Getting Students Connected to the Internet at Home to Close the Homework Gap and Digital Divide
The recent SchoolCIO Summit in Baltimore focused on closing the digital divide across the United States. SchoolCIO Summit attendees, comprised of K-12 edtech leaders, came from different backgrounds ranging from large urban school districts like Baltimore, to small rural ones like Neosho, Missouri, and everything in-between. Attendees identified the toughest digital equity challenge to be Internet access. Many attendees equated the Internet with water or power--a utility that is necessary in today's modern world. There are government agencies, communities, and businesses partnering to close this gap, such as the nonprofit EveryoneOn , whose Chief Programs Officer, Veronica Creech, led a panel discussion on the topic at the summit. The "One Million Project" ( #1MillionProject ) sponsored by Sprint seeks to close one-fifth of the five million unconnected families through WiFi hotspots. Comcast’s Internet Essentials , which works in partnership with the ...