Page 21 - digital citizenship

Access to computers and the internet is still restricted
by finance in every part of the world, meaning that those
in poverty don’t have the same level of access as those
who have disposable income.

While Americans may think that this mostly applies to
individuals living in other countries, there are also plenty
of people without access here in the United States.
Though 94% of Americans have internet access, not
every person has access to high-speed connections others
take for granted. Others simply cannot afford internet
access and have to rely on free connections and
community hotspots to do research or complete
homework.

Some schools will have a disproportionately high
quantity of those students. Others may have none at all.
But if your students aren’t aware of the digital divide,
then they may end up assuming that all students have
equal access to the internet — which is patently false.

These disparities make discussing digital inequities an
important topic to cover in your digital citizenship
curriculum.