EdSurge

A satellite launch expected lin 2022 could expand the availability of high-speed internet for the nation’s students. The launch of ViaSat-3, a trio of ultra high capacity GEO satellites, is part of ViaSat's ambition to create a global network of high-capacity internet.

Understanding that every school and district will take a different path toward their realization of digital equity, depending on their context and culture, we recommend an iterative, ongoing process which includes six key steps:

When colleges in the California State University system sent students home from campus in spring 2020, it quickly became clear that some students lacked reliable access to the internet or computers through which to participate in their pandemic-era emergency remote courses. Institutions did what they could to help in the moment, trying “band-aid remedies” such as loaning out laptops or expanding Wi-Fi service into parking lots, says Mike Uhlenkamp, senior director of public affairs for the system.

When pandemic-induced school closures began in spring 2020, Carey Wright, state superintendent of education for Mississippi, seized the opportunity to address the digital divide in the state. Wright and her team at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) immediately began work on a strategic approach to narrow the digital learning divide between students living in different parts of the state.

Many people think the "digital divide" and access to technology simply boils down to whether students have a working device and a reliable internet connection. But the needs—and the costs—are more complicated than that. K-12 school districts must plan for a variety of costs related to technology integration. Schools and districts are forced to haphazardly fund technology-enabled learning because of failures to do so in a consistent way at the federal and state level.

Though about 12 million students in the United States still lack any internet access at all—a problem cast into relief during the pandemic—there is good news: That number is steadily shrinking. Yet, even as the number of unconnected students declines, there is another group that, for years, has made virtually no headway. That is students who are “under-connected.” Students and families who are considered under-connected are those who have internet access and devices in their home, but not at a caliber or quality sufficient for smooth and consistent online learning.