students traditionally had more access at home, while students of poverty had less access due to a variety of economic factors. Now the quality of digital participation is coming into question. Recent studies have shown that lower income children often spend more time with technology as it has become a type of “digital babysitter” for parents who have to be out of the house for extended periods of time.

According to one article, a recent survey from Common Sense Media discovered that “low-income parents sat their young children, from birth to age eight, in front of a television or a computer screen for 3 hours and 29 minutes a day, on average”—almost double the amount of screen time that high-income children get. More specifically, the participation divide refers to the fact that some students are more plugged into an internet culture around creating, connecting with others and giving and receiving feedback around their work.

This observation around screen time and media usage has profound implications for educators. The solution, however, is not to take technology away from students. Rather, educators need to develop or renew a focus on digital citizenship, and this includes the cultivation of a digital footprint that reflects their knowledge, interests and passions that can be leveraged to support their college/career aspirations.

Read the full article about the digital participation gap by Matt Hiefield and Vanessa Monterosa at EdSurge.