Digital Divide: Access, Issues, and Policies

Technology can be a powerful tool to help transform learning. It has the potential to empower students to expand their learning beyond the confines of the traditional classroom, support self-directed learning, help educators tailor learning experiences to individual student needs, and support students with disabilities. Chapter 1 examines how technologies can raise the bar for all elementary and secondary students. Chapter 2 explores approaches for using technology in a manner that focuses on the distinct benefits of digital learning. Access to high-speed internet-known as broadband-has become a topic of increasing significance over the past few decades. Deployment of broadband is not uniform across the United States. Some areas lack broadband entirely-creating a so-called digital divide between those who have access to broadband service and those who do not. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the digital divide in broadband deployment and issues that contribute to it persistence. Chapter 4 discusses providing rural communities with access to high-speed, affordable, and reliable broadband internet connectivity.