The Digital Divide and Coronavirus (COVID19)
Knowledge is power ~ We know what we know, but we don’t know what we don’t know.
COVID19 or the Coronavirus has impacted the world at global proportions, the death toll has been astonishing, financial markets have crashed, the United States unemployment rates have skyrocketed, and many businesses have had to shut their doors.
Children are unable to attend local schools, church services and weddings are streaming live or recorded services, restaurants have only drive-thru capabilities and individuals are practicing social distancing or public isolation.
The total number of COVID19 cases is currently unknown, because the number of ‘confirmed’ cases is not the same as the number of total cases, however we know that the total number of COVID19 cases is higher than the total amount of ‘confirmed’ cases, primarily because of limited testing.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than a million people have contracted the Covid19 globally, with the death toll just over 100,000 with about 20% impacting the United States.
Several countries including Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States continue to tighten quarantine measures with the hopes of lessening the spread of the virus.
In recent news, Coronavirus is having an impact on the racial divide as data begins to emerge from the cities and states whose data is public.
Individuals over the age of 65 and people with pre-existing underlying medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart and lung disease) have reported to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus. However, data links between those who get infected, and those who get tested, as well as those who die from Covid19 are beginning to reveal some disparaging truths.
According to a study conducted by Pew Research, nearly nine-in-ten U.S. adults say their life has changed at least a little as a result of the COVID19 outbreak, including 44% who say their life has changed in a major way.
As I sat alone in my bedroom over the weekend flipping through various channels, I couldn’t help but pause for a moment on one of the home shopping outlets and was vehemently taken aback as I watched a total of 7793 people (and counting) purchase a set of four (4) designer plates costing between $132.00 -$162.00 United States dollars.
I quickly did the math on the lowest price item threshold and was flabbergasted when the amount totalled $1,028,676.00!
$1,028,676.00 US dollars that’s 949,617.11 € Euro or 840,675.17 Pound Sterling.
I’ll let you do the math on the higher priced item! Imagine how many people could be fed with just cost of four plates?
“Huh! Not, huh?” I thought to myself, this world hasn’t ‘really’ been globally impacted, it’s only been truly jolted and smashed for ‘those’ who were ‘already’ adversely crushed!
‘Those’ being defined as individuals who were already at risk for a financial crisis, another words, one (1) paycheck away from financial disaster!
As well as ‘those’ who were already lagging far behind or considered vulnerable and underserved, way before COVID19 even came on the scene.
Vulnerable and underserved communities have often been at risk for experiencing negative financial, educational and health outcomes.
In order to understand and address the issues with the digital divide, we must also understand how social determinants of health in vulnerable and underserved communities impact overall outcomes.
In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) characterizes underserved, vulnerable, and special needs populations as communities that include members of minority populations or individuals who have experienced health disparities.
- African American populations
- American Indian/American Native populations
- Latino populations
- Refugees
- Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
- Individuals with disabilities
- Medicaid-eligible consumers who are not enrolled in coverage despite being eligible for Medicaid
- New mothers and women with children
- Young adults and postsecondary graduating students who do not have coverage options through a parent’s plan, a student plan, or an employer plan
Some common characteristics of vulnerable and underserved populations include, but are not limited to the following:
- Have limited life options (e.g., financial, educational, housing)
- Have a limited ability to understand or give informed consent without the assistance of language services (e.g., individuals with (LEP) Limited English Proficiency
- Have mobility or cognitive impairments
- Have a lack of access to transportation services
- Face any type of discrimination (e.g. age, race, national origin, sex, disability, genetic information)
- Display fear and distrust in accessing government programs or disclosing sensitive information about family members
Underserved populations also include individuals who share one or more of the following characteristics.
- Encounter barriers to accessing primary health care services (e.g., economic, cultural, and/or linguistic)
- Have a lack of familiarity with the health care delivery systems
- Receive fewer health care services or face a shortage of readily available providers
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Social Determinants of Health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age that shape health.
Addressing social determinants of health is critically important for improving health and reducing longstanding disparities in health and health care, which ultimately improves health outcomes and life expectancy.
We are seeing more and more healthcare gaps happening as a result of those who have access to online access and those who don’t. The consequences associated with these gaps means that individuals without internet access have a limited amount of information regarding the disease, precautions and other critical factors.
Telehealth options and solutions are obsolete for many individuals and quality of life decreases by the instance.
As we continue to mandate isolation from one another, churches, community centers and public infrastructure gatherings, the ability to obtain realtime information from these social settings and environments becomes increasingly difficult for some.
There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know. ~ Donald Rumsfeld
The digital divide like the wealth divide began decades before it was ever recognized and reported in the early 90’s.
By definition the digital divide means the gap that exists from an economic, educational, and social disparities standpoint between those individuals who have opportunities and skills enabling them to benefit from digital resources and communication, especially computers, mobile technology, online internet access and those who quite frankly do not.
During COVID19, more and more children have been unable to physically attend their local schools and many parents have shifted from not only working from home (for those who are able) but also balancing homeschooling. It is estimated that nearly 53 million school aged children are currently at home as a result of COVID19.
Meanwhile countless numbers of educators and staff have been adapting to online teaching and training programs.
While a good percentage of individuals have already experienced distance learning prior to COVID19. The quantitative effectiveness of this temporary adopted school model has yet to be assessed, but certainly has the potential to have long lasting negative impacts for many underserved children.
Many schools rely on textbooks and in-class computer programs, with some providing notebooks or laptops to students, but this represents a small percentage of students across the country.
Recently I learned that one of the high schools in a local school district has almost 200 students currently without a laptop.
This school also happens to be in an underserved community, and one in which, academic test scores have traditionally been lower than average. The discovery comes after a huge push by the district a few years ago to supply each student with a Google Chrome book.
As we approach nearly a month for these students to be without proper resources, tools and technology, it becomes understandable how the widening of the digital divide perpetuates.
To begin to solve for digital divide issues, a few of the questions we should be asking and answering include the following.
What happens to children’s ability to learn when parents don’t have a home computer or even internet access and libraries are closed?
What happens when teachers send class work assignments by email, but the family who may have the ability to access the packet information doesn’t have a printer or can’t afford ink?
What happens to the countless number of students that do not have a home address and live in homeless shelters?
What happens when infrastructure prevents us from providing access to students?
What happens when parents have multiple children, have to work, and or stressed and strained because their family just lost an income?
What happens when policy makers have conflicting interest and underserved individuals and communities are not considered as part of the equation?
What happens when social and emotional issues are preventing structure in the home, thereby making it difficult to create a healthy learning environment and culture?
The post above was captured from Superintendent Dr. LaTonya Goffney’s Twitter page.
It reveals a truth about social and emotional learning impacts beyond the classroom, which exist in every major metropolitan city across the United States.
During this pandemic we have seen companies and individuals collaborate with school districts to support narrowing the digital divide and student achievement gap, such as providers of free WIFI, hotspots or unlimited data plans as well as those who have donated laptops and virtual training.
Yet, we still are left to wonder…
“How do we create sustainability with short-term ‘temporary’ technology solutions to long-term problems?”
The inequities (not inequalities) that exist across our global universe will require a framework that provides solutions for many different scenarios, communities and cultures.
In an article written last year by Microsoft’s Chief Data Analytics Officer, John Kahan, he reports at least 25 million people, of which, 19 million who live in rural areas, do not have broadband internet service according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Further it notes that a lack of connectivity has a very real impact on economic well-being. Six independent studies were done to show that broadband has a direct impact on jobs and GDP growth.
According to the Senate Joint Economic Committee there are more than 12 million children across the country who fall into the “Homework Gap.”
The Homework Gap refers to the challenges students experience completing homework when they lack internet access at home, compared to those who have access. The short video below reveals a snippet of this impact gap.
The 1Million project has a mission is to help 1 million K-12 students who do not have reliable Internet access at home reach their full potential by giving them mobile devices and free high-speed Internet access.
In a recent CRASH Disrupting Equity podcast interview with my guest, Brion Oaks, Chief Equity Officer for the City of Austin, Texas, conveyed that the City of Austin was taking every preventable measure possible to remove barriers and help ensure students continue to learn.
From allowing residents who live near government agencies to have free WIFI access, to wiring school buses with WIFI capability and parking them in areas where accessibility is limited, as well as including providing access at schools, despite them being closed, so that individuals and students within range can still obtain usage.
The City of Austin’s Digital Inclusion team also worked with national internet providers to remove barriers such as requiring credit cards as an access prerequisite for underserved individuals.
Lots of collaboration with local and national partners to ensure accessibility continues happening is key to sustainability.
‘Bridging the gap’ involves means lessening, and ultimately eliminating, disparities and opportunity differences that limit the human potential and economic contributions of people of color.
Solutions involving government, community and the private sector are needed to close the health, wealth and digital divide.
No matter when schools may open again, ensuring that all students have access to both high-speed internet service and digital devices will better prepare them for the use of such technology throughout their educational and working lives.
But nothing happens without impact to policy, therefore it is critical that applicable legislation not only be considered, but also passed in order to continue bridging these gaps.
Advocacy around policy issues is key to successful outcomes.
One such policy has to do with the federal E-Rate and Emergency Connectivity program, one of the nation’s largest educational technology program for libraries and schools.
In an Education Week article, $2 billion in Emergency Connectivity under E-Rate fund would assist with educating students who are learning from home.
Currently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can’t use the E-Rate program to fund students’ home use of wireless devices and services, only those at schools and libraries.
As these institutions remain closed during COVID19, more creative solutions must be considered to provide:
- Connected devices to students, staff, and library patrons; and
- Mobile broadband internet access through the Wi-Fi hotspots or connected devices: and
- Off-site Wi-Fi hotspots.
By helping to support broadband initiatives, we essentially make an impact for those who could potentially fall through the cracks and steep further behind in educational outcomes.
But let’s face it, broadband and WIFI accessibility in all neighborhoods is simply not there and I’m not just talking about rural communities!
The infrastructure playing field needs to be leveled, so that it becomes more inclusive for all communities.
Recently, the State of Alabama had a total of nine broadband providers receive $9.5 million in grants to bring high speed internet access to Alabama communities. Governor Ivey awarded the grants under the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Fund, which was created in 2018 by the Alabama legislature to help both rural and underserved areas.
Cultural Competency considerations are often forgotten by institutions implementing changes, it is critical multiple language considerations be addressed for positive outcomes.
Finally, cultural competency is critical, adjusting resources and ensuring COVID-19 information is being shared in multiple languages is key to the sustainability of a variety of communities.
It helps to minimize critical information being inadvertently missed and ensures that we are providing inclusion within our communication strategies and solutions.
I believe collectively, we can not only create digital solutions for these issues, but we can also help bridge the gaps and divides between us as humans beings.
MiShon Landry, CDP is a Certified Diversity Professional and CEO of the Inclusive Leadership Institute and Culture Consultants located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Culture Consultants is a strategic firm designed to bridge the ever-increasing gap between Inclusion and Leadership.
As CEO, MiShon is a Diversity Champion with over a decade of people, program, project management and entrepreneurial expertise. Recently named as one of the 2019 Great Women of Texas, Women of Influence for her accomplishments in business, civic and community, MiShon is also faith and family oriented.
Contact information:
MiShon Landry, CDP
Certified Diversity Professional
CEO | Inclusive Leadership Institute | Culture Consultants
Primary: 817.471.6200
info@InclusiveLeadershipInstitute.info
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