TECH INEQUITY: Preservice Teachers Combating the Digital Divide in an Urban School- and Community-Based Immersion Program

In many urban schools and contexts, technology availability, access, and use are limited. Seeking to combat this digital issue, researchers at one, large, urban institution in the northeast region of the United States conceptualized and implemented the Students Success (SS) tutoring and mentoring program, an initiative geared toward assisting underserved students of color. Highlighting SS’s technology component and with themes from the NMC/ CoSN Horizon Report in mind, this case study examines how prospective preservice teachers in an urban school- and community-based immersion program served as resources by promoting equity in the integration of digital technology in teaching and learning. Although in-school technology use occurred at their urban school site, technology was outdated, often restricted in terms of access, and unresponsive to high school students’ learning needs. In this school context and with aid from their prospective preservice teachers, high school students utilized university resources to construct technology projects focused on strengthening their math and English comprehension. To this end, the process of constructing students’ technology projects captured how a school-university-community collaboration positively influenced the digital divide and the technology experiences of underserved students of color.