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The Digital Divide Has Narrowed, But 12 Million Students Are Still Disconnected

Edsurge

In the months that followed, many states and school districts mobilized, using federal CARES Act funding, broadband discounts and partnerships with private companies to connect their students and enable online learning. As of December 2020, the number of students impacted by the digital divide has narrowed to 12 million. “In

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The affordability gap is the biggest part of the digital divide

The Hechinger Report

Most of these households, he said, “have infrastructure available at their home but they just can’t afford to sign up for a broadband service.” Only a third of those without broadband access blame a lack of infrastructure; the remaining two thirds without access say they can’t afford it, Marwell said.

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Digital divide: Gap is narrowing, but how will schools maintain progress?

The Hechinger Report

As teachers develop lesson plans, they also face lingering questions, in Maine and nationally, over the possibility of a return to remote learning and concerns about ensuring all students have access to the devices and high-quality broadband they need to do classwork and homework. 18, 2021, in Brunswick, Maine.

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How one city closed the digital divide for nearly all its students

The Hechinger Report

We have this huge digital divide that’s making it hard for [students] to get their education,” she said. David Silver, the director of education for the mayor’s office, said people talked about the digital divide, but there had never been enough energy to tackle it. Credit: Javeria Salman/ The Hechinger Report. “We

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OPINION: College in a pandemic is tough enough — without reliable broadband access, it’s nearly impossible

The Hechinger Report

Sadly, though, the reality is that millions of Americans — in rural and urban areas alike, and including many underrepresented minorities — lack the reliable broadband connections needed to access postsecondary and K-12 education in a nation that remains in partial lockdown. Related: How to reach students without internet access at home?

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School’s Out: A COVID-19 Lesson

EdTech Magazine

Before the pandemic, we knew there was a digital divide in America. The need to close the divide can no longer be ignored because students of all ages are locked out from school – not just because of the virus itself, but from lack of an internet connection at home. Enter COVID-19. Back in 2017, the U.S.

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OPINION: How targeted federal action could finally chip away at the broadband racism faced by Black students

The Hechinger Report

Pandemic-era lockdowns put an unmistakable spotlight on digital equity — particularly for K-12 students. But nowhere is the digital divide larger than in the Black rural South. billion for a $30-per-month broadband subsidy for low-income Americans, and we stand to make gains in both access and affordability.