Posted: Thu, 08/27/2020 - 9:31am Updated: Mon, 09/21/2020 - 8:29am

The Indiana Department of Education is pleased to participate in Digital Equity Month! While September will be a month of focused effort to identify the digital learning access gaps for each student in Indiana, the work will not be finished in just one month. Digital Equity month marks the beginning of a sustained effort to ensure schools can strategically address the lack of internet and device access in off-campus learning environments. We hope 100% of schools will set goals for advancing their local understanding of this need and take steps to collect the recommended data elements for each student.

Digital Equity Data Elements

The data elements below represent the desired components of a high quality data set that can be used locally and potentially at an aggregated level. The answers to these six questions for each student will help schools address their digital equity gaps.

Data Field Survey Question Response Options
Digital Device Type What is the primary learning device the student most often uses to complete school work at home?
  • Chromebook
  • Desktop computer
  • Laptop computer
  • iPad
  • Other tablet
  • Smartphone
  • No device available 
Device Access Source Is the primary learning device a personal device or school-provided?
  • Personal
  • School-provided
Device Utilization Is the primary learning device shared with anyone else in the household?
  • Yes
  • No
Internet Access in Residence Can the student access the Internet on their primary learning device at home?
  • Yes
  • No
Internet Access Type in Residence What is the primary type of internet service used at the residence?
  • Residential Broadband (e.g. DSL, Cable, Fiber)
  • Cellular Network
  • School-provided hotspot
  • Satellite
  • Dial-up
  • Don’t know
  • None
Internet Performance Can the student stream a video on their primary learning device without interruption?
  • Yes, with no issues
  • Yes, but not with consistent quality
  • No
Resources

Schools can use the resources below to help them get started. We recommend reviewing the August 25 webinar and taking the participation pledge as first steps.

Memo Announcing September as Digital Equity Month

August 25 webinar slide deck

Home Access Needs Assessment Playbook & Action Plan

Step-by-Step Action Plan

Gathering the digital equity data elements for each student will require new approaches to data gathering including direct outreach to families. We've identified the steps below as critical to such outreach campaigns. Use the playbook in the resources section for more information on how to conduct an outreach campaign.

Pre-work: Identify your team, create plan for data storage, assess previous efforts

Step 1: Resource direct outreach with callers

Step 2: Customize communications materials

Step 3: Set up outreach tracking and data collection tool

Step 4: Schedule and train staff

Step 5: Conduct outreach and collect data

Post-work: Map your data

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