|
Connected to the future: A report on children’s Internet use from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
By Grunwald Associates and C&R Research
Bell South Corporation, Kodak, Educational Testing Service
(2003)
Summary and Review | Profile and Features | Complete Study | Related Studies
 Print Version of Review
APA Reference:
Grunwald Associates (2003). Connected to the future: A report on children’s Internet use from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Retrieved June 16, 2003 from Corporation for Public Broadcasting Web site: http://cpb.org/ed/resources/connected
Summary:
This Type 2 study reports on patterns of Internet use in US households with children, based on a 2002 national telephone survey of more than 4,000 parents and children, aged 6 to 17 years of age. Additional online surveys of parents and children were analyzed in terms of demographic variables matched with Census data.
Findings from the multiple surveys reveal increased use and access to the Internet among families and students at all income levels between 2000 and 2002, with persistent disparities between families and students of high and low income in their access to and use of the Internet in the school, home, and in type of connections to the Internet.
Growth in percent of children online and in time spent online:
- Sixty-five percent of US children now use the Internet, representing a 59% growth rate from 2000.
- Preschool children are one of the fastest growing groups to be online with 35 percent in 2002 compared with 6 percent in 2000.
- Eighty-seven percent of Caucasian and 98 percent of high income families own computers, whereas the rate of computer ownership among African – American families is 71 percent and among low income families it is 65 percent.
- Online children between 6 and 17 reported using the Internet 5.9 hours per week in 2002 compared with 3.1 hours per week in 2000.
- The older the child, the more time spent online. For example, teenagers claim they spend an average of 8.4 hours per week online, 9-12 year olds report 4.4 hours, and 6-8 year olds report 2.7 hours per week.
Use
- One in five children log onto the Internet at home every day for educational purposes.
- Children’s use of the Internet is diverse:
- exploration (surfing and searching)
- communication (instant messaging, emailing, chat rooms)
- entertainment (games, downloading and exchanging music, pictures, videos)
- education
- Sixty-four percent of teenagers report education as part of their weekly online experiences.
- Teenagers are online more than they watch television, for example, 3.5 versus 3.1 hours per day
- Eighty-one percent of parents believe the Internet is valuable to their children’s learning
Disparities in Home Access and Use
- Income is the primary factor in determining whether or not a child has access to the Internet at home
- Children from high income families are more than twice as likely to have home Internet access than children from low income families
- Although there has been dramatic increase in African-American children’s use of the Internet, 314% growth rate since 2000and 123% growth rate among low income children, a higher percentage of Caucasian children use the Internet at home compared to Hispanic and African-American children.
- 83% of US family households with at least one child between 2 and 17 have a computer, which is a 30% growth rate since 2000.
- 78% of children live in a household where either they or a parent use the Internet from home, a 70% increase over 2000.
- Although the home access divide remains wide for older children, there is no statistical difference in home Internet access among ethnicities for families with preschool children, ages 2-5 years.
Disparities in School Access and Use
- School access to computers is less for low-income students than for high income students.
- Low income students use the Internet less in school than do high income students and low income students’ school use is more likely to be restricted to computer labs where the applications are more focused on basic skills.
- Middle and high income students are more likely than low income students to have access to computers in multiple classrooms and in a library/media center.
- The majority (69%) of children aged 6 to 17 years, who go online at home, report that the computer lab is their main point of access within the school.
Disparities in Broadband connectivity
- Thirty-one percent of families report having Broadband connections to the Internet in 2002, in contrast to ten percent in 2000.
- Broadband connectivity is most frequent among high income families. Average income of families with Broadband connectivity is $72,000, and the average income of families with plans to get Broadband in the near future is $65,000.
- Sixty-six percent of children 6 to 17 years who have Broadband report spending more time online with this connection.
- Thirty-six percent with Broadband report watching less television.
- Twenty-three percent of children and thirteen percent of parents report better grades as a result of the Broadband connection.
Major implications for educators/decision makers:
Educators and policy makers might consider these implications of the national survey on Internet use:- In order to provide high speed Internet access in classrooms, in the school library, and after school for children from families that do not have high speed Internet access in the home, educators can seek funding from grants and form partnerships with community agencies and businesses.
- Educators, especially those in schools with a high proportion of students from low income families, need to implement staff development strategies to prepare and support teacher proficiency in integrating technology. This will insure that all children have access to the Internet in their classrooms, where the technology is more likely than in labs to be used in ways that develop higher order thinking skills.
- The trend for preschool children from families at all income levels to have access to the Internet implies parents will expect schools to provide classroom curricula that is integrated with the Internet for all children through K-12 within the next 2 to 5 years.
|
Major implications for educational researchers/evaluators:
Researchers can combine telephone surveys and online questionnaires with different populations, as was done in this study that used telephone surveys of adults and then gathered in-depth data from online surveys of children and adults about student Internet use in school and at home.
Major intervention(s) or variables studied:
The researchers conducted telephone and online surveys of adults and their children regarding use of the Internet at home and school and about perceptions of the educational value of the Internet for students.
Major questions addressed:
Sources of evidence identified:
This Type 2 study reports findings on Internet use from a 2002 national telephone survey of 1,044 parents or guardians of children aged 2 to 17and three additional online surveys, two among children ages 6 to 17 years and their parents for a total of 3,224 plus another online survey of 1,355 parents or guardians of children ages 2 to 17. The online surveys were balanced and weighted on several demographic variables to match Census data regarding the online U.S. population of family households.
Replicable strategies, practices, and/or products:
The use of two methods for gathering complementary types of information is replicable. For example, in this research a national telephone survey was used “to generate general population estimates of computer ownership and Internet usage among family households” (p.8). In addition, census data on several demographic variables was used to balance and weight the data from online surveys conducted with adults and children where more in depth information on Internet use was collected.
Strengths and limitations of the study:
A strength of this research was the survey of adults and children from the same households, which provided a context for verifying student reports of Internet use at home and in school. Another strength of the research is the attention given to demographic variables when collecting data and reporting on differences in access and use at home and in school between children from low and high to middle income households.
Suggested related studies or resources to consider:
* Cuban, L., Kirkpatrick, H., & Peck, C. (2001). High access and low use of technology in high school classrooms: Explaining an apparent paradox. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 813-834.
[go to CARET review]
* Grunwald, P. & Associates, & Rockman (2002). Are we there yet? Alexandria, VA: National School Board Foundation. Retrieved February 17, 2003, from http://www.nsbf.org/thereyet/fulltext.htm.
[go to CARET review]
* Levin, D, & Arafeh, S. (2002) The digital disconnect: The widening gap between internet-savvy students and their schools American Institutes for Research for Pew Internet & American Life Project. Washington, DC. Retrieved January 3, 2003, from: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/67/report_display.asp.
[go to CARET review]
* = Reviewed in CARET
|
