5+ Million children in the U.S. lack the digital devices, internet connections, and mentorship they need to fully access their education.
- USAFacts.orgWhether you call this problem the Digital Divide, Technology Gap, or Digital Division, we believe two things about it:
The problem prevents too many kids from achieving their full potential and unlocking their dreams in life.
This problem is solvable.
News and Resources on the Digital Divide
To learn more about the Digital Divide, check out a curated selection of resources and news articles below.
PlanITROI and its Digital Dreams Project Partner with Acer to Donate 100 Laptops to Pivotal for Foster Youth
PlanITROI and its Digital Dreams Project joined with Acer to donate 100 Aspire 1 laptops to Pivotal, Silicon Valley’s only nonprofit focused exclusively on the education and career needs of foster youth. At a celebration held on May 19 in Santa Clara at the Roosevelt Community Center, the Digital Dreams Project presented all of Pivotal’s graduating seniors with the Acer Aspire 1 laptops. Additional laptops were provided to Pivotal for its Emergency Assistance Fund, which was launched in 2020 to provide immediate financial support to foster youth impacted by COVID-19.
Closing the Digital Divide With Affordable Technology | Cheddar | February 25,2021
Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI and the founder of the Digital Dreams Project, discusses how the lack the digital devices are hindering childhood education and what his organization is doing to close the digital divide.
1 in 3 American Indian, Black, and Latino Children Fall Into Digital Divide, Study Says | EducationWeek
One in three Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native households lack such internet access, making children in those homes “more likely than their White peers to be disconnected from online learning,” the analysis states..
Stratford volunteers help connect seniors to tech for MLK Day of Service | News12 CT | January 25, 2021
The community centers teamed up with the Digital Dreams Project to collect and securely wipe electronic devices before refurbishing them to get them to people who need them.
Bridging the digital divide for students with disabilities | The Hill | November 10, 2020
The unexpected shift to the remote workplace and classroom brought on by COVID-19 has left many families across the country with inequitable access to devices and technology infrastructure, a problem known as the digital divide.
Connect 313 Works to Bridge the Digital Divide in Detroit | Detroit Is It | November 3, 2020
Students can fall behind on online homework and those who lose their job may have a harder time finding one without home internet or access to a computer.
Not a Luxury: Pandemic Highlights Digital Divide in Rural Areas | Flatland | November 5, 2020
As life shifted to the digital world in the midst of a national health crisis, people without access to high speed internet had to adapt the best they could.
How to get rid of old computers and help poor students | Small Business Advocate | October 13, 2020
Paul Baum joins Jim Blasingame to reveal how his organization takes retired personal computers from businesses and individuals and refurbishes them to be given to poor students who can’t afford a computer.
The Digital Divide Starts With a Laptop Shortage | NY Times | October 12, 2020
A surge in worldwide demand by educators for low-cost laptops has created shipment delays and pitted desperate schools against one another. Districts with deep pockets often win out.
ITAD firm launches project to bridge the digital divide | October 2, 2020
PlanITROI launched the Digital Dreams Project (DDP), which aims to help bridge the digital divide by providing one million devices to students by the end of the 2021 school year.
New Jersey Tech Firm Donates Refurbished Laptops to Kids
“There's a solution out there and it’s pretty simple," said Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI, based in Denville."
Digital Dreams Project Launched By PlanITROI To Help Millions Of U.S. Children In Need Get Access To Computers To Do Remote Schoolwork
New Jersey Firm Launches Digital Dreams Project to Bring Awareness to Where You Can Donate or Trade-in Idle Computing Devices for Students to Learn.
Photo Of Girls Using Taco Bell WiFi Becomes Symbol Of Digital Divide | Fox KTVU | September 1, 2020
The pair walked to the restaurant and used the WiFi to complete school work on laptops, apparently because the girls didn’t have an adequate Internet connection at home. "We must do better and solve this digital divide once and for all for all California students," tweeted Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo.
The Pandemic Has Sounded An Alarm Bell On North Carolina’s Digital Divide | The Charlotte Observer | August 28, 2020
The state’s digital divide is no secret. It’s become an emergency, though, as the pandemic forced nearly every school in the state to rely on computers and the internet to teach children.
Remote Education Is Forcing The U.S. To Confront The Digital Divide | Fast Company | August 27, 2020
COVID-19 has introduced a host of new challenges to everyday life. But it’s also turned longstanding weaknesses in American society into acute crises. One of the biggest problems: Millions of students can’t keep up with online schoolwork because they lack internet access at home.
COVID-19 Is Magnifying The Digital Divide For Kids Heading Back To School | Newsweek | August 26, 2020
Across the United States, K-12 students and teachers face an onslaught of challenges as they head back to school this fall. With many districts already attempting a mixture of in-person and remote learning, COVID-19 outbreaks are already disrupting shaky reopening plans. The response, when these outbreaks occur, will likely be an even heavier reliance on remote learning.
Wisconsin’s Rural Students Face A Digital Divide As Some Return To Screen Instead Of School | Channel 3000 | August 26, 2020
Schools in Wisconsin have spent millions of dollars on hotspots to help students with poor internet service learn online as the coronavirus pandemic grinds on.
Chicago Hopes Broadband Plan Could Help Other Citites Address Digital Divide | The Wall Street Journal | July 14, 2020
Officials and donors involved in an ambitious plan to provide free broadband access to students in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods hope that the public-private partnership can be a model for efforts to address digital equity issues elsewhere in the U.S.
Coronavirus Pandemic Spotlights Problems With Online Learning | NPR | July 13, 2020
How can schools ensure that students have what they need for ongoing remote learning? NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Nicol Turner Lee, who studies digital divides in education.
Here’s how much education students lost when schools closed | The CT Mirror | July 1, 2020
The extent of the learning that never happened when schools in Connecticut shut down during the pandemic was laid bare in a recent survey of districts, and the state’s education commissioner is calling it an “education crisis.”
K–12 Student Digital Divide Much Larger Than Previously Estimated and Affects Teachers, Too, New Analysis Shows | Common Sense Media | June 29, 2020
With the prospect of another distance learning school year on the horizon due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new analysis released today finds that a full 15 to 16 million public school students across the United States live in households without adequate internet access or computing devices to facilitate distance learning.
School During Covid-19? | Forbes | June 18, 2020
Just as swiftly as school buildings across the country closed for millions of students, the transition began to distanced learning. Or, as we would soon start hearing, the transition began for some while the digital divide remained for others.
Disconnected in isolation: How the coronavirus pandemic shed light on the digital divide | The Seattle Times | June 9, 2020
When Daria Smith moved to South Seattle, she wasn’t planning to get the internet any time soon. It’s expensive, and she had other, more pressing bills to pay. But her priorities shifted after the Auburn School District sent her son and daughter, ages 14 and 13, home in the middle of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oakland Schools Seek $12.5M To Close Digital Divide In Coronavirus Remote Learning | CBS San Francisco | May 14, 2020
The city of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Public Education Fund and the non-profit organization Tech Exchange announced a campaign Thursday to raise $12.5 million for computer and internet access to all students in Oakland.
The digital divide in education just got a lot wider | The Kauffman Foundation | May 7, 2020
A panel of experts discuss how the school shutdowns caused by the pandemic is only making it more difficult for vulnerable students to receive a quality education.
Coronavirus pandemic shines light on deep digital divide in U.S. amid efforts to narrow it | The Washington Post | April 29, 2020
When schools around the country began to close this spring because of the spread of the coronavirus, millions of students had the resources to transition to online learning — but not in Detroit. Some 90 percent of the 51,000 students in the high-poverty Detroit Public Schools Community District did not have access to Internet services or the technology at home required for online learning.
#Disconnected: COVID-19 & the Digital Divide | The Aspen Institute | April 24, 2020
Aspen Institute’s panel discussion featuring:
Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner, FCC
Jim Steyer, Founder & CEO, Common Sense Media
Larry Irving, former Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA and CEO, The Irving Group
Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy
Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital
Bridging digital divides between schools and communities | The Brookings Institute | March 2, 2020
Getting internet to the school is just one piece of the puzzle in closing the digital divide and the growing “homework gap” in which students lack residential and community broadband access.
Nearly 1 Million in Va., Md. Have No High-Speed Internet Access | NBC Washington | February 7, 2020
Lessons from San Jose on 5G Digital Equity, Inclusivity | Techwire | February 3, 2020
San Jose has used partnerships with telecom companies to not just enable the rise of 5G, but also to simultaneously help bridge its serious digital divide.
Does 5G Have the Potential to Make the Digital Divide Worse? | Government Technology | January 31, 2020
Due to new technology’s inherent likelihood to leave segments of the population behind, experts and stakeholders say government must work to ensure small-cell network rollouts benefit the whole of communities.
Closing the digital divide is critical for the vitality of rural America | The Hill | January 30, 2020
Smart phones, connected devices, online marketplaces, and social media have changed the way we interact with each other, buy goods and get around. As we look back on the first 20 years of this century, it’s incredible to think of the innovation and rapid acceleration of technology.
But while technology has made us more connected, it has also placed those who don’t have access to connectivity at a significant disadvantage as our world becomes more reliant on digital commerce and communication.
Whether you call this problem the Digital Divide, Technology Gap, or Digital Division, we believe two things about it:
The problem prevents too many kids from achieving their full potential and unlocking their dreams in life.
This problem is solvable.
News and Resources on the Digital Divide
To learn more about the Digital Divide, check out a curated selection of resources and news articles below.
Closing the Digital Divide With Affordable Technology | Cheddar | February 25,2021
Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI and the founder of the Digital Dreams Project, discusses how the lack the digital devices are hindering childhood education and what his organization is doing to close the digital divide.
1 in 3 American Indian, Black, and Latino Children Fall Into Digital Divide, Study Says | EducationWeek
One in three Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native households lack such internet access, making children in those homes “more likely than their White peers to be disconnected from online learning,” the analysis states..
Stratford volunteers help connect seniors to tech for MLK Day of Service | News12 CT | January 25, 2021
The community centers teamed up with the Digital Dreams Project to collect and securely wipe electronic devices before refurbishing them to get them to people who need them.
Bridging the digital divide for students with disabilities | The Hill | November 10, 2020
The unexpected shift to the remote workplace and classroom brought on by COVID-19 has left many families across the country with inequitable access to devices and technology infrastructure, a problem known as the digital divide.
Connect 313 Works to Bridge the Digital Divide in Detroit | Detroit Is It | November 3, 2020
Students can fall behind on online homework and those who lose their job may have a harder time finding one without home internet or access to a computer.
Not a Luxury: Pandemic Highlights Digital Divide in Rural Areas | Flatland | November 5, 2020
As life shifted to the digital world in the midst of a national health crisis, people without access to high speed internet had to adapt the best they could.
How to get rid of old computers and help poor students | Small Business Advocate | October 13, 2020
Paul Baum joins Jim Blasingame to reveal how his organization takes retired personal computers from businesses and individuals and refurbishes them to be given to poor students who can’t afford a computer.
The Digital Divide Starts With a Laptop Shortage | NY Times | October 12, 2020
A surge in worldwide demand by educators for low-cost laptops has created shipment delays and pitted desperate schools against one another. Districts with deep pockets often win out.
ITAD firm launches project to bridge the digital divide | October 2, 2020
PlanITROI launched the Digital Dreams Project (DDP), which aims to help bridge the digital divide by providing one million devices to students by the end of the 2021 school year.
New Jersey Tech Firm Donates Refurbished Laptops to Kids
“There's a solution out there and it’s pretty simple," said Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI, based in Denville."
Digital Dreams Project Launched By PlanITROI To Help Millions Of U.S. Children In Need Get Access To Computers To Do Remote Schoolwork
New Jersey Firm Launches Digital Dreams Project to Bring Awareness to Where You Can Donate or Trade-in Idle Computing Devices for Students to Learn.
Photo Of Girls Using Taco Bell WiFi Becomes Symbol Of Digital Divide | Fox KTVU | September 1, 2020
The pair walked to the restaurant and used the WiFi to complete school work on laptops, apparently because the girls didn’t have an adequate Internet connection at home. "We must do better and solve this digital divide once and for all for all California students," tweeted Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo.
The Pandemic Has Sounded An Alarm Bell On North Carolina’s Digital Divide | The Charlotte Observer | August 28, 2020
The state’s digital divide is no secret. It’s become an emergency, though, as the pandemic forced nearly every school in the state to rely on computers and the internet to teach children.
Remote Education Is Forcing The U.S. To Confront The Digital Divide | Fast Company | August 27, 2020
COVID-19 has introduced a host of new challenges to everyday life. But it’s also turned longstanding weaknesses in American society into acute crises. One of the biggest problems: Millions of students can’t keep up with online schoolwork because they lack internet access at home.
COVID-19 Is Magnifying The Digital Divide For Kids Heading Back To School | Newsweek | August 26, 2020
Across the United States, K-12 students and teachers face an onslaught of challenges as they head back to school this fall. With many districts already attempting a mixture of in-person and remote learning, COVID-19 outbreaks are already disrupting shaky reopening plans. The response, when these outbreaks occur, will likely be an even heavier reliance on remote learning.
Wisconsin’s Rural Students Face A Digital Divide As Some Return To Screen Instead Of School | Channel 3000 | August 26, 2020
Schools in Wisconsin have spent millions of dollars on hotspots to help students with poor internet service learn online as the coronavirus pandemic grinds on.
Chicago Hopes Broadband Plan Could Help Other Citites Address Digital Divide | The Wall Street Journal | July 14, 2020
Officials and donors involved in an ambitious plan to provide free broadband access to students in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods hope that the public-private partnership can be a model for efforts to address digital equity issues elsewhere in the U.S.
Coronavirus Pandemic Spotlights Problems With Online Learning | NPR | July 13, 2020
How can schools ensure that students have what they need for ongoing remote learning? NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Nicol Turner Lee, who studies digital divides in education.
Here’s how much education students lost when schools closed | The CT Mirror | July 1, 2020
The extent of the learning that never happened when schools in Connecticut shut down during the pandemic was laid bare in a recent survey of districts, and the state’s education commissioner is calling it an “education crisis.”
K–12 Student Digital Divide Much Larger Than Previously Estimated and Affects Teachers, Too, New Analysis Shows | Common Sense Media | June 29, 2020
With the prospect of another distance learning school year on the horizon due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new analysis released today finds that a full 15 to 16 million public school students across the United States live in households without adequate internet access or computing devices to facilitate distance learning.
School During Covid-19? | Forbes | June 18, 2020
Just as swiftly as school buildings across the country closed for millions of students, the transition began to distanced learning. Or, as we would soon start hearing, the transition began for some while the digital divide remained for others.
Disconnected in isolation: How the coronavirus pandemic shed light on the digital divide | The Seattle Times | June 9, 2020
When Daria Smith moved to South Seattle, she wasn’t planning to get the internet any time soon. It’s expensive, and she had other, more pressing bills to pay. But her priorities shifted after the Auburn School District sent her son and daughter, ages 14 and 13, home in the middle of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oakland Schools Seek $12.5M To Close Digital Divide In Coronavirus Remote Learning | CBS San Francisco | May 14, 2020
The city of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Public Education Fund and the non-profit organization Tech Exchange announced a campaign Thursday to raise $12.5 million for computer and internet access to all students in Oakland.
The digital divide in education just got a lot wider | The Kauffman Foundation | May 7, 2020
A panel of experts discuss how the school shutdowns caused by the pandemic is only making it more difficult for vulnerable students to receive a quality education.
Coronavirus pandemic shines light on deep digital divide in U.S. amid efforts to narrow it | The Washington Post | April 29, 2020
When schools around the country began to close this spring because of the spread of the coronavirus, millions of students had the resources to transition to online learning — but not in Detroit. Some 90 percent of the 51,000 students in the high-poverty Detroit Public Schools Community District did not have access to Internet services or the technology at home required for online learning.
#Disconnected: COVID-19 & the Digital Divide | The Aspen Institute | April 24, 2020
Aspen Institute’s panel discussion featuring:
Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner, FCC
Jim Steyer, Founder & CEO, Common Sense Media
Larry Irving, former Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA and CEO, The Irving Group
Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy
Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital
Bridging digital divides between schools and communities | The Brookings Institute | March 2, 2020
Getting internet to the school is just one piece of the puzzle in closing the digital divide and the growing “homework gap” in which students lack residential and community broadband access.
Nearly 1 Million in Va., Md. Have No High-Speed Internet Access | NBC Washington | February 7, 2020
Lessons from San Jose on 5G Digital Equity, Inclusivity | Techwire | February 3, 2020
San Jose has used partnerships with telecom companies to not just enable the rise of 5G, but also to simultaneously help bridge its serious digital divide.
Does 5G Have the Potential to Make the Digital Divide Worse? | Government Technology | January 31, 2020
Due to new technology’s inherent likelihood to leave segments of the population behind, experts and stakeholders say government must work to ensure small-cell network rollouts benefit the whole of communities.
Closing the digital divide is critical for the vitality of rural America | The Hill | January 30, 2020
Smart phones, connected devices, online marketplaces, and social media have changed the way we interact with each other, buy goods and get around. As we look back on the first 20 years of this century, it’s incredible to think of the innovation and rapid acceleration of technology.
But while technology has made us more connected, it has also placed those who don’t have access to connectivity at a significant disadvantage as our world becomes more reliant on digital commerce and communication.
Whether you call this problem the Digital Divide, Technology Gap, or Digital Division, we believe two things about it:
The problem prevents too many kids from achieving their full potential and unlocking their dreams in life.
This problem is solvable.
News and Resources on the Digital Divide
To learn more about the Digital Divide, check out a curated selection of resources and news articles below.
Closing the Digital Divide With Affordable Technology | Cheddar | February 25,2021
Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI and the founder of the Digital Dreams Project, discusses how the lack the digital devices are hindering childhood education and what his organization is doing to close the digital divide.
1 in 3 American Indian, Black, and Latino Children Fall Into Digital Divide, Study Says | EducationWeek
One in three Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native households lack such internet access, making children in those homes “more likely than their White peers to be disconnected from online learning,” the analysis states..
Stratford volunteers help connect seniors to tech for MLK Day of Service | News12 CT | January 25, 2021
The community centers teamed up with the Digital Dreams Project to collect and securely wipe electronic devices before refurbishing them to get them to people who need them.
Bridging the digital divide for students with disabilities | The Hill | November 10, 2020
The unexpected shift to the remote workplace and classroom brought on by COVID-19 has left many families across the country with inequitable access to devices and technology infrastructure, a problem known as the digital divide.
Connect 313 Works to Bridge the Digital Divide in Detroit | Detroit Is It | November 3, 2020
Students can fall behind on online homework and those who lose their job may have a harder time finding one without home internet or access to a computer.
Not a Luxury: Pandemic Highlights Digital Divide in Rural Areas | Flatland | November 5, 2020
As life shifted to the digital world in the midst of a national health crisis, people without access to high speed internet had to adapt the best they could.
How to get rid of old computers and help poor students | Small Business Advocate | October 13, 2020
Paul Baum joins Jim Blasingame to reveal how his organization takes retired personal computers from businesses and individuals and refurbishes them to be given to poor students who can’t afford a computer.
The Digital Divide Starts With a Laptop Shortage | NY Times | October 12, 2020
A surge in worldwide demand by educators for low-cost laptops has created shipment delays and pitted desperate schools against one another. Districts with deep pockets often win out.
ITAD firm launches project to bridge the digital divide | October 2, 2020
PlanITROI launched the Digital Dreams Project (DDP), which aims to help bridge the digital divide by providing one million devices to students by the end of the 2021 school year.
New Jersey Tech Firm Donates Refurbished Laptops to Kids
“There's a solution out there and it’s pretty simple," said Paul Baum, CEO of PlanITROI, based in Denville."
Digital Dreams Project Launched By PlanITROI To Help Millions Of U.S. Children In Need Get Access To Computers To Do Remote Schoolwork
New Jersey Firm Launches Digital Dreams Project to Bring Awareness to Where You Can Donate or Trade-in Idle Computing Devices for Students to Learn.
Photo Of Girls Using Taco Bell WiFi Becomes Symbol Of Digital Divide | Fox KTVU | September 1, 2020
The pair walked to the restaurant and used the WiFi to complete school work on laptops, apparently because the girls didn’t have an adequate Internet connection at home. "We must do better and solve this digital divide once and for all for all California students," tweeted Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo.
The Pandemic Has Sounded An Alarm Bell On North Carolina’s Digital Divide | The Charlotte Observer | August 28, 2020
The state’s digital divide is no secret. It’s become an emergency, though, as the pandemic forced nearly every school in the state to rely on computers and the internet to teach children.
Remote Education Is Forcing The U.S. To Confront The Digital Divide | Fast Company | August 27, 2020
COVID-19 has introduced a host of new challenges to everyday life. But it’s also turned longstanding weaknesses in American society into acute crises. One of the biggest problems: Millions of students can’t keep up with online schoolwork because they lack internet access at home.
COVID-19 Is Magnifying The Digital Divide For Kids Heading Back To School | Newsweek | August 26, 2020
Across the United States, K-12 students and teachers face an onslaught of challenges as they head back to school this fall. With many districts already attempting a mixture of in-person and remote learning, COVID-19 outbreaks are already disrupting shaky reopening plans. The response, when these outbreaks occur, will likely be an even heavier reliance on remote learning.
Wisconsin’s Rural Students Face A Digital Divide As Some Return To Screen Instead Of School | Channel 3000 | August 26, 2020
Schools in Wisconsin have spent millions of dollars on hotspots to help students with poor internet service learn online as the coronavirus pandemic grinds on.
Chicago Hopes Broadband Plan Could Help Other Citites Address Digital Divide | The Wall Street Journal | July 14, 2020
Officials and donors involved in an ambitious plan to provide free broadband access to students in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods hope that the public-private partnership can be a model for efforts to address digital equity issues elsewhere in the U.S.
Coronavirus Pandemic Spotlights Problems With Online Learning | NPR | July 13, 2020
How can schools ensure that students have what they need for ongoing remote learning? NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Nicol Turner Lee, who studies digital divides in education.
Here’s how much education students lost when schools closed | The CT Mirror | July 1, 2020
The extent of the learning that never happened when schools in Connecticut shut down during the pandemic was laid bare in a recent survey of districts, and the state’s education commissioner is calling it an “education crisis.”
K–12 Student Digital Divide Much Larger Than Previously Estimated and Affects Teachers, Too, New Analysis Shows | Common Sense Media | June 29, 2020
With the prospect of another distance learning school year on the horizon due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new analysis released today finds that a full 15 to 16 million public school students across the United States live in households without adequate internet access or computing devices to facilitate distance learning.
School During Covid-19? | Forbes | June 18, 2020
Just as swiftly as school buildings across the country closed for millions of students, the transition began to distanced learning. Or, as we would soon start hearing, the transition began for some while the digital divide remained for others.
Disconnected in isolation: How the coronavirus pandemic shed light on the digital divide | The Seattle Times | June 9, 2020
When Daria Smith moved to South Seattle, she wasn’t planning to get the internet any time soon. It’s expensive, and she had other, more pressing bills to pay. But her priorities shifted after the Auburn School District sent her son and daughter, ages 14 and 13, home in the middle of March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oakland Schools Seek $12.5M To Close Digital Divide In Coronavirus Remote Learning | CBS San Francisco | May 14, 2020
The city of Oakland, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland Public Education Fund and the non-profit organization Tech Exchange announced a campaign Thursday to raise $12.5 million for computer and internet access to all students in Oakland.
The digital divide in education just got a lot wider | The Kauffman Foundation | May 7, 2020
A panel of experts discuss how the school shutdowns caused by the pandemic is only making it more difficult for vulnerable students to receive a quality education.
Coronavirus pandemic shines light on deep digital divide in U.S. amid efforts to narrow it | The Washington Post | April 29, 2020
When schools around the country began to close this spring because of the spread of the coronavirus, millions of students had the resources to transition to online learning — but not in Detroit. Some 90 percent of the 51,000 students in the high-poverty Detroit Public Schools Community District did not have access to Internet services or the technology at home required for online learning.
#Disconnected: COVID-19 & the Digital Divide | The Aspen Institute | April 24, 2020
Aspen Institute’s panel discussion featuring:
Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner, FCC
Jim Steyer, Founder & CEO, Common Sense Media
Larry Irving, former Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA and CEO, The Irving Group
Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy
Vivian Schiller, Executive Director, Aspen Digital
Bridging digital divides between schools and communities | The Brookings Institute | March 2, 2020
Getting internet to the school is just one piece of the puzzle in closing the digital divide and the growing “homework gap” in which students lack residential and community broadband access.
Nearly 1 Million in Va., Md. Have No High-Speed Internet Access | NBC Washington | February 7, 2020
Lessons from San Jose on 5G Digital Equity, Inclusivity | Techwire | February 3, 2020
San Jose has used partnerships with telecom companies to not just enable the rise of 5G, but also to simultaneously help bridge its serious digital divide.
Does 5G Have the Potential to Make the Digital Divide Worse? | Government Technology | January 31, 2020
Due to new technology’s inherent likelihood to leave segments of the population behind, experts and stakeholders say government must work to ensure small-cell network rollouts benefit the whole of communities.
Closing the digital divide is critical for the vitality of rural America | The Hill | January 30, 2020
Smart phones, connected devices, online marketplaces, and social media have changed the way we interact with each other, buy goods and get around. As we look back on the first 20 years of this century, it’s incredible to think of the innovation and rapid acceleration of technology.
But while technology has made us more connected, it has also placed those who don’t have access to connectivity at a significant disadvantage as our world becomes more reliant on digital commerce and communication.