Students at Risk and the Digital Divide

Students at Risk and the Digital Divide

As the world advances in technology, there are many benefits and disadvantages. In the school systems, students profit from having use of more technology. Then there are schools that have this technology and schools that don’t. There are classes that have it and classes that don’t. There are students in the same class that have access to various forms of technology and others that don’t have that luxury. There is not a definition of students at risk, but rather common characteristics: (a) children/youths from families living in poverty, (b) children/youths with different backgrounds (e.g., experiences, education, and origins), (c) children/youths of color, and (c) children/youths from limited English-speaking families (Davis & McCaul, 1990). Low achievement, poor attendance, low economic status, and attendance at schools with large numbers of students living in poverty contribute to the likelihood of not earning a high school diploma. But students at risk are also characterized as students who are likely to leave school without the necessary skills to succeed academically, socially, or vocationally in today's society. These students become victims in the sense that the likelihood of reaching their full potential is diminished. The digital divide is a problem that these students at risk face. It is a divide among household computer and internet access by race/ ethnicity, income, education, location, and disability. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the inequities that exist with respect to children's educational technological opportunities (Means, 1997).

Relationship between Poverty and Students at Risk

There is a link between poverty and students at risk. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2005) defines poverty is defined as “a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” 1 billion children live in poverty, which are 1 in 2 children in the world. The price these children pay for being born poor is enormous. Carta (1991) cites several sources indicating that low-SES (socio- economic status) children living in inner cities are much more likely to have educationally damaging circumstances as part of their life experiences than are higher SES children. The dangers these children could suffer include prenatal exposure to drugs and AIDS, low birth weight, poor nutrition, lead exposure, and personal injuries and accidents.