The Digital Divide is Still With Us

A new report on computer use by students in grades K-12 is out. You can download the report from the National Center for Education Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006065.pdf).

Here's the opening paragraph:

Students’ computer and Internet activities and rates of use are of interest for several reasons. Use of computers and the Internet has been associated with improvements in people’s education, labor market prospects, and everyday lives. Since these technologies have the potential to improve access to information, to help get tasks done better or more quickly, and to facilitate communication (see National Research Council 1999), computer and Internet use rates are indicators of the standard of living. Since the use of computers helps students gain computer
literacy, use rates may indicate how well prepared the current generation of students will be to enter a workforce where computer literacy is in demand (U.S. Department of Education 1999b). Computer use may also promote cognitive development in both children and adults, specifically in the area of visual intelligence, where certain computer activities—particularly games—may enhance the ability to monitor several visual stimuli at once, to read diagrams, recognize icons,and visualize spatial relationships (Greenfield et al. 1994a, 1994b; Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 1994; also see Weikart 1995; Thelen 1996; Healy 1999). Other findings suggest that computer use may have a positive influence on student motivation at the elementary and secondary levels (Schofield 1997) and, depending on how computers are used, has the potential to improve academic performance (Niemiec and Walberg 1992; Bangert-Drowns 1993; Christmann, Badgett, and Lucking 1997; Holden 1998; Wegerif 2004).

Key findings, from the executive summary:

Most students use computers and a majority use the Internet.

Use begins early -- earlier than you'd think!

Public school students and private school students differ in their use of these technologies.

There is a “digital divide” and schools help bridge the digital divide.

Disability status, metropolitan status, and family/household type are associated with the digital divide.

There are no differences between the sexes in overall computer or Internet use rates.

There are large demographic and socioeconomic differences in the use of home computers.

Differences in how computers are used often are larger than overall differences in rates of use.

For details, check out the entire report.