The growing significance of information raises questions about the equity of access to information technologies. Note, however, that these are only two of the many ways in which IT may affect individuals. Other issues of interest include the role of information for personal empowerment and quality of life, the impact of IT on government services and public access to government services, and the potential impact of IT on human cognition and thinking processes. Equity Issues Educational Inequities Household Inequities E quality of opportunity is a hallmark of U.S. political culture and reflects a national commitment to minimize structural barriers to personal achievement. Personal and household access to computers and the Internet facilitates distance education, access to health information and government services, and job searches in classified ads.
Differences exist in student computer use by race or ethnic group and grade level.
Female students get less experience than males in all applications except word processing and use in English courses. These inequities in computer use at the elementary and high school levels could be the result of curriculum and teacher training as well as in-school access. As discussed earlier, research shows that use of computing resources depends on a teacher's training and ability to integrate computer-based instruction into the existing curriculum. As with race and ethnicity, income is associated with student computer use. Internet access is similarly inequitable.