Tag Archives: digital equity

My kitchen counter has changed a lot over the last six years. What used to be dedicated to a bowl of fruit, a coffee maker, various papers, and mail that I hadn’t gotten around to throwing away yet has since become a mess of wires coiling back to one put-upon outlet. A rotating set of smartphones, tablets, Bluetooth speakers, and headphones have made their way to the counter as well, pointing to a broader set of changes in the house.…

Our third and final installment of the “Reframing the Digital Divide” infographic series presents details about the disproportionate connectivity and access challenges that lower-income families face, particularly those of Hispanic origin headed by immigrant parents, when compared with higher-income families. Almost half (44%) of immigrant Hispanic parents never use computers, and 66% of immigrant Hispanic parents have less trusted sources of support for learning about technology than parents in other groups. Despite these challenges, immigrant Hispanic parents are most likely to…

Welcome 2017!  For the Joan Ganz Cooney Center team, this is a very special year.  In December, we will celebrate our tenth year as an organization dedicated to advancing learning for children in the digital age. For those who follow our work closely, you will recall our first report—an analysis of the rapidly evolving digital landscape of educational toys, software and games called D is for Digital which found that the marketplace was full of products that may have had…

For many years, the “digital divide” signaled a split between people with access to the internet and those without. The term expressed concerns about those who may fall behind in the highly digitized economy of the 21st century. But with internet service now present in most U.S. homes, the gap has become more nuanced. Today, the question is less about access and more about quality and consistency of connection. A nationally representative telephone survey of 1,191 families conducted last year…

Educators and researchers have long argued that engaging families and making connections between home and school learning are key elements that foster children’s academic success and strong communities. In communities where parents may have had few educational opportunities themselves, or may have been educated in very different systems outside the U.S, it is especially important to build a common understanding and empower families. To help address this need, Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) in Chula Vista, the largest K-6…

How many of you have NOT used technology today? Or the Internet? Those are questions I often ask in my presentation. It doesn’t matter how many people are in the room or what day or time of day it is, usually no one raises his or her hand. But even among people who, technically, have Internet access, digital inequities exist. They’re hidden and hard to find—until now. A recent report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center reveals while nine out…

Common Sense Media has launched Common Sense Latino, a dedicated page for  Spanish-language videos and articles. The initiative seeks to offer Latino families information and resources to navigate and thrive in our digital world. In creating Common Sense Latino, we’re responding to the overwhelming evidence that Spanish-speaking families want—and need—the latest information, guidance, and recommendations on media and technology. Today, according to the Census, Latinos represent 17 percent of the U.S. population, numbering approximately 50 million people. By 2060, that…

Remarks of Chairman Tom Wheeler at “Digital Equity: Technology and Learning in the Lives of Lower-Income Families” On February 3, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Rutgers University co-hosted a forum at New America in Washington, D.C. We released Opportunity for All?: Technology and Learning in Lower-Income Families  with presentations by authors Victoria Rideout and Vikki S. Katz, and a series of conversations around the issues of digital equity and access to broadband, with a focus on families with school-age…

This post was originally published on the Common Sense Media Kids Action blog and appears here with permission. Read in Spanish here. In today’s society, access to technology is the path to academic and economic opportunity. This is especially true for kids, who increasingly need access to computers, printers and the Internet to keep up with schoolwork. But too many American children still don’t have access to the technology they need to succeed. New research from the Joan Ganz Cooney…