Professional learning · Leaders, Staff, Faculty · 75 minutes
Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
Leaders walk a proposed homework-and-AI-tutor initiative through the lives of ten fictional families, map every barrier they hit, and turn the map into policy.
"Every student has a device" is where most equity conversations end, and where the real digital divide begins. It runs through home connectivity, shared devices, accessibility, home languages, caregivers' schedules, trust, and now the cost of AI tools, where free and paid tiers can give different students very different help. In this session, teams take a fictional district's plan to move homework online and add an AI tutor, then walk it through ten family profiles. Every barrier goes on a wall map, and the map becomes the draft of an equitable-access policy with evidence to watch.
In this packet
- Handout A: The Initiative and the District (reading)
- Handout B: Family Profile Cards (cut-apart cards)
- Handout C: Barrier-to-Policy Map (organizer)
- Facilitator key (last page)
TCEA ELE indicators
- L4.2 I can develop policies that support equitable access to technology and digital resources.
- L4.3 I am aware of strategies to address digital divides and promote responsible technology use.
- L1.2 I can develop strategic technology plans that align with educational trends and community needs.
- AI2.2 I can identify potential ethical issues in AI applications and propose solutions.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/who-gets-left-out-map.html
Handout A for Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
The Initiative and the District
Mesquite Flats ISD and its plan are fictional. Read the plan as the board would receive it.
1Mesquite Flats ISD serves a mix of neighborhoods: a growing suburban area, an older town center with many apartment complexes, and rural ranch roads where some homes are several miles from the nearest neighbor. Families speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic at home. Every student in grades 3–12 is issued a district laptop.
2The proposal: "Homework Without Walls." Starting in January, all homework in grades 3–12 will be assigned and submitted through the district's online learning platform. Paper homework packets will be discontinued to reduce printing costs and so teachers can give faster feedback.
3The AI tutor. Each student will have access to a generative AI homework tutor inside the platform, available 24 hours a day. The free tier offers hints and step-by-step explanations for up to 20 questions per day. A premium tier, which families may purchase for a monthly fee, offers unlimited questions, voice explanations, and translation into additional languages.
4Support. Families without home internet may request a hotspot; the district has a limited supply, distributed first come, first served, through an online request form. A help desk is available by email on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The plan will be announced in the district newsletter and on the district website.
5Measures of success. The district will track platform login rates, homework submission rates, and AI tutor usage, and will survey families online at the end of the semester.
Handout B for Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
Family Profile Cards
All families are fictional. For each card, ask: Tuesday, 7 p.m., homework due at 11:59. What happens? Backs are facilitator prompts.
Sheet 1 of 2
Family 1
The Nguyens. Three children in grades 4, 7, and 10. Home internet is the father's phone hotspot, which slows to a crawl after the monthly data limit. Grandmother, who watches the children after school, reads Vietnamese but not English.
Family 2
Marcus, grade 11. Lives with his aunt on a ranch road with no broadband service. A hotspot gets one bar near the kitchen window. Works at a feed store until 8 p.m. three nights a week.
Family 3
Aisha, grade 6. Has low vision and uses screen magnification. Her family speaks Arabic at home. She loves the idea of a tutor that explains things out loud, but voice explanations are premium-only.
Family 4
The Garzas. Four children, one district laptop each, but the 3rd grader's laptop is in repair for two weeks. Mom works nights and sleeps during the day; Dad works days. No one is home during help desk hours.
Family 5
Jordan, grade 9. Lives between two households on alternating weeks. One has fast internet; the other has none. Jordan often leaves the charger at the other house.
Family 6
The Parks. Two parents who work in tech. They've already bought the premium AI tier for their 8th grader and hired a tutor. Their child finishes homework in half the time of classmates.
Family 7
Rosa, grade 5. Her parents are cautious about technology after a data breach at a previous employer. They've asked whether the AI tutor stores Rosa's questions and are unsure they want her using it. The newsletter didn't say.
Family 8
Eli, grade 7. Has ADHD and a plan that includes chunked assignments and check-ins. At home, the laptop's notifications, games, and the chatbot make it hard to stay on one task. His mother asks for paper homework.
Handout B for Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
Family Profile Cards
All families are fictional. For each card, ask: Tuesday, 7 p.m., homework due at 11:59. What happens? Backs are facilitator prompts.
Sheet 2 of 2
Family 9
The Haddads. Recently arrived. The family has one smartphone and no computer skills. They haven't created a family account on the platform and don't know the hotspot form exists, because it's online and in English.
Family 10
Tyler, grade 12. Lives in a shelter with his mother this semester. Wi-Fi is shared, slow, and shut off at 10 p.m. He hasn't told anyone at school.
Handout C for Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
Barrier-to-Policy Map
One row per barrier. Mark whether the fix is a policy or systemic strategy (P) or individual outreach (O). Name the evidence you'll watch.
| Barrier (family card #) | Who else it likely affects | Current practice in the plan | Policy / strategy (P) or outreach (O) | Evidence we'll watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium AI tier needed for voice and translation (3, 1) | Students needing audio support, multilingual families | Paid tier offered for purchase | ||
| Help desk only 8 a.m.–4 p.m. weekdays (4) | ||||
Facilitator only for Who Gets Left Out? Mapping the Digital Divide
Answer key and notes
Handout B: Family Profile Cards
- Family 1
- Connectivity, language. Who helps with homework when the only adult at home can't read the platform or the AI tutor's English?
- Family 2
- Connectivity, time. A hotspot doesn't fix a coverage gap. Offline access and flexible deadlines matter more here.
- Family 3
- Accessibility, cost, language. A feature that works as an accommodation is behind a paywall. Is that equitable access?
- Family 4
- Devices, time. Loaners, repair timelines, and help desk hours all assume a daytime schedule.
- Family 5
- Connectivity, devices. Barriers can change week to week for the same student.
- Family 6
- Cost. This family faces no barriers, and the plan widens the gap between them and everyone else. Good policy notices advantage too.
- Family 7
- Trust and privacy. Families who opt out for privacy reasons need an equal alternative, and a clear answer about data use.
- Family 8
- Accessibility, wellbeing. Removing paper eliminates an accommodation some families rely on. Balance and screen time are part of access.
- Family 9
- Language, trust, connectivity. A support that must be requested online, in English, doesn't reach families who need it most.
- Family 10
- Connectivity, time, trust. Policy must work without students disclosing hardship publicly. Who at school would notice?