Stress testing assumptions about tech in the home

Educators have always known the importance of the formal (homework) and informal (e.g., casual reading) role of learning in the home. There is plenty of data on the relationship between achievement and books in the home. The importance of technology in the home and how it is used has also received attention. 

One outcome of attempting to educate students at home during the pandemic has been increased awareness of the technology equity gap that exists home to home. The awareness that has resulted from this heightened awareness is what I mean by the pandemic as a stress test. This article from CNET offers insights similar to my way of thinking about what schools learned from the pandemic. 

I think our understanding of tech in the home became more nuanced than before and advanced beyond who had Internet access and who did not. The CNET article suggests that schools now have better data on where specific gaps exist and this is far better than a general map of where broadband is available and where it is not. The article proposes that federal programs such as Biden’s suggested 100 billion to improve broadband as infrastructure might tap into what schools know about how students were able to connect.