Getting to the Bottom of the Digital Divide | Joshua Meadows | TEDxWVU

Summary

This script narrates a personal journey to address the digital divide, focusing on the unequal access to technology in rural areas like West Virginia. It discusses the concept of digital equity and the speaker's efforts through educational programs, such as incorporating virtual reality and developing inclusive computer science curricula. The talk also touches on the importance of digital accessibility and the collaborative efforts needed to achieve true digital equity for all.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The digital divide is the unequal access to technology, which significantly impacts education, healthcare, and job opportunities, particularly in rural areas like West Virginia.
• 📉 West Virginia ranks 50th in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings, highlighting severe issues with coverage, speed, and reliability of internet access.
• 🔍 Equity, including digital equity, aims to ensure that everyone has what they need to succeed, regardless of their background.
• 🎓 The speaker's personal journey to address the digital divide began with working in 4-H, a youth development organization, and later through various educational initiatives.
• 🏆 A Google grant facilitated the development of virtual reality curriculum resources for after-school programs, demonstrating innovative approaches to learning computer science.
• 🤖 The 2018 National Youth Science Day experiment kit, co-developed with Google, aimed to break down barriers to computer science education, including the 'Code Your Dance' activity.
• 💃 'Code Your Dance' is an example of an 'unplugged' activity that teaches computer science concepts without the need for computers, making it more accessible.
• 🔄 The importance of inclusion and discussion in the design process was highlighted by the collaborative experience between the speaker and a Google software engineer.
• 👥 The speaker's work in digital accessibility emphasizes the need for content to be usable by the widest possible audience, in line with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
• 🌟 Universal design benefits everyone by incorporating accessibility from the start, improving usability and functionality for all users.
• 🛠️ The pandemic forced a rapid shift to digital programming, revealing both challenges and opportunities for inclusive computer science education.
• 📈 The ongoing digital divide is characterized by a skills gap and lack of physical access, which require coordinated efforts from various stakeholders to address effectively.

Q & A

What is the digital divide and how does it affect people?

The digital divide refers to the unequal access to technology, which can disadvantage individuals in areas such as education, healthcare, and job opportunities, particularly impacting those in rural areas or with limited resources.

Why does West Virginia rank poorly in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings?

West Virginia ranks 50th due to its lack of coverage, speed, and reliability in broadband services, which contributes to the digital divide and leaves many individuals at a disadvantage.

What is the concept of digital equity and how does it relate to the digital divide?

Digital equity is the vision where the digital divide has been eliminated and everyone has the necessary resources to participate and thrive in the digital world, ensuring equal opportunities for success regardless of one's background.

What role did 4-H play in the speaker's journey to address the digital divide?

4-H, as America’s largest youth organization, provided the speaker with an opportunity to work with youth development and implement experiential learning methods, particularly in teaching computer science without the need for computers.

How did the Google grant influence the development of computer science education?

The Google grant allowed the 4-H STEM team at WVU to incorporate virtual reality into after-school programs and develop curriculum resources that were implemented nationwide, enhancing computer science education.

What was the significance of the 2018 National Youth Science Day experiment?

The 2018 experiment, sponsored by Google, aimed to address barriers to entry in computer science education and was developed by a team from WVU, including the speaker, in collaboration with Google engineers and curriculum specialists.

What is the 'Code Your Dance' activity and how does it teach computer science concepts?

'Code Your Dance' is an unplugged activity that teaches computer science concepts like abstraction, decomposition, and algorithms by having students code their own line dance using a programming language on playing cards, making it accessible without computer hardware.

What was the speaker's experience with inclusion and discussion in the development of 'Code Your Dance'?

The speaker and a Google software engineer had creative differences in designing the programming language cards, but through discussion and compromise, they reached a solution that was better than either could have produced individually, highlighting the importance of inclusion in the development process.

How did the speaker's work evolve to focus on digital accessibility?

The speaker's interest in inclusion led to a specialization in digital accessibility, focusing on creating digital content that is accessible to the widest possible audience, which is essential for achieving digital equity.

What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and their purpose?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of technical standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to guide developers in creating digital content that is accessible to a wide range of users, ensuring inclusivity in digital spaces.

How can universal design principles benefit both people with disabilities and others?

Universal design principles involve designing products and environments with accessibility in mind from the beginning, benefiting not only people with disabilities but also others, as seen in examples like ramps on sidewalks and closed captions in videos.

What role did the pandemic play in accelerating the need for digital solutions?

The pandemic forced a rapid shift to digitization, increasing the demand for technology solutions and highlighting the importance of digital accessibility and equity in ensuring that everyone can participate in the digital age.

What are the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program and the Digital Equity Program?

These are federal programs that provide funding to address the digital divide by expanding broadband infrastructure and promoting meaningful adoption and use of high-speed internet services, working together to maximize their collective impact.

What is the speaker's call to action for achieving digital equity?

The speaker urges individuals from various backgrounds, including technologists, educators, policymakers, and concerned citizens, to join the mission of achieving digital equity by collaborating and contributing their unique skills and perspectives.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Bridging the Digital Divide

The speaker, a neurodivergent first-generation college student, introduces the concept of the digital divide and its negative impact on education, healthcare, and job opportunities. Growing up in rural West Virginia, they witnessed this divide firsthand and share their personal journey towards digital equity. The speaker's involvement with 4-H and a Google grant led to the development of VR curriculum and computer science education initiatives, including the 'Code Your Dance' activity, which aimed to make computer science concepts accessible without the need for computer hardware.

05:01

🤖 Enhancing Inclusion in Computer Science Education

The narrative continues with the speaker's experiences in improving the inclusivity of computer science education, particularly focusing on the 2019 NYSD experiment. They discuss the importance of creating alternate versions of activities and representative stories to ensure a diverse range of students can benefit from computer science education. The speaker's work at the PAES Lab demonstrates the flexibility of the NYSD curriculum in adapting to the needs of students on the autism spectrum, emphasizing the potential of computational thinking across various career paths.

10:02

🔍 Deepening the Focus on Digital Accessibility

The speaker's journey leads them to specialize in digital accessibility, recognizing the need for content that can be consumed by the widest audience possible. They delve into the principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and universal design, illustrating how these practices not only benefit people with disabilities but also improve the overall user experience. The speaker shares their professional experiences, including the challenges of digitizing programming during the pandemic and the importance of using technology tools that incorporate universal design.

15:04

🏗️ Constructing a Path to Digital Equity

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the ongoing efforts to address the digital divide, emphasizing that while bridges have been built, the goal is to fill the divide by tackling its root causes. They highlight the collaborative efforts needed from various stakeholders, including governments, businesses, non-profits, and individuals. The speaker calls for action, urging everyone to find their passion for digital equity and contribute to creating a world with equal access to digital opportunities.

Keywords

💡Digital Divide

The 'Digital Divide' refers to the gap between individuals who have access to modern information and communication technology, including the internet, and those who lack such access. In the video, this concept is central as it discusses the unequal access to technology, particularly in rural areas like West Virginia, and its negative impact on education, healthcare, and job opportunities. The script mentions West Virginia ranking 50th in annual rankings of coverage, speed, and reliability, illustrating the severity of the digital divide in the region.

💡Digital Equity

Digital Equity is the concept where everyone has the necessary resources and skills to participate and thrive in the digital world. It is highlighted in the script as a 'bold vision' where the digital divide is closed, emphasizing the importance of providing everyone with what they need to succeed in the digital age. The speaker's passion for closing the digital divide and ensuring equal opportunities is a driving force behind their work.

💡Neurodivergent

Neurodivergent is a term used to describe individuals whose neurological development and functioning differ from what is considered the neurotypical. The speaker identifies as neurodivergent and uses their personal experiences to inform their passion for digital equity. This term is relevant to the video's theme as it highlights the importance of inclusivity and accessibility in technology for people with diverse neurological conditions.

💡4-H

4-H is America’s largest youth organization, run by land-grant universities. The script discusses the speaker's involvement with WVU 4-H’s youth development and the organization's experiential learning method, 'Learn by Doing'. This is key to the video's narrative as it shows how the speaker worked to teach computer science in after-school programs without the need for computers, using this method.

💡Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality is a technology that creates a simulated environment that can be experienced through sensory stimuli, such as sight and sound. In the script, the 4-H STEM team at WVU was awarded a Google grant to incorporate VR into after-school programs. This initiative exemplifies the innovative approaches taken to teach computer science concepts in an engaging and immersive way.

💡National Youth Science Day (NYSD)

National Youth Science Day is an annual event that encourages young people to explore and learn about science. The script mentions WVU being selected to develop the curriculum for the first-ever computer science-themed NYSD experiment in 2018, sponsored by Google. This event is significant in the video's narrative as it represents a milestone in making computer science education more accessible and engaging for youth.

💡Experiential Learning

Experiential Learning is an educational approach where learners are engaged in activities and experiences that allow them to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world contexts. The script refers to 4-H's use of this method, best defined by their motto 'Learn by Doing', which is critical in teaching computer science concepts without the need for computers, as the speaker did as a graduate assistant.

💡Accessibility

Accessibility in the context of digital technology refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The speaker's interest in digital accessibility is highlighted in the script, emphasizing the need to create digital content that can be consumed by the widest possible audience, including those with disabilities. This is a key aspect of the video's message on achieving digital equity.

💡Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

The WCAG is a set of technical standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium to guide developers in creating digital content that is accessible to a wide range of users. The script discusses these guidelines as a means to ensure digital content is accessible, covering areas such as color, contrast ratios, and content structures. This is an important part of the video's discussion on digital accessibility and equity.

💡Universal Design

Universal Design is the concept of designing products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. The script mentions this as an approach that benefits not only people with disabilities but also others, such as parents with strollers or delivery workers with carts. It is a key principle in the video's advocacy for inclusive and accessible technology.

💡Data Driven West Virginia

Data Driven West Virginia is an outreach center at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics, where the speaker works as the director. The script describes this organization's role in bridging the digital divide by partnering students with organizations that have technology needs or share the goal of advancing digital equity. This is an example from the video of how collaborative efforts can address the skills gap and promote experiential learning.

Highlights

The speaker's personal experience with the digital divide in rural West Virginia and its impact on education, healthcare, and job opportunities.

West Virginia's ranking as 50th in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings, emphasizing the state's poor coverage, speed, and reliability.

The concept of digital equity as a vision for closing the digital divide and ensuring everyone has the necessary tools to thrive in the digital world.

The speaker's passion for closing the digital divide, driven by their background as a neurodivergent, first-generation college student.

The introduction of the 4-H experiential learning method and its importance in teaching computer science without computers.

The impact of a Google grant on developing virtual reality curriculum resources for after-school programs.

WVU's development of the curriculum for the first-ever computer science-themed National Youth Science Day experiment in 2018.

Key findings from the 2015 Google and Gallup report on the state of computer science education in K-12 schools, highlighting disparities in access and awareness.

The creation of the 'Code Your Dance' activity, an unplugged way to teach computer science concepts through line dancing.

The importance of inclusivity and discussion in the design process, as demonstrated by the speaker's experience with Google engineers.

Feedback on the 'Code Your Dance' activity and the realization of the need for more inclusive design considerations.

The focus on inclusion in the 2019 NYSD experiment, including alternate activity versions and diverse stories of 4-H'ers.

The legislative milestone in West Virginia with Senate Bill 267, requiring computer science education before graduation.

The speaker's transition to a professional technologist role with WVU Extension and their specialization in digital accessibility.

The principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and their role in creating accessible digital content.

The concept of universal design and its application in both physical and digital spaces for broader inclusivity.

The challenges faced during the pandemic in digitizing Extension's programming and the speaker's role as a professional technologist.

The adaptation of the WVU 4-H Code Camp to a digital format and its impact on students, including those with disabilities.

The ongoing issues highlighted by the 2020 Google and Gallup follow-up study, including persistent gaps in computer science education.

The speaker's identification of the skills gap and lack of physical access as key barriers to digital equity.

The role of Data Driven West Virginia in bridging the digital divide through experiential learning and digital accessibility.

Collaborative efforts between various programs and organizations to address the digital divide through federal funding and strategic initiatives.

The call to action for a collaborative effort from diverse stakeholders to achieve digital equity and fill the digital divide.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Michael Saunders Reviewer: Michael Nystrom

Hello everyone.

Join me on a journey to get to the bottom of the digital divide,

as we explore the detrimental effects of the unequal access to technology

and discover actionable solutions for achieving digital equity.

Growing up in rural southern West Virginia,

I have firsthand experience with the digital divide,

which is the unequal access to technology that leaves many people behind.

West Virginia ranks 50th among states in BroadbandNow’s annual rankings

of coverage, speed and reliability.

This lack of access disadvantages individuals

in education, healthcare and job opportunities.

Equity is the idea that different people need different things to succeed.

And digital equity is a bold vision, where the digital divide has been closed

and everyone has what they need

to participate and thrive in the digital world.

As a neurodivergent, first-generation college student,

I am driven by my passion for closing the digital divide

and ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to success

regardless of their background.

My journey through the digital divide started in 4-H in college.

As a graduate assistant, I worked with WVU 4-H’s youth development.

4-H is America’s largest youth organization

and is run by land-grant universities like WVU.

4-H uses the experiential learning method,

best defined by their motto, “Learn by Doing”.

And this method is critical in after-school programs,

especially when the goal is to teach computer science without any computers

and using facilitators that have no computer science background,

which is exactly what I worked to do as a graduate assistant.

As I started my position, the 4-H STEM team at WVU

was awarded a Google grant

to incorporate virtual reality into after-school programs.

WVU’s motto is “Mountaineers Go First”.

And that inspired us to blaze a trail and develop multiple curriculum resources,

which were implemented in after-school programs nationwide.

Thanks to the success of the VR curriculum,

WVU was selected to develop the curriculum for the first-ever

computer science-themed National Youth Science Day experiment in 2018,

which Google sponsored.

As one of the four people from the design team from WVU,

I got to work alongside software engineers and curriculum specialists from Google

and develop an experiment kit

that addressed some of the key barriers to entry

in computer science education.

Our inspiration for the 2018 NYSD report

was a report published by Google and Gallup in 2015

about the state of computer science education in K-12 schools.

Some of the key findings were

Black and Hispanic students were less likely than white students

to use a computer at home most days,

girls were less likely than boys to say that they’d learned any computer science,

parents from small towns and rural districts were less likely

to be aware of opportunities to learn computer science

in the community outside of school,

and there was disparity between demand and supply for computer science education.

One of the activities in the kit, “Code Your Dance”,

exemplifies the techniques we implemented to overcome these barriers.

It is an unplugged activity,

which means that it teaches computer science concepts

like abstraction, decomposition and algorithms

without requiring any computer hardware.

“Code Your Dance” does this by teaching students to code their own line dance

with a programming language designed on playing cards.

The goal is to demystify these computer science concepts

by linking them to something the students are familiar with.

Line dancing is actually incredibly popular in 4-H.

The creation of this activity is my favorite

“tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker” story.

A software engineer from Google and I

took the lead on designing the programming language cards,

and we had some creative differences on what constituted oversimplification.

It turns out the definition of oversimplification

is actually pretty complex.

After debating back and forth across time zones

for what felt like forever,

we finally set up a call and were able to reach a compromise.

It was hard to see it at the time, but in retrospect,

our compromise was better than either of us could have produced on our own,

and the experience taught me

that inclusion and discussion yield better results.

“Code Your Dance” was the most popular activity in the kit,

and 86% of survey respondents reported that they tried it,

and 81% of survey respondents reported

that they would likely or definitely do it again.

One criticism we received was that

the activity could have been more friendly to participants with limited mobility.

Even though we worked so hard

to create an experiment that taught computer science without computers,

I was disappointed that we were unable to include everyone

and disappointed in myself for not thinking of this.

And that’s what inspired me to dig deeper into the digital divide,

into the realm of inclusion.

In 2019, WVU was selected again to create the 2019 NYSD experiment,

and I became a visiting faculty member at WVU.

This time we focused on inclusion,

including alternate versions of activities,

representative stories about diverse 4-H’ers

using computer science in their communities

and focusing on how computer science can help you

regardless of your career path.

I got to see the firsthand effects of this when I demoed the experiment

at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center’s

Practical Assessment Exploration System Lab.

The PAES Lab allows students on the autism spectrum

to develop their functional work skills.

Although these students may not be college-bound,

the curriculum for NYSD was flexible enough that they were able to see how

computational thinking and computer science can be useful to them,

regardless of what occupation they pursue.

On February 28, 2019, Senate Bill 267 was signed in Beckley,

which is my hometown, at Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School,

where I spent many hours volunteering growing up.

This law made West Virginia the first state in the nation

to require computer science education before graduation.

This event felt like a capstone to my work,

and when I finished my work on the 2019 NYSD experiment in late 2019,

I decided to dig deeper once again and pursue a new passion.

In January 2020, I accepted a position

as a professional technologist with WVU Extension.

A professional technologist is someone who finds, creates and implements

technology solutions to diverse problems.

And being neurodivergent, I became particularly interested

in a specific type of inclusion, accessibility,

which is making accommodations so that people with disabilities can participate.

And I started to specialize in digital accessibility.

While much of accessibility focuses

on making specific accommodations for individuals,

digital accessibility is a little different,

because with digital content,

the intended audience is often the entire world.

And so those case-by-case accommodations aren’t possible.

The goal of digital accessibility is to create the content in such a way

that the most people possible can consume the content.

And this is a place where everyone can make a difference

and make your own life easier in the process.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

is a set of technical standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium

to guide developers in creating digital content

that is accessible to a wide range of users.

These criteria cover areas such as color, contrast ratios, content structures,

alternative text for images, keyboard accessibility and more.

And by following these guidelines,

content creators and developers can ensure that their digital content

is accessible to users with a wide range of abilities.

Universal design is the idea that these accessible practices

are often universal best practices.

This means designing products

and environments with accessibility in mind from the beginning,

rather than adding these features as an afterthought.

And by doing so, universal design not only benefits people with disabilities

but also benefits everyone else.

A classic example of this in architecture

is that a ramp may be added to a sidewalk to accommodate someone with a wheelchair,

but it benefits a wide range of people,

from parents with a stroller to delivery workers with a cart.

And an example in the digital space is closed captions,

which may be added to a video to accommodate a deaf viewer,

but they benefit many others as well,

such as someone trying to watch the video at a crowded airport without headphones.

Developers at large technology companies like Microsoft and Google

bake universal design into their products.

And by using these tools, you can make your own life easier.

For example, by using proper headings in word processing tools,

you can do things like navigate your document

and insert a table of contents with just a few clicks.

Most office application suites, such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365,

come with built-in accessibility checkers

that will scan your document for conformance to the WCAG guidelines

and give you helpful tips along the way.

In 2020, right as I was settling into my new role, the pandemic hit,

and all of Extension’s programming had to be digitized overnight.

As a professional technologist, this meant a lot of late nights and hard work.

And while most of this is kind of a blur now,

one particular instance stands out in my memory.

WVU 4-H Code Camp

is a camp I co-founded with other WVU 4-H NYSD design team members.

Originally, it was designed

to focus-test various activities that we were testing for NYSD,

but the camp took on a life of its own and is still going to this day.

From 2018 to 2020, it was a weekend-long in-person camp,

where middle and high school students from across the state gathered

and were introduced to computer science concepts.

In 2021, however, the camp had to be digitized.

While this had drawbacks, one positive experience was partnering

with the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind

to bring computer science education to their students through Code Camp.

By making only slight modifications to an existing curriculum,

we were able to help a blind student write his first Python script

and discover a love of computer science.

That is digital equity.

The pandemic brought many issues to light.

In 2020, Google and Gallup released a follow-up to the 2015 study,

and the results were grim.

The significant gender gap that had existed in computer science education

still persists to this day.

There are similar computer science education gaps

between white and Black and Hispanic students.

And while more state-level computer science decision-makers believe

that computer science is important,

that hasn’t translated to the classroom quite yet.

Students are generally unconvinced

that computer science is important for them to learn.

My personal findings were that two issues

stood in the way of my digital equity efforts to date:

the skills gap and the lack of physical access.

Once again, I found myself digging deeper into the digital divide.

The skills gap is the higher demand for technology skills than the supply.

And as the director of Data Driven West Virginia, an outreach center

at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics,

I work alongside many talented colleagues to bridge this gap,

using many tools I learned along the way,

such as experiential learning and digital accessibility.

We take experiential learning one step further, by having our students,

or experiential learners as I like to call them,

learn by solving real-world problems that advance the prosperity

and economic health of West Virginia and its people.

Data Driven West Virginia partners

WVU students with organizations that have a technology need

or who share our goal of bridging the digital divide.

We’ve worked with organizations as small as a local art boutique

to as big as a national R&D non-profit tackling issues like the opioid epidemic.

One project I’m particularly proud of

is ongoing with the West Virginia Office of Broadband.

Data Driven West Virginia is working alongside colleagues

from other WVU programs, such as StartUp West Virginia

and the West Virginia Land Use and Sustainability Law Clinic,

as well as experts from Marshall University

and Tilson Technology Management,

and with support from the West Virginia governor’s office,

to advise the West Virginia Office of Broadband

on the implementation of two federal programs:

the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program

and the Digital Equity Program.

These two programs offer unparalleled federal funding

to address the digital divide.

By expanding broadband infrastructure

and promoting meaningful adoption and use of high-speed internet service,

these programs work synergistically to maximize their collective impact.

Coordinated efforts allow both programs to benefit from common data collection,

identifying greatest areas of need and making data-driven decisions.

By fostering innovation and evaluating the impact of their initiatives,

BEAD and DE can continuously refine their strategies.

And together, these programs create a holistic and effective approach

to addressing many facets of the digital divide.

These programs are just a start, however.

Although the title of this talk may suggest otherwise,

getting to the bottom of the digital divide is not possible

because you can’t dig yourself out of a hole.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with talented and passionate individuals

from different backgrounds to bridge the divide.

And while building a bridge is crucial, it is not the ultimate solution.

We still need to tackle the root causes of the digital divide.

The reality of bridging the divide

is that this is only a first step towards digital equity.

Bridges require constant maintenance, and they have limited throughput.

Bridging the divide provides access

to those currently excluded from the digital age.

However, to truly achieve digital equity, we need to fill the divide

by permanently fixing the systemic issues that are at its core.

Achieving digital equity requires

a collaborative effort from different stakeholders,

including governments, businesses, non-profits and individuals.

Moreover, it requires representation from all races, genders,

socioeconomic and ability groups and all walks of life.

Each group brings unique skills and perspectives to the table,

and by working together, we can make a significant difference.

While progress has been made, we need to accelerate our efforts.

And therefore, I urge you to join us in this mission.

Whether you're a technologist, educator, policymaker or concerned citizen,

there is a role for you to play in filling the digital divide.

Let’s collaborate to create a world where everyone has equal access

to the opportunities of the digital age.

I encourage you to find your digital equity passion.

Grab a shovel, help us start filling.

Thank you.

(Applause)