Are Cell Phones bridging the technology gap for Blacks and Hispanics?

Toi Ford, a Philadelphia school district computer science teacher shares her thoughts on cell phones and the digital divide.

We need to provide all students with technological literacy that will enable them to use technology as a tool to accomplish meaningful tasks. They need to be able to do things like type reports, do research using the Internet, compile books of student poetry that can be published and shared, and create a pie chart from a spreadsheet that contains information about favorite after-school activities.

Does the Digital Divide Still Exist?

by Toi Ford
     I recently read a commentary on Time.com’s blog, The Curious
Capitalist. The title of this particular commentary, posted on July 8,
2010, is the end of the racial digital divide? Barbara Kiviat argues
that the racial digital divide, which consists of whites on one side and
African Americans and Latinos on the other side, is definitely closing.
To support her argument, Kiviat cites statistics found in a new report
from Pew's Internet and American Life Project. The report claims that
African Americans and Hispanics are actually on the Internet more often
than whites are because they access it via cell phones. The report goes
on to say, “A higher percentage of African Americans and Hispanics own
mobile phones and use their phones to access the Internet.” She ends
with this whammy: “While 33% of white mobile phone users go online with
their device, 46% of blacks do and 51% of Hispanics do.”
       
     I am incensed by this blog and cannot believe that people buy into
the notion that the digital divide is closing. I have been teaching
elementary computer science to K-8 students in Philadelphia for over a
decade. The divide is not closing. Actually, it is getting worse in some
ways. Many students do not have access to technology in school or at
home, and they are penalized in various ways for a problem they cannot
solve. I actually gave a gifted eighth-grade student a computer to use
in high school that I purchased on eBay because she did not have one.
Her mother explained to her that there were more pressing things she
needed to do with her paycheck.  Understandably!   Her mother has to buy
food, pay the rent, and pay utilities.

     I also know that plenty of students do not own cell phones. The line
in the school office at the end of each school day debunks that “most
African American and Latino children have cell phones.” I also see that,
while my students can show me how to do 101 things with a cell phone,
only about 10% of them can open a Microsoft Word document, type a paragraph,
manipulate the font, change the orientation, save it to the desktop, and
print it.

    During a class assignment where students surveyed other students
about technology, more than a few students said that they do not have
computers at home and do not own cell phones. My heart really goes out
to these students. Guess what? Some of the children that didn’t have
computers or cell phones were Asians. The word ‘racial’ should not even
be in the title of the blog. The divide has more to do with economics.

     I have heard the hype that smart phones will eventually claim a
lion’s share of the technology territory, but I am not buying it. Rather
than idly listening to these fallacies, I work with others who see the
same discrepancies in terms of who has access to technology and want to
improve the situation for our children. We have a long way to go and
many things to do before we can honestly say that a digital divide no
longer exists. We need to provide all students with technological
literacy that will enable them to use technology as a tool to accomplish
meaningful tasks. They need to be able to do things like type reports,
do research using the Internet, compile books of student poetry that can
be published and shared, and create a pie chart from a spreadsheet that
contains information about favorite after-school activities. Sorry
folks, there are just some things smart phones cannot do yet. Allow me
to share a story that illustrates this.

     My son took an online course for enrichment this summer. He had a
strict deadline to meet. My Internet service provider is Comcast, and
lately it has become extremely unreliable. Wouldn’t you know that on the
last day of the course, Comcast went down? Forever the problem solver
(or one with perpetual bad luck), ten solutions ran through my head at
once: Should I get a room at a hotel that uses satellite to provide
Internet for its customers? Should I drive to a McDonalds, where I would
be tempted to break my diet in many tasty ways? Should I just go up and
down my street, banging on my neighbors’ doors to determine who has an
Internet provider other than Comcast? Fortunately, I did not have to do
any of these things; we got our connection back, and he was able to
submit his work on time. I have to tell you, though, that one of the
thoughts that went through my mind was whether or not our cell phones
could help us get this work to the online school. I abandoned that
thought quickly. We really need to STOP PLAYING!  Underprivileged people
are not getting adequate access to the Internet by the use of cell
phones.

Author's comments: Making sure all kids have access
to technology is my mission.  It is why I have incorporated a business
in Pennsylvania.  The name of the business is More Opportunities to
Learn thorough Technology, Inc. It has been organized to serve the
digitally marginalized in Northwest Philadelphia.  Our next step is to
receive 501c3 Non-Profit Status.

Work Cited

Kiviat, Barbara. “The end of the racial digital divide?” Time Online Edition. Time Inc., 8 Jul. 2010. 24 Jul. 2010
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