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Text Content

 * Overview
 * The Research
 * The Findings
 * The Forum
 * The Conversation
 * Who We Are
 * Get in Touch


DIGITAL EQUITY + OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL



Access to the Internet and digital devices is no longer a simple yes/no
question. Whether families have consistent, quality connections and the
capabilities to make the most of being connected is becoming just as important.

For lower-income U.S. families with children in school, being meaningfully
connected is especially important to ensuring equal access to learning
opportunities.

How do families make decisions about connectivity and respond to digital equity
challenges? We decided to find out.




THE RESEARCH

We started by interviewing 336 low-income parents and children in grades K-8 in
Arizona, California and Colorado about digital equity issues. That helped us
identify the most important questions for our survey of 1,191 lower-income
parents with K-8 children. Read our reports to find out more.

 * download now Findings from our interviews in Arizona
 * download now Findings from our interviews in California
 * download now Findings from our interviews in Colorado
 * download now Case studies of families in Arizona, California, and Colorado
 * download now Report on our national survey findings
 * download now Appendix for our national survey
 * download now Policy brief based on our findings


THE FINDINGS

Opportunity for All? Technology and Learning in Low-Income Families reports
findings from our nationally-representative telephone survey of 1,191 parents of
children ages 6 to 13 with household incomes that fall below national median.

This is the first nationally representative survey on this important U.S.
population. SSRS fielded the survey via landline and cell phone in English and
Spanish between April 16 and June 29, 2015. The final report was released on
February 3, 2016.


 * ALMOST ALL LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES WITH SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN ARE CONNECTED TO
   THE INTERNET.
   
   More than nine in ten (94%) surveyed parents have some kind of Internet
   connection, including 90% of families living below the federal poverty line.
   But, more than half are “under connected” in some way. Fifty-two percent of
   parents with home Internet access say it is too slow, a quarter (26%) say too
   many people share the same computer, and one-fifth (20%) say their Internet
   was cut off in the last year due to non-payment.


 * FAMILY MEMBERS HELP EACH OTHER LEARN ABOUT, AND THROUGH, TECHNOLOGY.
   
   Three-quarters (77%) of parents help their kids learn to use tech, and half
   (53%) of kids help their parents to do the same. When parents have less
   education and/or lower incomes, kids help more. One-third (32%) of parents in
   the lowest income group (<$25,000) say their child “often” helps them with
   tech, vs. 15% in the highest income group ($45-65,000). Similarly, 53% of
   siblings in the lowest income group learn with tech together, compared with
   33% of siblings in the highest income group.


 * MOBILE-ONLY INTERNET ACCESS HAS MORE LIMITED UTILITY FOR FAMILIES.
   
   Low- and moderate-income parents who only have Internet access via mobile
   phones are less likely to shop online (36% vs. 66% of those with home
   access), use online banking or bill-paying (49% vs 74%), apply for jobs or
   services online (42% vs. 56%), or follow local news online (70% vs. 82%). The
   same is true for their children, who are significantly less likely to look up
   information online about things they are interested in (35% vs. 52% with home
   access), or to use the internet daily (31% to 51%).


 * ONE-QUARTER (23%) OF SURVEYED FAMILIES ARE MOBILE-ONLY.
   
   Among those families, almost one-third (29%) have hit their data limits in
   the past year, a quarter (24%) have had their phone service cut off in the
   past year due to non-payment, and one-fifth (21%) say too many people share
   the same device for them to have sufficient time with it.


 * INTERNET CONNECTIVITY IS CRUCIAL FOR CHILDREN’S LEARNING.
   
   Children from low- and moderate-income families with Internet access use it
   for educational purposes. Among children ages 6 to 13, 81% play educational
   games and look up information they’re interested in; among kids ages 10 to
   13, 81% go online to do homework, 46% to collaborate with other students, and
   40% to connect with teachers.


 * SUBSIDIZED BROADBAND PROGRAMS ARE NOT REACHING THEIR TARGET AUDIENCES.
   
   Most families who do not have home computers or Internet access cannot afford
   it. But, discounted Internet programs are reaching very few. Only 6% of
   parents with incomes below 185% of poverty (a common eligibility level for
   discounted service) have ever signed up for low-cost Internet access.

View the press release



View the day's agenda


THE FORUM

On February 3, 2016, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Rutgers University led
Digital Equity: Technology and Learning in the Lives of Lower-Income Families, a
forum co-hosted by New America in Washington, D.C. The full day’s recording is
available on the New America website.

 * Vicky Rideout of VJR Consulting presents results of our national survey of
   lower-income parents with children ages 6 to 13.

 * Vikki Katz of Rutgers University presents results of open-ended interviews
   with lower-income parents and their children ages 6 to 13.

 * FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler discussed the implications of the findings for
   digital equity policy-making, including the FCC's Lifeline Program.

 * Vikki Katz provided closing remarks and an agenda for moving digital equity
   initiatives forward.


THE CONVERSATION


RECENT NEWS THAT CITES OUR FINDINGS

 * Study in Your PJs? What a High School Work From Home Day Looks Like
   NPREd
 * Here’s one way to fight to end the digital divide
   Hechinger Report

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


KEY COVERAGE OF STUDY FINDINGS

 * How Limited Internet Access Can Subtract From Kids’ Education
   NPR's All Things Considered
 * Why many low-income families have Internet access, but remain
   ‘under-connected’
   Christian Science Monitor
 * Many low, low-moderate income families ‘under-connected’ to the Internet
   USA Today

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Download the podcast Vicky Rideout and Vikki Katz discuss the study on KQED’s
The Forum.

USE #DIGITALEQUITY TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THESE ISSUES ON TWITTER!

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WHO WE ARE

With generous funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this project
brought together a talented team of researchers to collect and analyze the data,
and to write up the findings. You can find out more about us, and our work,
below.


 * VIKKI KATZ
   
   Vikki Katz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at the Rutgers School of
   Communication and Information, and a Senior Research Scientist at the Joan
   Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Worshop. As the Principal Investigator for this
   study, she has led all aspects of the research, analysis, and reports. You
   can find out more about her work here.


 * VICTORIA RIDEOUT
   
   Victoria Rideout, M.A., is the president of VJR Consulting, where she
   conducts research on children and media for academic and non-profit
   organizations. She directed the national survey research for this project and
   was the lead author of the survey report. Visit her company website to find
   out more about her work.


 * CARMEN GONZALEZ
   
   Carmen Gonzalez, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the
   University of Washington. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate, she helped
   lead both the interview and survey phases of the digital equity study, and
   co-authored four reports on the interview findings. Find out more about her
   work here.


 * ALEXIA RAYNAL
   
   Alexia Raynal, M.A., is a Research Associate at the Rutgers School of
   Communication and Information, funded by the study grant. She helped conduct
   interviews, analyze data, and co-authored the four reports on the interview
   findings for this project. Follow her blog for more on her work and
   interests.


 * MICHAEL H. LEVINE
   
   Michael H. Levine, Ph.D., is the Founding Executive Director of the Joan Ganz
   Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. The Center conducts research and catalyzes
   industry and policy reforms to advance high quality media experiences for all
   children. He leads the research team at the Center that partnered with Vikki
   Katz to conduct this study. You can find more information about his work
   here, and about his recent book, Tap Click Read.


 * CATHERINE JHEE
   
   Catherine Jhee, M.A., is the Director of Web and Strategic Communications at
   the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, where she leads its digital media and
   publication efforts, including those related to this study.

   And we’re grateful to the student researchers who conducted interviews in
   Arizona, California and Colorado:
   Rocio Almanza-Guillen, Adam Bradbury, Regina Calvario, Yasmin Campos, Jesus
   Jaime Diaz, Daisy Garcia, Camila Gavin-Bravo, Gerardo Hernandez, Leslie Ann
   Hill, Scarlett Jimenez, Hillary Kosnac, Yarazel Mejorado, Andres
   Nuncio-Zuñiga, Andrea Rodriguez, Boanerges Rodriguez, Silvia Rodriguez-Vega,
   Hugo Salgado, Dinorah Sanchez, Dennise Vega, and Mariana Zamboni.


GET IN TOUCH

Questions? Comments? Thoughts on what we should focus on next? Send us a note!









Copyright 2016 Digital Equity