Posted on 09/22/2004 12:10:37 PM PDT by solicitor77
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040921-090816-9625r
CHICAGO, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Four years ago, the Internet cognoscenti were talking constantly about the "digital divide."
The theory was access to the Internet was determined largely by class and income, and poor children were being effectively excluded from online activities.
True once or not, that no longer appears to be the case.
New research indicates the digital divide has disappeared. Nearly every child -- 96 percent of all youngsters, according to research released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation -- has been online.
Now a new problem has emerged, experts told United Press International: The quality of online access is not the same for everyone in America.Most poor children can go online at their local public library or at school. However, some schools in urban areas simply do not have the resources to pay for high-speed, broadband access, and may not have enough computers for all the students, along with other, crucial educational projects. Also, teachers at schools in poorer districts may not be up to speed on the latest Internet skills. That problem persists, even though spending on education is growing overall."The digital divide is just one symptom of a greater educational issue in this country," said Raul Fernandez, a member of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, a White House advisory group appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001.
Many, perhaps most, local jurisdictions make providing 'free' broadband and cable TV to schools in the cable company's service area a requirement to renew the franchise agreement.
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