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It explains how unequal access to connectivity, devices, and digital content limits participation in online learning, collaboration, and development of needed digital skills. Using Speak Up research findings and the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan’s access framework, the report identifies gaps that persist despite significant school investments and highlights unresolved issues for further discussion.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/unfinished-business-understanding-the-digital-access-divide-in-american-schools/587085/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/unfinished-business-understanding-the-digital-access-divide-in-american-schools/587085.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Fahsai","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the report mean by the “digital access divide”?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It frames the digital access divide as unequal access to educational technology, including connectivity, devices, and digital content, along with elements such as accessibility and digital health, safety, and citizenship.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Why does the report argue the digital divide is broader than home internet access?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It notes that while home access historically dominated the concept, inequities also arise from challenges students face in obtaining high-quality digital tools and from how learning experiences and opportunities affect equity and student agency.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Who is the report primarily based on when analyzing the digital access divide?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The first report in the series examines the issue through the eyes and experiences of K-12 teachers and students, supported by references to longitudinal Speak Up research data where appropriate.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587085,1792062950,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":26,"preview_page_count":4},549768702563,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/8000c4aa63b76e948b?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786536092046926083","S P E C I A L R E P O R T 1  \nUnfinished Business:  \nUnderstanding the Digital Access Divide in American Schools  \nIn partnership with  \nTable of Contents  \nIntroduction ...................................... 4  \nFindings ............................................ 6  \nEnding thoughts and questions for further discussion ..................... 20  \nAbout us ......................................... 23  \n“The digital access divide often both mirrorsand  \nexacerbates existing educational inequalities.  \nStudents without adequate access to digital resources struggle to participate fully in online learning, access educational materials, collaborate with peers, or develop the digital skills and literacies needed for post-graduation success. These disparities can impact a student’s ability to participate fully and benefit from digital learning opportunities often taken for granted by their historically better-resourced peers.”i  \n2024 National Educational Technology Plan  \nIntroduction  \nT he phrase,“digital divide,” was first popularized  \nin the mid-1990s to refer to individuals and  \nfamilies who did not have access to technology or the Internet at home. Over a series of years during that time period, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce published a series of three reports under the title banner of “Falling through the Net”which documented the widespread inequalities in national technology access, noting particularly how people of color, older people and less affluent and less educated people especially in rural areas were especially vulnerable to not having Internet connectivity.ii Business, policy and education leaders soon adopted the phrase to also explain the potential inequity for students if they did not have technology and Internet connectivity at home. Though technology products and the ways to connect to the Internet have evolved significantly in the past 30 years, the focus on home access has been the predominant theme when referring to the digital divide.  \nProject Tomorrow’s Speak Up® Research reports have advocated for a broader definition of the digital divide to include access challenges at home and the obstacles K-12 students face in gaining access to high quality digital tools and resources to support classroom learning. In our report, co-published with Spectrum Business® in 2022, Beyond the Homework Gap: Leveraging Technology to Support Equity of Learning Experiences in School, we advance a new expanded definition of equity in terms of examining learning experiences, learning opportunities for success and student agency as all important components when considering how to erase the inequities in education in addition to addressing limitations in technology access.iii This expanded definition has gained traction as more policy, business and education leaders now realize that simply providing every student with a Chromebook and a WiFi hotspot does not ensure equitable or high quality learning experiences.  \nIn January 2024, the U.S. Department of Education released the new 2024 National Educational Technology Plan, titled “A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design and Use Divides.”iv The new plan defines the three key divides of access, design and use as follows:  \n“The Digital Use Divide: addressing opportunities to improve how students use technology to enhance their learning, including dynamic applications of technology to explore, create, and engage in critical analysis of academic content and knowledge.  \nThe Digital Design Divide: addressing opportunities for educators to expand their professional learning and build the capacities necessary to design learning experiences enabled by technology.  \nThe Digital Access Divide: addressing opportunities for students and educators to gain equitable access to educational technology, including connectivity, devices, and digital content. This also includes accessibility and digital he","cbCaicaHyiImhnXO","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicaHyiImhnXO","pdf",31352831,24,"English","# Introduction\n## Digital divide background and expanded definition\n## 2024 National Educational Technology Plan: access, design, use\n## Purpose and scope of Special Report 1\n# Findings\n# Ending thoughts and questions for further discussion\n# About us","[{\"question\":\"What does the report mean by the “digital access divide”?\",\"answer\":\"It frames the digital access divide as unequal access to educational technology, including connectivity, devices, and digital content, along with elements such as accessibility and digital health, safety, and citizenship.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the report argue the digital divide is broader than home internet access?\",\"answer\":\"It notes that while home access historically dominated the concept, inequities also arise from challenges students face in obtaining high-quality digital tools and from how learning experiences and opportunities affect equity and student agency.\"},{\"question\":\"Who is the report primarily based on when analyzing the digital access divide?\",\"answer\":\"The first report in the series examines the issue through the eyes and experiences of K-12 teachers and students, supported by references to longitudinal Speak Up research data where appropriate.\"}]","Unfinished Business - Understanding the Digital Access Divide in American Schools | PDF",1792060679]