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This handout summarizes a research presentation from the American Educational Research Association Conference in April, 2011. This research examined and compares digital equity at two different middle schools. Focus is placed upon minority student in- and out-of-school technology use to explore the relationship of school and digital equity. The first middle school, Saguaro, is a minority-majority school, with 93% Hispanic and African-American students. The second middle school, Porter, is a historically white majority school participating in a district student-transfer program with a 50% white and 50% Hispanic/African American population. Data from the two schools is compared to examine student in- and out-of-school technology use and perceived technology skill level. In exploring the relationship of student technology use both in and out of school to that of the school and minority status, digital inequities were present. Students at the historically white school were more likely to utilize various technologies for communication, creation, web, and productivity activities both in- and out-of-school. Please contact Dr. Hughes if you would like a full paper.
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Degree of Digital Equity in Schools by Race and Socio-Economic Characteristics Round-table Summary
Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (April 8-12, 2011), New Orleans, LA
Contact: [email protected]
Gloria Gonzales Dholakia Joan E. Hughes, Ph.D. Michelle Fulks Read
University of Texas at Austin
This research examined and compares digital equity at two different middle schools. Focus is placed upon minority student in- and out-of-school technology use to explore the relationship of school and digital equity. The first middle school, Saguaro, is a minority-majority school, with 93% Hispanic and African-American students. The second middle school, Porter, is a historically white majority school participating in a district student-transfer program with a 50% white and 50% Hispanic/African American population. Data from the two schools is compared to examine student in- and out-of-school technology use and perceived technology skill level. In exploring the relationship of student technology use both in and out of school to that of the school and minority status, digital inequities were present. Students at the historically white school were more likely to utilize various technologies for communication, creation, web, and productivity activities both in- and out-of-school.
Research Questions:
• Are students at two different schools (high minority, low SES versus historically white majority; moderate to high SES) afforded digital equity in content areas?
• How are minority students at two different schools utilizing technology in and out-of school? • How does a within-district student-transfer program impact digital equity?
Results: The results of this study indicate varying access and manner of use of digital technologies between socioeconomic and minority groups.
• Digital equity in content areas: The results indicate Porter teachers are more likely to use digital tools for teaching compared to Saguaro teachers. Even more so, Porter students are much more likely to use digital tools in their content-area courses than Saguaro students.
• Technology use in and out-of school: Both Saguaro and Porter minority students utilize more technologies in out-of-school environments. However, minority students at Porter utilize moderately more technologies out-of-school and significantly more technologies in-school compared to minority students at Saguaro.
• Impact of ethnic diversity on digital equity: All Porter students, minority and non-minority, were more likely to engage with various technological activities in-school than were Saguaro students. Porter students also reported participation in more activities within each theme compared to Saguaro students.
Questions for consideration: Have you experienced or witnessed digital equity or inequity? In what ways can individual teachers positively influence digital equity? How can teacher education programs increase digital equity and/or decrease digital inequity?
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