Whitehouse Infographic: Digital Divide and Internet Access

Digital Divide 2015

Dear Commons Community,

In preparation for President Obama’s announcement for a new initiative to address the Digital Divide that exists in this country, the White House made an infographic available to illustrate the problem. Accompanying the graphics was the following:

“Right now, even though more than 98 percent of Americans have access to internet service, one in four doesn’t have it at home.

For low-income Americans, that number jumps to one in two.

This is a problem. A high-speed connection is no longer a nice-to-have for the privileged few. Increasingly, you need an internet connection to find a job, to do your homework, and to stay in touch with the people you know. It’s an economic necessity when it comes to communicating, collaborating, and doing business on a global scale.

We’re doing something big to fix this. Today, the President is traveling to Durant, Oklahoma to announce ConnectHome — a new pilot program launching in 27 cities and one tribal nation, and initially helping to connect more than 275,000 low-income households with the support they need to access the internet at home.”

Those of us who have worked in areas with high levels of poverty, know this issue well. It has major ramifications for instructional technology initiatives especially at the K-12 level.

Tony

 

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