The digital divide is shrinking. Technology in schools falls along a spectrum, where schools like High Tech High are at one end, and schools struggling with connectivity and lack of devices are at the other. Some schools still have limited connectivity and access to devices. However, 40.7 million more students have high-speed internet access now than in 2013 and 98% of schools are integrating digital learning into their curricula (Education SuperHighway). A divide exists, however, in the ways connected K-12 schools use technology. Some schools have connectivity and devices, but they are not being used to their maximum benefit, resulting in what is now known as a "digital-use divide." In schools with connectivity and devices, the ways technology is used for learning falls along a spectrum as well. The use of technology for active, authentic, student-centered learning is at one end, while low-level passive use sits at the other, where technology is just a substitute for existing classroom strategies. “A digital-use divide continues to exist between learners who are using technology in active, creative ways to support their learning and those who predominantly use technology for passive content consumption” (US Department of Education, 2017, p.7).
Closing the digital divide will not necessarily improve learning; we must also close the digital-use divide (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). To make the most out of technology and close this digital-use divide, teachers must find ways to use technology in innovative ways, allowing learners to accomplish things that would be difficult without the technology. The reasons for this digital-use divide range from poor teacher training to a mismatch between teacher skills, beliefs and technology use. There is concern that even with an increase in access to technology in schools, the digital-use divide could continue to widen unless we put "thoughtful intervention and attention to the way technology is used for learning" (U.S. Department of Education, 2017, p.20).
U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Reimagining the role of technology in education: 2017 national education technology plan update. Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education, https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf