The Digital Divide in the United States
Meriam Sahin
Edward R. Murrow High School
AP Computer Science Principles
INTRODUCTION:
You and your group members are interns for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is working on a critical issue: The Digital Divide. According to Sanders and Scanlon the digital divide is a “simplistic phrase used to explain the gap between people who can easily use and access technology, and those who cannot. [...] the sense of technological haves and have-nots” (Sanders and Scanlon, p 131). The US Congress recently approved a $42 billion budget to increase access to broadband (goa.gov, 2023) and the FCC needs your help to address the issue of the digital divide in the US.
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Watch this video for more information.
TASK:
In 2016, The United Nations General Assembly declared access to the Internet a basic human right, they stated that it is a necessary tool in allowing individuals to “exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression” and they emphasized “access to internet facilitates vast opportunities for affordable and inclusive education” (UN, 2016).
Objectives:
You and your group members will
Investigate the socioeconomic causes and effects related to the digital divide.
Create a public service announcement that will inform the general public about the digital divide and digital inclusion.
Create a digital presentation on how to close the digital divide for all those that are affected.
The FCC needs its interns to help a group of social workers to inform the public about the digital divide. The public service announcement should reach the vast majority of the public. You can create a video, brochure, poster, social media post and/or a flier.
After you have created a public service announcement, you need to create a digital presentation that will inform the public and be used by the social workers to close the gap of the digital divide. Helping with digital inclusion. You will be using the Public Policy Analysis (PPA) to help you create your final products.
PROCESS:
Students will be grouped in fours based on the groups that the teacher assigns. You will be using the Public Policy Analysis (PPA) to help you create your final products.
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Day 1: Background |
Today you and your group of interns will work on the material from our website (projectstem.org) to get more background information on the digital divide.
Please go through each of these steps: Read through this document Complete this activity handout. Imagine you had to complete each of the tasks in the table without any access to computational devices (e.g. computer, smartphone) or the internet. Using the prompts, fill in the first column of the table. Next, imagine completing each task by using a computer or smartphone with internet access and fill in the second column of the table. Write a short reflection on the differences between your answers, guided by the questions at the bottom of the worksheet. Watch this video introducing who is affected by this issue. Watch this video on the digital divide in American High Schools. Optional: watch this video on the digital divide around the world. Complete this reflection. |
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Use the information and resources that you gathered yesterday to complete the “Define the Problem” worksheet for Step 1 of the PPA
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Use the resources that you are provided to complete step 2 of the PPA- Gather the Evidence . Use this graphic organizer to help with this step. |
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Resources: (click on images)
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Once you have gathered your research please complete this diagram on Lucid Charts to help identify the causes; step 3 of the PPA. |
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Day 3: Evaluate an Existing Policy
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Analyze an existing policy using LucidChart. This is step 4 of the Public Policy Analysis.
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Developing a solution is step 5 of the PPA. You will create a list of 3 new policies to help close the digital divide.
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Day 4: Selecting the Best Solution (Feasibility vs Effectiveness)
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Complete this chart using your policies. This is step 6 of the PPA. |
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Day 4 and 5: Developing your Final Products |
Product 1: You and your group will now use all your research to create a public service announcement to inform all of the public about the digital divide.
Product 2: Develop a digital presentation to help close the digital divide. |
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EVALUATION:
Public Service Announcement Rubric:
Adopted from Chino Valley Unified School District
Digital SlideShow Presentation Rubric:
Adopted from Teachers Pay Teachers: The Creative Scholar
CONCLUSION:
In this investigation you and your group working as interns for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) used the Public Policy Analysis to analyze a major issue that exists in the United States- The Digital Divide. You were able to investigate the socioeconomic causes and effects related to the digital divide, create a public service announcement that will inform the general public about the digital divide and digital inclusion and create a digital presentation on how to close the digital divide for all those that are affected. You work with social workers to create a digital inclusion.
To further help the FCC and create a digital inclusion please reflect on how does the digital divide relates to other resource issues (public education, transportation, employment, and health care)?
STANDARDS:
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CSTA Standards: 3B-IC-26 |
Evaluate the impact of equity, access, and influence on the distribution of computing resources in a global society. |
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College Board Standards: IOC.1.C |
Describe the impact of a computing innovation. |
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NGSS Standards: HS-ETS1-3 Engineering Design |
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts. |
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NGSS Standards: HS-ETS1-1 Engineering Design |
Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants. |