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##  Internet Access and Content for Urban Schools and Communities. ERIC             Digest Number 157.                                                           

Internet access is becoming increasingly important for full                     participation in the economic, political, and social life of the                U.S. Computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the ways people             learn, communicate, and earn a living. Therefore, the "digital                  divide"--the separation between those with access to new                        technologies and those without--is seen by many to be one of this               country's leading equity issues. EXTENT OF COMPUTER USE IN                    COMMUNITIESComputer and Internet use varies widely across the               U.S. (Hoffman & Novak, 1998; U.S. Department of Commerce, 1995,                 1998, 1999): 
*  Better educated individuals are more likely to be             connected. In 1998, college graduates were eight times more likely              to have a computer at home and nearly 16 times more likely to have              home Internet access than those who did not complete high                       school. 
*  The computer gap between high- and low-income Americans            is large and increasing. Urban households with incomes of $75,000 or            higher are over 20 times more likely to have access to the Internet             than rural households at the lowest income levels, and more than                nine times more likely to have a computer at home. 
*  Whites are              more likely to be connected than African Americans or Hispanics.                Whites are more likely to have access to the Internet from home than            are African Americans or Hispanics from any location. For every ten             white households with Internet access, only four African American               and Hispanic households have such access. However, for those with               incomes of $75,000 and higher, the difference among whites, African             Americans, and Hispanics has narrowed considerably in the last few              years. 
In addition, the disparity between individuals with access             to new technologies and those without access is widening (U.S.                  Department of Commerce, 1995, 1998, 1999): 
*  The gaps in Internet            access between white and Hispanic households, and between white and             black households, are five percent larger than they were in                     1997. 
*  The digital divides based on education and income level              have also increased. Between 1997 and 1998, the divide between those            at the highest and lowest education levels increased 25 percent, and            the divide between those at the highest and lowest income levels                grew 29 percent. COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS IN SCHOOLS

EXTENT            OF CONNECTIVITY IN SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMSIn 1994, the White                 House's National Information Infrastructure Initiative challenged               the nation's schools and classrooms to connect to the Internet by               the year 2000. In fact, the proportion of public schools connected              to the Internet has increased each year, from 35 percent in 1994 to             95 percent in 1999 (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). 
In the               Internet's early years, access varied by school characteristics:                secondary schools with lower concentrations of poor students, and               suburban schools, were more likely to have Internet access than                 other schools (Center for Media Education, 1996). By 1999, these                differences had disappeared: all schools were equally likely to have            Internet access. The proportion of public school classrooms                     connected to the Internet rose from three percent in 1994 to 63                 percent in 1999, and access is expected to expand even further due              to Federal subsidies. 
While most schools may have Internet access,            access within classrooms varies widely. As of Fall 1998, 39 percent             of classrooms in poor schools were connected to the Internet,                   compared to 74 percent in wealthier schools (U.S. Department of                 Education, 2000). The percentage of classrooms with Internet access             in high poverty public schools did not increase between 1998 and                1999, while the percentage of connected classrooms in schools with              lower concentrations of poverty did increase. STUDENT ACCESS TO               COMPUTERSAccording to the President's Committee of Advisors on              Science and Technology (1997), a ratio of four to five students per             computer is considered reasonable for effective learning. In 1999,              however, the number of students per instructional computer in public            schools was approximately six, the same as in 1998 (U.S. Department             of Education, 2000). 
The ratio of students per instructional                  computer with Internet access improved from 1998 to 1999--decreasing            from 12 to nine per computer--although differences remain among                 schools with different characteristics. Medium-sized and large                  schools had more students per computer with Internet access (nine               and ten, respectively) than small schools (six). Urban schools had              more students per computer with Internet access (11) than rural                 schools (seven). The poverty level of schools created the largest               differences in computer access: the poorest schools had 16 students             per computer with Internet access, compared to seven for schools                with the lowest concentration of poverty (U.S. Department of                    Education, 2000). SCHOOL INTERNET CONNECTIONSThe type of                  network connections used by public schools and the speed at which               they are able to connect have changed greatly since the mid 1990s.              However, only 50 percent of the schools with the highest                        concentration of poverty, and 60 percent of elementary schools, were            connecting to the Internet using dedicated lines, which enable                  faster connections, whereas 77 percent of secondary schools, and 72             percent of schools with the lowest concentrations of poverty, had               such lines (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). THE VALUE OF                 INTERNET CONTENT FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIESWhile underserved               communities are increasingly gaining access to the Internet, often              in public facilities, many do not find the content to be of much                personal value. There are four significant content                              deficiencies (Children's Partnership, 2000): 
Lack of Local                    Information. The Internet offers scant information about local                  communities, which particularly affects users living on a limited               income. These users would benefit from the following: (1) local job             listings, including those requiring entry-level skills; (2) listings            for affordable local housing; and (3) information about community               resources and ways to become involved in local concerns. 
Literacy             Barriers. The vast majority of information on the Internet is                   written for an audience with an average or advanced literacy level.             Nevertheless, 44 million adults in the U.S. (22 percent) have below             average literacy skills and cannot fully function in everyday life.             Thus, content for these users would include the following: (1)                  learning resources for acquiring literacy skills, preferably with               multimedia components; and (2) preparation for earning a high school            equivalency degree. 
Language Barriers. An estimated 87 percent of             the documents currently on the Internet are in English, although                English is not the primary language for over 32 million people in               the U.S. Useful content for non-English speakers would include the              following: (1) translation tools; (2) bilingual instructional                   materials; and (3) materials to meet information needs in a variety             of languages. 
Lack of Cultural Diversity. The Internet lacks                  material reflecting the large variety of ethnic communities in the              U.S. Sites relevant to these communities would contain information              on the following: (1) unique heritages and cultural practices; (2)              local cultural interests; and (3) health and other vital issues for             particular racial and ethnic groups. POLICIES TO INCREASE                     ACCESSPeople with lower incomes and education levels, people of             color, and the unemployed are using the Internet at higher rates to             search for jobs or take courses. Thus, community facilities such as             schools and libraries will continue to play an important role in                providing access to the Internet, although widespread home access is            a national goal. 
Public policies and private initiatives are                  attempting to expand affordable access to information resources in              both homes and communities. Pro-competition policies to reduce the              cost of basic phone and information services, and universal service             policies, will continue to be important efforts. Programs include               assistance for low-income households, such as the Federal                       Communications Commission's (FCC) Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up               America and various state programs; and support for high-cost                   regions of the country, such as the FCC's Universal Service Fund and            Federal and state rate-averaging programs. 
The Education                      rate (E-rate) program is perhaps the best known universal service               initiative. It was established by Congress to make services and                 technologies in telecommunications available to schools and                     libraries at discounted rates based on the income level of                      communities and an urban or rural location. In 1997, the FCC adopted            a Universal Service Order outlining a plan to guarantee that all                eligible schools, libraries, and rural health care providers have               affordable connections to the Internet. By making $2.5 billion                  available annually, this program provides discounts on certain                  telecommunications services to eligible organizations. The plan also            includes a $400 million fund to lower the prices rural health care              providers pay for telecommunications services (Schools and Libraries            Corporation, 1997). 
Finally, the Commerce Department's National               Telecommunications and Information Administration has established a             new web site with links to Federal programs designed to close the               digital divide (http://www.digitaldivide.gov). The site lists grant             and loan programs for increasing Internet access in currently                   underserved areas, and provides links to several private sector                 educational and funding initiatives. REFERENCESCenter for                 Media Education. (1996). Connecting children to the future: A                   telecommunications policy guide for child advocates. Washington, DC:            Author (ED 405 968) 
The Children's Partnership. (2000). Online                content for low-income and underserved Americans: The digital                   divide's new frontier/A Strategic audit of activities and                       opportunities. Santa Monica, CA: Author. Available:                             http://www.childrenspartnership.org 
Hoffman, D.L., & Novak,                   T.P. (1998, February). Bridging the digital divide: The impact of               race on computer access and Internet use. Unpublished manuscript,               Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management,                      Nashville. (ED 421 563) 
President's Committee of Advisors on                  Science and Technology, Panel on Educational Technology. (1997).                Report to the President on the use of technology to strengthen K-12             education in the United States. Washington, DC: Author. Available:              http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/NSTC/PCAST/k-12ed.html                    
Schools and Libraries Corporation. (1997). Universal Service                  Program. Washington, DC: Author. Available:                                     http://www.ed.gov/Technology/erateforms/slcmai1a.html 
U.S.                    Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information             Administration. (1995). Falling through the net: A survey of                    the "have nots" in rural and urban America. Washington, DC:                     Author. (ED 399 126) Available:                                                 http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntihome.fallingthru.html 
U.S. Department              of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information                        Administration. (1998). Falling through the net II: New data on the             digital divide. Washington, DC: Author. (ED 421 968) Available:                 http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/net2 
U.S. Department of Commerce,            National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (1999).             Falling through the net: Defining the digital divide/A report on the            telecommunications and information technology gap in America.                   Washington, DC: Author. Available:                                              http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html 
U.S.                    Department of Education, National Center for Education                          Statistics. (2000). Stats in brief: Internet access in U.S. public              schools and classrooms: 1994-99. Washington, DC: Author. Available:             http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000086 
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This Digest was developed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban                  Education, with funding from the Office of Educational Research and             Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no.                   ED-99-CO-0035. The opinions in this Digest do not necessarily                   reflect the position or policies of OERI or the Department of                   Education.                                                                   **Title:** Internet Access and Content for Urban Schools and Communities. ERIC             Digest Number 157.                                                           **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and                  Minority Education, Box 40, Teachers College, Columbia University,              New York, NY 10027 (free); Tel: 800-601-4868.                                **Descriptors:** Access to Computers,  Computer Uses in Education, Educational                   Technology, Elementary Secondary Education,  Equal Education,                    Internet, School District Wealth,  Urban Schools                            **Identifiers:**  Access to Technology, ERIC Digests                                          
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