Access in the Information Age: Community Colleges Bridging the Digital Divide

Access in the Information Age: Community Colleges Bridgingthe Digital Divide Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr. & Gerardo E. de los SantosNational Science Foundation SymposiumEstrella Mountain Community CollegeApril 27-28, 2001

Overview • Dramatic Change • Digital Divide • Digging In • Dedication to Education

Dramatic Change • Web from 377 million users to 1 billion users by 2005 • Internet traffic doubles every 100 days • Average surfer spends 9 hours per week on 10 sites • 1.2 Billion Web pages (doubles each year – 38 pages a second) • AOL Web sites have more than 35 million unique visitors per week • 760 Million messages daily (2x the USPS) Nielsen/Net Ratings; Newsweek

70% of adults use a computer • 91% of adults projected online by 2005 • A third of “wired” adults shop online • More than ½ of Americans send an e-mail each day • Average E-mail received per year: Grow from 1,800 to 5,600 by 2005 • Consumer E-Commerce $300 Billion by 2002 • B-to-B E-Commerce $2.7 Trillion by 2004 Dramatic Change Newsweek; U.S. Department of Commerce; Forrester; Dertouzos

Dramatic Change: Characteristics of the New Economy • Technology is a given • Globalism is here to stay • Knowledge builds wealth • People are the most important raw material • There’s no such thing as a smooth ride • Competition is relentless • Alliances are the way to get things done • Place still matters—but for different reasons--Morrison Institute for Public PolicyThe New Economy: A Guide for AZ 1999

“In the next 50 years, schools and universities will change more and more drastically than they have since they assumed their present form more than 300 years ago when they organized themselves around the printed book.” Dramatic Change • Change in Education Peter Drucker

Dramatic Change • Change in Higher Education • Approximately 60% of college courses use e-mail • More than 2 of 5 college courses use Web resources • Approximately 50-80% of students and faculty access the Internet each day • Almost 1/3 of college courses have a Web page • Expansion of “virtual” colleges and universities *K.C. Green, 2000

Dramatic Change • The “DotCommies” are coming! • Baby Boom Echo – 88 million strong • 77% could not live w/o their PC • 92% think technology will improve their educational options • Video games to surpass movies • Use for entertainment, learning, communication, shopping • View tech as an appliance – a different level of savvy, expectation • Faculty, Administration, Staff

. . . You May Be a DotCommie • If you have two or more e-mail addresses • If you get a nervous tick after not checking your e-mail for more than 12 hours • If you wake up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom and on the way back to bed you check your e-mail • If you can’t sit through an entire movie without having at least one device on your body beep or buzz • If your minister uses PowerPoint • If your first thought after seeing this list is that you’d like to get a copy so you can e-mail it to a friend

How Do We Define the Digital Divide?

Digital Divide “America’s Digital Divide is fast becoming a ‘racial ravine.’ It is now one of America’s leading economic and civil rights issues and we have to take concrete steps to redress the gap between the haves and have nots.” --Department of Commerce for Telecommunications August 1999

Digital Divide “The lack of technology access and skills puts disadvantaged members of our society increasingly at risk of becoming disenfranchised spectators of a digital world that is passing them by, bit by bit.” --Milliron and Miles, CEO & COO League for Innovation November/December 2000

Access At the Heart • Telephone and Connectivity Access • Computer & Internet Access • Training & Learning Access

A Complex and Far Reaching Issue . . . • Economic issue • Social issue • Equity issue • Educational issue • Workforce issue • Political issue

Percent of U.S. Households with a Computer • By race/origin and by U.S., rural, urban, and central city areas • Blacks and Hispanics have the least access to computers in the home, particularly in rural areas • By race/origin and by income • The lower the family income, the less likely to have a computer, particularly Blacks and Hispanics

Percent of U.S. Households Using the Internet • By race/origin and by U.S., rural, urban, and central city areas • Blacks and Hispanics are using the Internet significantly less at the home, particularly in rural areas • By race/origin and by income • The lower the family income, the lower Internet use, particularly in rural areas

Digital Divide • Significant access challenges for minorities and rural areas • Whites are 2x as likely to have Internet access as Blacks and Hispanics • Household Income of $75,000 are 20 times more likely to have access to the Internet *Federal Computer Week, July 1999

Digital Divide • Majority minority schools lag almost 20% behind the national average in Internet connectivity • Fewer than 20% of low income schools have a classroom with an Internet connection • 17% of 17-year olds are functionally illiterate *NCES

Knocking On the Open Door Current and Future Demographic Shifts Indicate a Significant Increase in Community College Enrollments

Percent Growth of High School Graduates between 1996-2012 • African Americans = 23.9 % • Native American = 75.1% • Asian Pacific Islander = 93.2% • Hispanic = 137% • White Non Hispanic = (12.5%)

Digging In 1. Community colleges should review the curriculum and pedagogies used in the classroom to ensure that all students develop technology literacy and the ability to adapt quickly to change

Digging In 2. Community colleges should develop strategic plans to enhance and continuously improve the issue of technology in learning and teaching processes

Digging In 3. Community colleges should provide opportunities for all members of the faculty and staff to use computers, the Internet, and other emerging technologies

Digging In 4. Community Colleges should seek relationships with technology partners in their local business communities who will directly and indirectly benefit from technologically literate employee prospects

Digging In 5. Community Colleges should facilitate explorations of how the issues of growing minority enrollments, limited access to technology, and increasing requirements for technology and change savvy will likely impact them in the future

Digging In 6. Community Colleges should strengthen their occupational and other short-cycle offerings to continue to prepare their growing number of information technology workers needed in the new economy

Digging In 7. Community Colleges should create venues, on their own or with partners, where all students can access computers and the Internet on and off campus.

Digging In 8. Community Colleges should work with K-12 school systems to facilitate the professional development of teachers in the use of technology in learning and teaching processes

Dedication to Education: Learning Beyond Technology “The current and future health of America’s 21st Century economy depends directly on how broadly and deeply Americans reach a new level of literacy—’21st Century Literacy’—that includes strong academic skills, thinking, reasoning, teamwork skills, and proficiency in using technology.”--21st Century Workforce Commission, 2000

Learning Beyond Technology: 21st Century Learning Outcomes • Technology Skills • Communications Skills • Computation Skills • Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

21st Century Outcomes • Information Management Skills • Interpersonal Skills • Personal Skills • Community Skills

Wrap Up • Dramatic Change • Digital Divide • Digging In • Dedication to Education

Connecting with the League www.league.org Searchable Database, Publications, Resources, Information Delossantos@asu.edu Delossantos@league.org Conferences and Events Minneapolis, Minnesota November 14-17, 2001Conference on Information Technology

Access in the Information Age: Community Colleges Bridging the Digital Divide