"Striking" income disparity cited in access to classroom technology

A new Pew study looks at how teachers are using technology in their classrooms / DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images

Teachers are increasingly relying on laptops and mobile technology in middle and high school classrooms nationwide but there is a "striking" disparity in access to the latest technology between lower and higher income students and school districts, according to a new study.

The new survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 92 percent of middle and high school teachers say the Internet has a "major impact" on their ability to access resources in the classroom. Nearly three out of four teachers say cell phones are used for class work and more than 40 percent of teachers reported using tablet computers and e-readers.

However, while tablets and e-readers have become key tools for teachers, their classroom prevalence is apparently driven by economics. The survey found that only 37 percent of teachers of low income students use tablet computers compared to 56 percent of teachers of the highest income students.

Similarly, 52 percent of teachers of upper and upper-middle income students say their students use cell phones as a learning device in class, compared with 35 percent of teachers of the lowest income students. Furthermore, teachers of the lowest income students are more than twice as likely as teachers of the highest income students to cite lack of access to digital technologies as a "major challenge" to their teaching.

Kristen Purcell, associate director for research at Pew Research Center, said "it seems unrealistic to think these differences can be addressed overnight."

"They reflect not only disparities in access to digital tools in schools themselves, but also disparities at student access at home," Purcell told CBSNews.com. "Both would need to be addressed to close the gaps we see."

Purcell added that the generational differences among teachers in their tech use was smaller than one might expect.

"As is the case among the full adult population, younger teachers are slightly more likely to use some digital tools personally (smartphones and iPods for example), and they are also more likely to use collaborative online tools like Wikis and GoogleDocs in their teaching," Purcell said. "However, when you compare the older teachers in this sample to other adults their age in the general population, they are very advanced tech users."

Pew's findings come from an online survey of more than 2,400 middle and high school teachers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The survey was bolstered by a series of focus groups with teachers and high school students conducted between November 2011 and February 2012.

[Scimajor]

I use an iPad for instruction. It's amazing. Not being tethered to a whiteboard or laptop is an amazing improvement.

As our school district won't even buy us paper for printing tests or markers for use on the whiteboard, it's hardly surprising that I purchased the iPad with my own funds. At least I got the door on my room paid for. Oh and they pay for the lights.

Our teachers do, however, have laptops. They are all upwards of 10 years old running a 12 year old operating system (Windows XP).

Students, however, have access to computers at our school. There's one computer lab (with 24 computers) for more than 1000 students. Plenty right?

... and this from a school that is less than 30 minutes from the heart of Silicon Valley.

[barbaram99]

We used books, paper and pencil in class..1960s/1970sS..In my day there were no computers..I could not see regular print books as I am legally blind,,

[excop1949]

I am a high school teacher. I do not have computers in my room. Most of the "core" teachers can't seem to get along without them, but my classroom set of books work just fine, thank you. Students can't play video games, listen to music or text with a book...they pretty much just have to work on the assignment.

[Scimajor]

"OK, Section 2.1 today. Let's read the section out loud. Now watch me work through a couple of examples. OK, now everyone work on the problems at the end of the section.".

Thankfully most teachers using that kind of model of teaching have either left the profession or have retired.

[ballwyllo]

Does this mean that we the taxpayers need to provide tablets and smart phones to all teachers and students both in the home and at school. Of course this would need to include paid service plans also. If we did this, I am guessing that students performance would be transformed very quickly. What the heck I guess I can cancel my service and pay for someone else, who should I contact?

[1notrub11]

Is the main thrust of this article that surprising?

Are they arguing that an intelligence access gap is developing?

What did anyone ever do prior to ipods, cell phones (neither of these really strike me as that valuable in education, frankly) and internet access, with respect to learning the basics in education - even through high school?

And if you look at complaints about education these days, the issues fall more to whether they can read, write or do math by the time they are out of highschool.

Let's go back to focusing on the basics, which do not require high end digital equipment to show success. The rest will come along, once they can read and add.