EDUC 5353: Blog Week #1 (Learn Tech Digit Divide)

Introduction:

My name is Jerry and I was born and raised in Chicago. I have my undergrad Bachelors of Arts in Communication Arts: Media Studies from a small liberal arts school in Illinois. I recently moved to the south Austin area and am now teaching CTE Commercial Photography to 11th and 12th graders as well as the CTE liaison and Content leader on my campus. I also work as a freelance photographer and videographer since we all know, teaching in its own is not enough to make a livable wage. My projected graduation date is after Summer Session II 2024. I'm excited for this new semester! 

Define your community for us.  Are you going to apply what you learn in this course to a school where you work? A community organization or non-profit? Who will your Call to Action serve?

My community is predominantly low income families that our school serves and it has a mission that one hundred percent of scholars will matriculate to and through a four year university. The mission is rooted in scholars who receive a four year degree can help break the poverty cycle in their families and provide generational stability and wealth for their children and children's children. I first learned of the concept of the digital divide in 2018 during my first year teacher AP Computer Science. There was a section in the curriculum that discussed this phenomenon and how we can be more aware and conscious of how privilege many of us are with the tech resources that we have while many others may not be as fortunate. Technological access, either via hardware, software, and internet, shouldn't be a strict privilege, but a right of the people regardless of their demographic or socioeconomically status. As I have had about six years of unpacking, learning, and teaching the concept of the digital divide, I feel this course will be an extra resource and stepping stone for myself to be better informed and find other ways to be mindful in modifying my course and assignments to be equitable to all students regardless of which side of the divide they fall on. I believe my Call to Action will serve the students who are taking my Commercial Photography II CTE course this 2023-2024 school year. I also feel that potentially it could serve the rest of the students on my campus with the intention that the Call to Action will be present to the other teachers on our campus for their aware and consideration. In order to move forward with my Call to Action, I have been given approval to gather data from my current students and based off of that, see where the largest gaps are for students who may be affected by the digital divide in their own lives. 

A link to the survey is provided here.

Provide some basic demographic data about the community you are focusing on. Who is served? What are the economic, political, historical, and social realities of the community?

"Digital exclusion comes with costs. Rural residents are at risk of being marginalized in an information-rich economy where digital transactions and commercial sharing services are becoming more relevant. Already facing diminished life chances, people with lower incomes, people of color, the elderly, and foreign-born migrants in rural areas run the risk of being on the wrong side of the digital divide that further exacerbates their economic, social, and political marginalization" (Lee, 2023).

Nicol Lee, in her photo essay on the digital divide, so eloquently spoke on this topic and those who are most commonly affected by this phenomenon. From the Income By Zipcode site, we can see that the median household income in $74,702. With a high cost of living area such as the city of Austin due to gentrification and many big named businesses (Tesla, google, amazon, etc) buying cheaper Texas property, the cost of living has sky rocketed the last few years. So although an annual salary of $74,000 seems like a solid amount, it really averages out to lower middle class and ever borderline poverty depending on family sizes and situations. Based on the U.S Census Bureau for this area, a little more than half the population have a four year degree (59.9%) with majority of English speakers at home while the next is Spanish speakers (at 20.5%). About 42% own their homes, while those who rent pay a median average of $1,581. For race and ethnicity, there are 526,024 compared to non white identifying individuals of about 748,279. These numbers reflect a larger portion of the city of Austin compared to the smaller community of my schools campus. For the specific surrounding areas. I am providing links to that data that can be better used to identify the demographics of this area:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Based on the data of my specific school, enrollments services a large minority demographic and indicate a low income status due to high percentage of free lunch qualifications (about 86%+). These numbers can tells us, without even completing the survey, that some families are in financial hardships thus must be on the difficult side of the digital divide. It is my job for the Call to Action to ensure that 100% of assignments given to students are catered to the understanding that they may not have direct internet access once they leave the school campus. 

Sources: 

Lee, N. (2023, June 26). Closing the Digital and Economic Divides in Rural America. Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/closing-the-digital-and-economic-divides-in-rural-america/

Income by Zip Code. (n.d.). Texas 78744 Income Statistics. Retrieved January 11th, 2024, from https://www.incomebyzipcode.com/texas/78744

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). American Community Survey: Austin city, Texas. Retrieved January 11th, 2024, from https://data.census.gov/profile/Austin_city,_Texas?g=160XX00US4805000#employment