There are multiple ways learning and technology is ubiquitous in our lives and our students' lives. We see students with their devices all the time, they are always texting and game playing and googling. 

However, we overlook students who don't have internet at home, or don't have the background to use their devices for education. As someone who has taught in the inner-city, and at the university level, it is shocking and dismaying to realize how many students do not have access to the skills or tools. 

"Having limited access to Internet-connected computers means that they don’t have time to tinker or explore. They don’t have time to practice basic skills like typing or writing emails, or more complex skills like researching or coding."

As we moved from f2f to online classes with the pandemic, I had many students who didn't have the internet at home, or didn't know how to work the online classroom (Moodle, Canvas) well enough to continue. How do we help these students?

"Low-income students disproportionately miss out — 1 in 3 households that make under $30,000 a year don’t have internet. And lacking internet access at home can make or break a student’s academic achievement."

Isn't this what we're trying to prevent? Students who slip through the cracks of education? Students who are prepared for online education are the same students who are succeeding in traditional classrooms. 

“Your aunt has internet access [at home] but she lives a 40-minute bus trip across town,” Branam wrote, illustrating the roadblocks for teens without internet access. “The public library does, but it has a 30-minute computer use limit and, as a young woman, you don’t feel comfortable there late at night. McDonald’s has free Wi-Fi but it’s noisy, you have to buy food and you can’t linger there forever.”

While there may be resources for students to be able to have WiFi, teaching students how to be computer literate is a challenge. Students need access to technology early and often. 

"Substantial digital inequalities still exist. Many parents and their children are under-connected, and are not fully included in the digital revolution. Among families living below the median income level, one in five connect to the Internet only through a mobile device—a clear hindrance for students trying to research and write papers or complete online work, or for parents searching for employment or community services."

If students in the classrooms we have now do not know how to log in to their computer, how to browse the web, how to click until they find the room or document or link they're looking for, we cannot supplement the flipped classroom, or collaborative learning. 

It's difficult to imagine how to teach students to use a laptop in an online situation, especially if the class material is scheduled strictly. 

https://www.thetechedvocate.org/digital-inequity-mean-low-income-children/

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/low-income-students-technology-education/

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/10/lacking-internet-millions-teens-cant-do-homework/574402/

https://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/jgcc_opportunityforall.pdf