Moving Toward Closing the Digital Divide: Central American Immigrant Perspectives on Technology

1
Moving Toward Closing the Digital Divide
Central American Immigrant Perspectives on
Technology

• Davina Pruitt-Mentle
• 2002 NECC
• San Antonio, Texas
• June 19, 2002

2
Outline

• Research Questions
• Topic Significance
• Research Activities and Design
• Preliminary Findings
• Conclusions

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Central Question

• How can the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs
  of young Central American immigrants towards the
  use of technology be described and interpreted

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Sub-Questions

• What part does technology play in the lives of
  these individuals and how does technology relate
  to their career/educational goals?
• What are the conditioning factors influencing the
  use of technology for Central American immigrants
  who are successful in using or applying
  technology?
• What are the conditioning factors influencing the
  beliefs or perceptions about the value of
  technology for Central American immigrants who
  are successful in using or applying technology?
  
• What educational setting is perceived as best to
  advance their technology related skills?

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Significance - US

• Hispanics are the second largest and the
  fastest-growing minority group in the US
• By 2005 will be largest minority
• By 2025 second largest population of Spanish
  speakers in the world
• 44 of US immigrants are from Latin America
• 35.7 below 18
• Median age is 26 (Whites is 38)

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Significance -US
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Significance DC/MD Metropolitan Area

• 45,000 Latinos in DC
• 81 from Central and Latin America
• Maryland has 228,000 Latinos
• 68 from Central and Latin America
• DC/MD Metro area
• Second largest group of Salvadorans in the US
• Third largest community of Central Americans
• Langley Park
• Latino population increased from 6,956 to 10,294
• Increased from 40 of the population to 63

Source 2000 US Census Data
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Technology Access

• Nationwide
• 1 in 2 Hispanics have access to computer at
  school
• 1 in 8 have access at home
• Hispanic Home Access 12 Grades 1-8, 14 in
  grades 9-12
• White Home Access 40 Grades 1-8, 46 grades
  9-12

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Workforce Preparation

• 68 of the companies surveyed provided some form
  of employee training
• increase worker productivity
• improve technical skills
• 70 of employers reported training 10 or more of
  their employees annually
• 26 of employers reported training more than 75
  of their workforce annually
• Training Expenditures
• 2,300 new employees
• 2,250 for professional employees
• 1,375 for non-professional employee.
• For training
• More than three-quarters of companies use
  in-house training
• 66 use colleges and universities,
• 55 use industry or trade associations
• 55 use outside consultants.
•  Only 13 of the companies surveyed received
  training assistance, with state training
  assistance being predominant

From 2001 Maryland Business Roundtable Workforce
Skills Survey
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Long Term Research

• Survey Questionnaire(s)
• Observations
• Interviews
• Oral Histories

• Cultural Background
• US Census Data
• Ethnography - via Students
• Ethnography - via Teachers
• Classroom Technology Studies
• Students as design partners
• After school computer homework club
• Adult computer training

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Questionnaire
Ongoing Research
Dissertation Research
Observations Active Participant Privileged
Observer Limited Observer
Historical/political/economic Oral History Board
of Ed. Records Newspapers Census Data-immigration
Qualitative Ethnographic
Classroom Technology Studies
Study Implementation Projects Effectiveness
National Survey of Time Use
Quantitative
Records, standardized tests state/school
Interviews in school formal informal Out of
school formal informal
Demographic census data ex. income, family size
Measuring attitude interpersonal
culture thematic apperception tool, problem
situation test, sentence completion test attitude
toward technology,-computer attitude scale
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Themes

• Social Aspects
• Practice Time
• Educational Pedagogy
• Language
• Maintain Culture
• Do Better
• Connection to Work

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Social Aspects

• Importance of social aspects of life brought to
  the US from their home country
• Family connections
• Limited social time in US
• Like to work with a partner or in groups
• Adults come to class in pairs or small groups
• Learning often includes interaction among
  students, even in adult classes

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Quotes about Socializing

• In our country, we come home, do homework, and
  then go outside and play with all the other
  people who live close. Everyone knows everyone.
• Here you cant go outside. Mom thinks its unsafe
  and no one is around.
• Like working with group - or someone else.
• What if they dont know computers either?
  Doesnt matter, it helps just having a second
  person.
• I like to talk and work. We get our work done,
  but like talking.

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Practice Time

• After School/Training
• Dont have time
• Work
• Take Care of Siblings
• Need child care
• Not allowed or times do not fit schedule
• No help
• Home computer too slow
• Home computer looks different

• In School/Training
• Not enough time in class
• Classes too structured
• Dont like to use social time to make up work
• Lab time inconvenient
• Need more open time - Internet there, but we
  can not use it
• No one to help teacher/monitor unable to help
  with questions

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Quotes About Practice

• Dont have no computer.
• I Had internet, then dad got mad because they
  started charging a lot.
• Cant understand. Looks different than at
  school. This menu bar is not the same at
  home.
• I cant go to friends to work on computers
  after school. I take care of my brother.
• My uncle got it for us. But he doesnt know it
  either.
• Mom and dad cant understand the book. Theyre
  just learning English, well they know, but not a
  lot of those computer words.
• Would like to practice but need to buy a
  computer.
• The things we use in classes/in training I do
  not have at home.

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Pedagogy

• Software used irrelevant outside of classroom
• Teachers/instructors limit activities
• Bookmark sites
• Little searching activities (preset searching)
• Not allowed to do extra
• Activities low level and/or drill and practice
• Software and websites should be
• More practical
• Culturally AND gender diverse

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Quotations About Pedagogy

• They never let us explore other things we can
  only do the assignments they wanteven if we
  could add something to make it better.
• They the teachers are behind the times. They
  have us edit things and exchange disksor use the
  computer to write an assignment but then print it
  out for editswhy cant we use the editing thing?

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Quotations about Pedagogy (continued)

• One of the hardest things is finding something
  on the Internet but they never let us do
  thatthey always bookmark it or have us type it
  URL in.
• When are we ever going to use Inspiration?
• The things we use are good but we dont have
  them at home.

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Quotations About Pedagogy (continued)

• They the schools need to teach things we need
  to know for work.
• We took a whole semester learning how to do a
  business letterwhy couldnt we have used these
  templates? templates in word and downloadable
  templates-template Gallery

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Language

• Dont like to speak in class (ask questions)
• Like to work in groups or with a partner
• Like to use spell check
• Need to use the Spanish version
• Need to teach Spanish symbols
• Like the translator i.e., Google

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Quotations about Language

• Most new Latino immigrants dont like to ask
  questions because people laugh. We feel like we
  are different.
• One time I said the bad word for beach - you
  know, the bad word bitch.
• Teachers are the worst. They always ask you to
  repeat. What? Can you say it again? I cant
  understand? Makes you feel bad.
• You can just sit there and they teachers will
  come around and see you not doing anything or are
  far behind and they will squat down to help you.
  Re why she likes using the computers instead of
  classroom
• I wish they teachers would let us use the
  Internet so that I could use the translator.

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Quotations about Language

• I like knowing how to open several windows.that
  way I can always use the translator
• it translator isnt great - but it answers my
  questions.
• There needs to be more Spanish sitesthat way I
  could show my parents

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Maintain Culture

• Switch back and forth in class
• Spanish English
• Portuguese English
• Maintain language at home and accent
• My Country
• Back in my country.
• In my country we
• Reminiscing
• Checking news from back home
• Checking sports web pages

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Cultural Quotations

• I like looking up newssee whats going on back
  home.
• I always check the sports page first
• No, they dont use it parentsbut they like me
  to show them the news stufflike this website.
• I always check the travel site, the pictures of
  back home.

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Success Doing Better

• Formal and informal education is a path to
  success
• Technology knowledge - a means to get a job
• Technology type job pays well even without
  going to college

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Quotes about Doing Better

• My mom always says, Diane, I want you to do
  something more than just wash other peoples
  bathrooms like me. And to do this, you must have
  a good education.
• They sacrificed a lot for us.
• Want me to finish school unlike parents
• Want me to go to college unlike parents, first
  in the family
• You need to know technology to get a job.
• all the jobs now ask if you have had experience
  with computers before.

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Connections to Work

• Use software not applicable outside of school
  setting
• Need to make use of activities and applications
  that can be practiced later (at school, library,
  home)
• Need to teach content but within framework of
  activities that apply to work skills

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Work Related Quotations

• Im taking this class for work.- does house
  cleaning and wants to learn more about invoices,
  brochures etc
• Id like a job at the banka bank tellerbut my
  friend works there says I need to have some
  basic computer skills.
• This is great Mapquest why didnt they teach
  this before? She uses it to map out directions
  for house cleaning service and can now use it for
  more accurate mileage logs

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Conclusions

• Need more time to practice on computers
• Limited time after school (work/day care)
• Do not expect them to give up social time for
  computer time
• In schools always limited time in labs
• Adult training little free time and short
  courses only 5-6 weeks
• Teachers need to be open to socialization
• Flexible makeup
• Increased group work

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Conclusions

• Use tools to help bridge the language barrier
• Translation software or Internet versions
• Allows students to work at their own pace
• Risk Taking/One on One/Group Dialogue
• Technology can be path to success - but need more
  access
• At school
• At home
• Must teach technology work related skills within
  the curriculum
• Select software that can be used outside the
  educational (formal and informal) setting
• Ask participants for input and ideas

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Conclusions

• We are too busy teaching our students and not
  allowing them to learn
• We need to reconsider the meaning of technology
  integration.

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Moving Toward Closing the Digital Divide
Central American Immigrant Perspectives on
Technology

• Davina Pruitt-Mentle
• Educational Technology Outreach
• 2127 Tawes
• College of Education
• University of Maryland
• 301 405 8202
• dp151_at_umail.umd.edu
• www.edtechoutreach.umd.edu