Learning Through Internet Lag: Inequalities of Access in the Zoom Era

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Bridging the Digital Divide in a Global Pandemic (Table 14)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to reveal systemic disparities in our society. As we transition to remote work & learning, those networks are increasingly susceptible to disruptions and lag. In this turbulent instructional environment, operationalized via Zoom, teachers’ connection to students relies on the internet. Latency, which measures the stability of two-way connections, offers a new, urgent lens through which educators, policymakers, and communities can understand educational inequality. Through a detailed spatial and demographic analysis of all US Census Tracts, this paper visualizes the structural inequalities of internet connectivity and finds that rural and minority populations are particularly disadvantaged. Over 75% of rural tracts in the US experience poor latency, putting students in those areas at higher risk for disconnection.

Author

• Peter Cody Fiduccia, Merck