Tag: Digital Divide

AI and the digital divides

The digital divides are something I have been discussing for a while.   They generally aren’t anything new albeit I always use the plural rather than singular divide.  This is due to my believe that it isn’t a simple single divide but multiple inter-related divides including access to hardware, high speed internet, support, and more.    And in the discussion of AI I have been worried about it adding another divide, but speaking recently at an Edexec live event got me thinking a bit broader.

AI closing divides.

Maybe AI might close divides rather than open them.    If we consider teaching staff, maybe AI in the hands of teachers will result in teachers generally being able to be more creative and engaging with lesson content.    So rather than some students benefitting from creative teachers, being artistic, musically creative, etc, with the skills to turn this into lesson content, AI will put these capabilities into more teachers hands.   You can create something artistic without necessarily being artistic yourself, as long as you have the ideas and can outline to Generative AI.    I think back to teaching during an OFSTED inspection many years ago and I did a lesson on relative vs. absolute cell referencing in Excel using the game of battleships to get the concept across.   I had the skills to make this engaging with video content and more, but I would suggest at that time, some maybe 20 years ago, I would have been in the minority.  Fast forward to today and video and image content can easily be created using AI, putting the potential to create interesting, engaging content in the hands of more teachers than ever before.

We also need to look at student work, such as coursework.   Those students who struggle to get started, or need support finessing and checking their work suddenly have AI tools available to help.   Those students, taught in English but where it is their second or maybe third language now have tools to translate content.   Students with SEND also have AI tools which can help, and this help basically amounts to reducing or even removing the divides which previously existed.   In one discussion after my session at the Edexec event we were discussing coursework and marking with the suggestion that the gap between the best and the worst work will be narrowed through AI.   This may lead to a need to refine marking boundaries, to refine expectations or even to refine the assessment methodologies as a whole, but whichever way you look at it, it is a reduction in some divides.

AI growing the divide

The likely big issue is one of socioeconomic divide and access to AI tools and the required devices, infrastructure and support.   This will be uneven.    But I wonder if it is for schools to solve socioeconomic issues which stretch way beyond schools, into access to health support, opportunities beyond schools, positive family cultures and more.    We do want to seek to address this but am not sure schools have it within their power.

What schools do have in their power is to address the divide which may grow between those students at schools engaging with AI and those schools seeking to try and prohibit and ban AI use.   If we simply accept AI is here, has been for a while, and that we are all using it, and especially that students are using it, then maybe a ban doesn’t make sense.   Maybe we then find ourselves seeking to work with and teach students about AI and abouts its ethical and safe use.

Elephant in the room

And as to the “cheating” narrative, is a pen and paper cheating over having to explain a concept in person?   I would suggest for an introvert a debate or discussion on a concept would put them at a disadvantage, however providing pen and paper shapes thinking and the output.  It encourages slower linear thinking and a type of structure not quite as present in a discussion or debate.    Taking this idea further, what about the students using a laptop or computer as part of their exam concessions; Is this cheating?   Isnt it just about reducing the divide between them and other students?  So why is AI use cheating if it reduces divides?    Maybe we need to start asking students about why and how they used AI, what the benefits were, etc.    And definitely, lets not ask them to reference AI tools as I don’t see the point in this;  They don’t reference which search engine they used, yet this shaped the resources presented to them.    AI is a tool, it is here, so lets getting students using it, but teaching them about its use and getting them to use it safely and ethically.    Yes, some students may try to use it to cheat, but lets treat them as the exception rather than the rule, and develop plans for how we deal with this.   If we don’t believe the work is the students, that it represents what they have learned, then lets just ask them to present or to explain it.

Conclusion

AI is a tool, it is here, and it has the potential to narrow some divides, as well as the potential to widen others.    I doubt there will be a perfect solution so we are going to need to navigate our way through, considering benefit and risk and making the best reasonable decisions possible.    If we can narrow the key divides, where schools have the ability to address such divides, where avoiding widening divides, then this is likely the best we can achieve.      Maybe this will require us to think carefully about the scope of education and schools and what they can reasonably be expected to impact on and start there.

Digital Divides ?

The BETT Show got me once again thinking about the digital divides, and I am very careful to use the plural here as I believe there are many digital divides currently acting on our students.   Now I have been challenged in the past over the existence of a digital divide (note the singular here which I think is important) with evidence of widespread access to devices being one of the key points of challenge.  One piece of research, for example, suggested as many as 98% of UK 16-17yr olds owned a smartphone.    Based on this data almost all children have access to both a device and also internet access suggesting ubiquitous access and no digital divide however, although this may tick off the divide related to access to a device and also access to the internet, what about the other divides?

Its not the device that matters!

When looking at school technology strategy we have long identified that a strategy to simply put a particular device in staff and student hands doesn’t work.    Its not about having the device, although this is an important foundation, its about considering what it will be used for, how its use will be included in teaching and learning, what support is available in terms of technical support but also subject related technology use support, the overall culture of the school in relation to technology use, the confidence of teachers in using technology, etc.    In terms of students and the digital divide, there are similar issues.

Have it, but don’t use it here

One obvious divide for students relates to school technology strategy.   In some schools technology has a key part to play, so 1:1 devices might be available, class sets, or BYOD might be supported, but generally it is a case of technology is encouraged.    Other schools may have far more limited technology and may ban the use of mobile devices;   All of a sudden our ubiquitous access to devices and the internet isnt nearly as ubiquitous if students arent allowed to use their devices and no devices are provided while in schools.   Those students who are encouraged to use technology in school, across their lessons, benefit from lots of learning opportunities in relation to technology, while for those without, these opportunities don’t exist.

Supportive networks

For some students, use in school provides them teaching and support in relation to technology and its use through advice from teachers, support staff such as IT staff in schools plus also from their peers who like them are using technology within the school.    This support helps, and ongoing use also helps as it allows students to build confidence in the use of technology, which then supports experimentation with new technology or new functionality within existing platforms.    But this support isnt uniformly available with some students receiving far more than others.   And the issue of support extends beyond the walls of the school to home, where some students will benefit from engaged parents willing to discuss technology use, the benefits and risks, where for other students they may be left to their own devices, which may devolve towards doom scrolling social media apps.

Digital Citizenship

And in some schools there will be robust discussion of social media app and the broader issue of digital citizenship. Students will therefore be more aware of the risks and challenges associated with social media including issues around big data, influence, bias and echo chambers, etc. This will be in addition to the meagre amount of discussion which may be supported in PSHE lessons or within the computing science curriculum which might be all some students receive. Plus, where there is robust discussion, there is a greater chance for students to ask questions or seek support.  

Maybe you need more than a phone

We also need to recognise that the smart phone isnt always the best tool and sometimes we need a bigger screen, a keyboard and a mouse.   So, although ubiquitous access to a smartphone is a good start it isnt the solution.    A study looking at device access for homeschooled students in the UK found that slightly more than half of students had to share a device with others in the household for example.    Again, we have some students who benefit from their own device which they can personalise, use and build confidence with, and other students who do not have this benefit.

And then there’s the new tech; GenAI

So, from the above I hope I have highlighted some of the divides impacting on students and this is now further compounded by new technology such as GenAI.   In some schools this is being discussed and students are being encouraged to learn about and use GenAI solutions, but in other schools GenAI is out of bounds and banned, or the students simply don’t have access to the basic technology to properly explore GenAI.    For those students learning about AI, they are likely to be more confident and familiar with GenAI solutions they encounter as they exit school and either continue their studies or enter the world of work, whereas those who have been deprived of the opportunity will be presented with a steeper learning curve.

Conclusion

For me there are definite digital divides and I feel current development around GenAI is only going to widen these divides.    Access to a device and internet, the ubiquitous smartphone, is a good start but it is akin to giving devices to teachers with no professional development or support.   They might get some use of the devices but never what is truly possible.  And looking at students and the smartphone I suspect what they might get out of their devices will be a lot of YouTube and TikTok content rather than something more meaningful.   

We very much need to seek to address the digital divides and for me the place we need to start is with the basic building blocks in terms of infrastructure and devices in schools.   Only once this is reasonably consistent across similar types of schools can we then move on to tackle other digital divides.

References

UK: children owning mobile phones by age 2023 | Statista

Over half of home-schooled children in the UK have only shared access to computers – Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) (essex.ac.uk)

Digital Divides

The digital divide has long concerned educators in considering those students who have access to the internet and devices at home, plus support from parents in relation to device use, and those who do not.   Covid-19 has had me thinking about this, what this now means for schools and students and how we might leap the divide which exists.

Divides

The digital divide as a concept seems quite simple and tangible; either they have access, or they don’t.   This disguises the complexity of the issue and in my mind the existence of divides, plural, rather than a singular divide.

Firstly internet access; Some households will have super-fast broadband while others may have nothing whatsoever with a multitude of options in between.   The issue being this isn’t necessarily an issue of parents choosing not to have access but could relate to the location of their home and the available options in relation to internet connectivity.

Devices; Some families may have a computer/tablet at home while others may not.  Where a computer does exist, it may be a shared device or even a device used by parents to enable working from home.   Where a shared device this represents a challenge for a child to gain access especially where other children or even adults need the device while a child is seeking to undertake time bounded work.  This device also may or may not have some of the software used within school.   It may not have an up to date operating system and may therefore represent a cyber risk to users using it.

Mobile Phones: I mention mobile phones separately to devices above given how common mobile phone ownership is among students these days but even this assumption hides a layer of complexity.   Some students may not have phones, albeit a small number these days, however those that do have phones may have limited data packages meaning use for schoolwork could quickly become costly to families where Wi-Fi at home is not available.    The size of screens may make phones less ideal for work set or, like devices, phones may not have the needed software.  I note that many schools are deploying homework or school management apps currently and therefore I believe most schools are already taking a stance that parents will have a mobile phone;  In the most cases this is true but I do wonder about what is in place for those where it isn’t true.

Support: In schools the availability of IT support is critical.  If staff, as users, have difficulties, they may quickly disengage and re-engaging them with technology is often much more difficult once this has happened.    In schools this is easy enough, although as I will explain later even this is an oversimplification, but at home this is dependent on parents.   Parents need to support the specific usage of a tech tool as set by the teacher as well as providing the required technical support.   Some parents are likely to be very tech savvy and quickly able and willing to support their children in engaging with technology and learning through digital tools.   Equally though there will be many parents who themselves will feel out of their depth and unable to support their children in using what technology they have access to at home.

Schools: And even in our schools there are divides.   There are divides in terms of the equipment available with schools, with some school issuing devices to all teaching staff whereas in others there is little available beyond a classroom computer fixed in each classroom.   The available internet bandwidth may differ between schools as may the availability of IT support and training.   Also, the overall school attitude to IT and to IT strategy may differ with some schools engaged in experimenting and innovating and other schools scared to explore, scared of risks around GDPR, etc, or where EdTech may even have been given only passing consideration.

Moving Forward

The above divides can easily be seen as providing an impossible and wicked problem; How do we address all these different issues?    In my view when presented with a problem like this our best option is to seek to make progress and avoid overthinking or spending too much time in planning.   It is simply a case of act, review, adjust, act again, and a continuing process of iteration.   But where to focus?

I would propose three key areas first:

Infrastructure: One of the biggest limiting factors continues to be access to fast reliable internet across the country.  Here I am referring to the UK however this issue can be applied to any country.  Generally, this is a governmental issue and needs addressing at a national level however it is one which schools can have some impact either through access to the schools infrastructure outside normal hours or possibly through mobile service provider solutions as two possible approaches.

Devices: Next is access to devices for students to use at home.  How these devices are provided isn’t important, whether this be devices the students/parents own, or devices provided by schools or other organisations, the key thing is that students have access to a device.   Ideally this should follow internet access however at a push it doesn’t have to; If students have devices they can at least use software locally installed, or free Wi-Fi hotspots should they not have access to reliable Wi-Fi at home. Yes, this will require funding and I am under no illusions as to the extent of funding required, however in the meantime we can at least attempt to achieve what is reasonably possible through partnerships between schools and also with charitable and commercial organisations.

Training: My next focus area is training for parents not in the technical issues of IT but in how they, as a parent, can support their child in using technology in their learning at home.   I remember my old man helping me with Maths homework but at that time it was all pencil and paper, so he didn’t need anything more than a bit of maths knowledge and an interest in supporting me.   Now we still require the above but in addition parents need a little IT know how to access online platforms and understand how information might be stored/organised and what might be expected of students using these platforms.   Schools need to seek to support parents in this area.   Now there already are lots of examples of this in resources being created in schools and shared online.   Each school needs to consider what it offers and look to build on this.

Conclusion

Providing printed copies of worksheets to all because some may not have reliable Wi-if is no longer the answer.  Sending worksheets to student via email or via an app may be progress, but is it enough and should we be doing more?   We first must seek to find out what our students and their families have in terms of technology.  Armed with this information we can then look to how schools can support students learning using technology at home.   This will take some creativity to get correct and for some schools with limited resources I suspect this may still be printing out booklets, but for many there are at least steps which can be taken now or in the near future.  The digital divide (or divides) is an impossible problem for which a solution may not exist but at least we can seek to continually improve and give students the best technology enabled learning experiences possible, preparing them for the technological world we now live in.  And if you needed evidence of this technological world we need to prepare students for just take one look at the world today with the massive growth of work from home during this period of isolation and the use of video conferencing tools to stay in touch and even to socialise.  I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg.