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Week 1: Defining the Digital Divide

My name is Robin Green and I have worked in education my entire adult career. I taught in small, rural districts in Oklahoma for 10 years before beginning my career in online education. I’ve worked as an online teacher, professional development specialist, an instructional designer, and curriculum developer. I have a heart for marginalized communities in our schools which is why I’m particularly interested in applying what I learn with a non-profit called Strong Tomorrows. This non-profit serves Tulsa area students who are pregnant and parenting. 

Strong Tomorrows focuses on four main areas of support: high school graduation/college and career readiness; high quality child care and early education; young parent engagement; and health and wellness. In the past ten years, Strong Tomorrows has served over 1,459 youth. In the 2023-2024 school year, the program supported 137 babies.


The rate of teen pregnancy has decreased by 50% in Oklahoma in the last 10 years (Healthy Teens OK!, 2025). The state, though, still has the 5th highest birth rate in the nation for teens, ages 15-19 and Tulsa’s teen birth rate (17.7) remains higher than the national average (13.1) (Healthy Teens OK!, 2025). This dramatic drop in birth rate seems to have rendered this population invisible, with very little recent research beyond birth statistics available. Even so, the population of pregnant and parenting teens is one that is highly stigmatized. Any current research seems to focus exclusively on campaigns designed to prevent teen pregnancy. These campaigns often suggest that teen parents have ruined their lives and that they have little hope of educational or career advancement for their futures (Johnson, 2023). Research has shown that school-based initiatives can be beneficial, but there is little information on what approaches are best suited for helping young parents achieve their goals (Johnson, 2023).


This is where Strong Tomorrows shines. With their school- and community-based approach, the goal is to support pregnant and parenting teens as holistic individuals with bright futures ahead of them. One part of their program is a partnership with North Star Virtual Academy which provides pregnant and parenting youth with a flexible school environment that leaves space for doctor’s appointments, active parenting, jobs, and community participation. To participate in this virtual program, students must confirm that they have internet access. While this suggests that participants have access in theory, the reality is that this access is uneven across the population. High-speed internet is expensive, and many students rely on hotspots from their cell phones to complete school work (KewalRamani, et. al, 2018). Relying on cellular data is also a risky proposition, though, as data plans are typically limited, meaning that students are “on a clock” with the amount of time that the internet access is available to them. Additionally, access to devices is limited with some students completing coursework on their phones rather than on computer or tablets.


In addition to access divides, these students are faced with a use divide. Coursework lacks rigor in many cases, and the experiences where parenting teens  “analyze, build, produce, and create using digital tools…” are limited (Office of Educational Technology [OET], 2024, p. 9). I am interested to investigate if the young parent engagement spoke of Strong Tomorrow’s four-pronged approach might be an opportunity to introduce digital experiences that allow students to use what they are learning in school, their parenting experiences, and their community interests to create knowledge using digital tools.


References

Healthy Teens OK!. (2025, November). 2024 OK Alert: Teen pregnancy in Oklahoma data at a glance [Fact sheet]. Healthy Teens Oklahoma. https://healthyteensok.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2024-OK-Alert-11-12-2025-LAST-revised.pdf

Johnson, L. R. (2023). “Proving Them Wrong”: Reproductive Justice, Civic Engagement, and Advocacy for and by Pregnant and Parenting Youth. Schools: Studies in Education, 20(1), 144–163. https://doi-org.ezproxy.se.edu/10.1086/724406

KewalRamani, A., Zhang, J., Wang, X., Rathbun, A., Corcoran, L., Diliberti, M., & Zhang, J. (2018). Student Access to Digital Learning Resources outside of the Classroom. NCES 2017-098. National Center for Education Statistics.. Student Access to Digital Learning Resources outside of the Classroom.pdf

Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education. (2024). A call to action for closing the digital access, design, and use divides: 2024 National Educational Technology Plan. U.S. Department of Education. https://tech.ed.gov/netp/

Strong Tomorrows. (2023). Our impact. Strong Tomorrows. https://www.strongtomorrows.org/our-impact

Comments

  1. Michael HeumannJanuary 16, 2026 at 10:06 PM

    Hey Robin,

    I’ve also found that relying on a mobile device for learning can be a frustrating obstacle that limits the depth of the educational experience. I love your focus on shifting from basic access to empowering these students to create and lead through more rigorous digital tools. Strong Tomorrows seems like a fantastic model for supporting their potential

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis GriffithJanuary 18, 2026 at 2:54 PM

    The problem of relying on mobile devices is that a lot of websites are not optimized for a mobile device. this does make it extremely hard on students to complete their work within satisfactory requirements. And I agree that coursework in this instance tends to lack rigor. It seems like a lot of people just want to get something out (the coursework) and do not care about the quality of the courses themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mr. FryJanuary 18, 2026 at 10:04 PM

    Hello!

    One thing I really agree with is about the decline of teen births and immediate decline of resources. I grew up in Kay County, which had one of the nations highest teen pregnancy rates. They had great programs for these young moms and a lot of them were super successful. I feel like those opportunities have dwindled. I find that baffling with today’s current technology. These are not just students choosing epic over their local public, these are students that really need a different opportunity due to different circumstances. This is a huge equity piece as we should really be pouring extra into these students.

    ReplyDelete

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