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Hanna Van der Linde
Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
Inequ(access)lities
When I was a high school graduate going into college, I didn’t have Advanced Placement
(AP) credits or know that having AP credits was something that would benefit my college career.
I didn’t know this because I wasn’t encouraged to take AP tests or take AP classes in high school
by my teachers, mentors, or peers that surrounded me. I went to high school in a low-income
area were the long-term benefits of completing AP courses was not stressed to students.. In fact,
most of my teachers strongly influenced the students at my high school to go to community
college after high school. The fact that I was accepted into San Diego State was a significant
academic accomplishment. When I came to San Diego State, I made a friend who went to a high
school in a high-income area and found that she came into college with over 20 AP credits. We
met at orientation and when we were registering for classes I realized that she was specifically
two semesters ahead of me in classes before we even started our freshman year. This personal
experience means more to me now after thorough research of the topic of student inequalities
and unfair access to resources amongst students in correlation to their socioeconomic status. The
central text I examined, Digital Natives, by Danah Boyd, demonstrates that our generation of
young people is assumed to be digital natives, but she claims we are digitally divided because
not all students are given the same access to resources. She proves that it is illogical to make
such a broad assumption considering the fact that everyone has dissimilar advantages when
accounting the fact that some people have more technological resources than others. Since we
are in the digital age now, technology is inevitably present in almost any situation. It is important
that she addressed this topic because the text argues relatable and meaningful claims that can be
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
extended by a multitude of other texts and statistics. I will examine Boyd’s text and support it
using personal stories from a third grade teacher who teaches in a low income area. I know this
teacher very well because she is my Mom. I will additionally connect this text to another text,
How wide a web? Inequalities in Accessing Information, by Eszter Hargittai. I’ve also
interviewed a student from High Tech High in order to clearly show schooling options the
public may be unaware of. Furthermore, I will identify with some Pew Research Reports
concerning smartphone ownership, Internet usage patterns over a wide scope of
demographics, and various other topics. With this research I’ve found that students with a
higher socioeconomic class have more access to technological resources and young people
are not “digitally native” just because they’ve grown up in the digital age. There is an
evident digital divide and not enough of a focus on resolving this issue by incorporating
more digitally based classes. The importance of education and skilled faculty must be
stressed more, as well, and Boyd’s text exemplifies this.
It seems as though everything is online now and that everyone has access to the Internet,
however, the words everything and everyone discounts a huge sum of people. It’s impossible to
assume that all advanced technology can be equally accessed because not everyone has the same
resources. Boyd considers this claim in her text and highlights the importance of this matter
through credible examples and supported claims. She even states, “Teens technological skills are
strongly correlated with the quality of their access. Quality of access is also unsurprisingly,
correlated with socioeconomic class” (195). Boyd’s use of rhetorical strategies make the
argument convincing and persuasive to the audience because she shows how obvious it is that
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
some people have more access than others to resources due to their socioeconomic class. The
connotation of the word “unsurprisingly” holds that this claim is so substantial that it isn’t even a
surprise that the quality of access directly relates to socioeconomic class. It is unreasonable that
so many students aren’t given the same amount of resources other students have because it
doesn’t allow for an equal academic playing field. All students are required to take standardized
tests, but since students aren’t given the same resources to prepare for these tests, the system is
unfair. Valerie Strauss, a reporter from the Washington Post, wrote an article titled, Confirmed:
Standardized Testing Has Taken Over Our School. She stated, “the average student in America’s
big-city public schools takes some 112 mandatory standardized tests between pre-kindergarten
and the end of 12th grade.” This shows that students are graded and given the same tests, even
though not everyone is given the same technological resources in schooling. It is no surprise that
there are so many statistics about this subject matter regarding the fact students in higher income
areas have more access to advanced technological resources. Aaron Smith, from the PEW
research center, wrote an article about the smart phone ownership of 2015 and discussed how
people in higher income or certain demographic groups have access to smartphones. He stated,
“Smartphone ownership is especially high among younger Americans, as well as those with a
relatively high income and education levels.” This credible source directly demonstrates how
students in lower economical classes do not have the same access to resources. Both Hargittai
and Smith highlight and support Boyd’s claims in the central text I’m agreeing with, Digital
Natives.
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
It is also important to note that students of different classes possess different usage
patterns when using their technical devices. Hargittai stated, “research pointed out that it is not
enough to look at differences among users and non-users, it is also essential to recognize that
differentiated usage patterns among the connected have the potential to contribute to social
inequality” (94). Smith supported this statement and said that 15% of Americans own a
smartphone, but say they have a limited number of ways to get online other than their cell phone.
Based Hargittai’s supportive claim and Smith’s research, it is clear that those in higher income
areas are more likely to have a smartphone. Nevertheless, students in lower income areas with
smartphones use their smartphones as their only access to the Internet. Smith called these types
of students, “smartphone dependent,” in his analysis. This concludes they strongly rely on their
cellphone because it is their only way for them to access the Internet. In agreement with one of
Boyd’s arguments in Digital Natives, there is a wide range of usage patterns based on the
different areas and neighborhoods people grow up in and it is impossible to assume we are all
“digitally native.” There are large sums of people with computers, people who don’t own
computers at all, or solely rely on their cellphone to consume Internet data. These inequalities
stated in the supporting texts are a direct reflection of Boyd’s claim that we are not all digitally
native.
The digital divide is important to acknowledge because it highlights the fact that there are
different populations of people who have different experiences with technology. Boyd defined
the digital divide in Digital Natives, and stated, “The term digital divide is to describe the gap in
access between rich and poor.” She also made it clear that a wide variety of people have used
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
this term to explain the seriousness of this divide and elaborated, “scholars increasingly raised
concern about the unevenness of skills, literacy and ‘socially meaningful’ access.” She used
examples of different groups of people to further her argument and this made her claims appeal
to ethos. Journalists, academic students, and governmental agencies were just some of the
credible groups of people she mentioned and it made the overall argument more believable for
the audience reading the text. The digital divide noticeably exemplifies the distinction between
the different classes of people and shows that people in lower classes are unable to access the
same quality of resources. Hargittai also examined the digital divide and prolonged many of
Boyd’s stances. Her article titled, “How wide a web? Inequalities in Accessing Information,”
specifically supported Boyd’s arguments. Her statistics were very helpful in supporting Boyd
because she displayed monetary evidence that could more clearly examine Boyd’s arguments.
Hargittai stated, “The issue of differences in connectivity remains a concern as a sizeable portion
of the population—a quarter of Americans—continue to be offline.” The fact that there are a
quarter of Americans who aren’t even using the Internet at all is alarming considering we are
now presumptively in the digital age. Almost all of my college classes require a computer to
access online textbooks and my assignments to be turned in electronically. Someone who doesn’t
have access the Internet simply wouldn’t be able to complete assignments or read the textbook in
my classes, so a progressive change needs to ensue. This evidence also proves that young
people’s generation shouldn’t be classified as “digital natives” so broadly considering some
people are not even on the Internet at all. The digital divide clearly shows that people are offline,
but also discusses the reasons as to why this social inequality occurs and the negative effects of
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
it. Boyd said, “Those with a college degree or more were likely to seek health information,
engage in financial transactions, research, and look for job information and get news than those
with lower levels of education…education was negatively correlated with online engagement in
such activities as browsing just for fun, playing a game, or gambling online” (94). The divide
between the rich and the poor examines the harmful effects far beyond what meets the eye. The
evidence that Hargittai provides shows that there is a direct correlation with how you are using
content online with your socioeconomic status. Many people who are in a lower class may not
even know how to use the content online because they do not have the resources at home to do
so. Moreover, people who’ve grown up in a high-income area can be assumed to have advanced
technological resources at home to practice with on their own time. There is an unwritten
competition between these groups of peoples because people are blindly born into low, middle,
or high-class neighborhoods. I’m not saying you need to come from a fancy neighborhood to be
successful, but with Boyd’s text and support from other sources, I can see that people in a higher
class have an unfair advantage to use necessary resources. This access to resources has a lasting
impact on people and the proof from the digital divide verifies that.
Ever since the digital age has been taking place, there has been a rise of social media
amongst all age groups and cultures of people. One of the first social media websites people
began using was MySpace. In another one of Boyd’s texts, White Flight in Networked Publics?
How Race and Class Shaped American Teen Engagement with MySpace and Facebook, she
discusses both the positive and negative factors of MySpace. She stated, “Some teens became
quite sophisticated technically as they sought to build extensive, creative profiles. Others simply
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
copied and pasted code they found online. But this technical glitch ended up creating an
opportunity for teens to develop some technical competency.” Clearly, MySpace allowed
students to use their creative eye and be original. Not only that, but this social media platform
also made students learn how to code, which is a very important aspect of our society now even
though it isn’t highly stressed. The fact that we are in the digital age is a reason enough that a
student’s education should focus more on techniques like coding. In Boyd’s text, Digital Natives,
she states, “when information flows through social networks and interaction shapes experience,
who you know matters. Youth who are surrounded by highly sophisticated technical peers are far
more likely to develop technical skills themselves. In communities where technical wherewithal
is neither values nor normative, teens are far less likely to become digitally savvy” (195). Her
point shows that inequalities regarding access also apply in the social networking world. Some
people don’t have the opportunity to participate in such sites like MySpace, where one is able to
learn how to code while also interacting with peers. Though MySpace ended up not being a very
secure site in the long run, it did allow this beneficial opportunity for students to become more
digitally competent.
Nonetheless, there were a lot of problems associated with MySpace’s security policies
and when these issues arose, people of higher income areas abandoned MySpace and moved to
Facebook. In Boyd’s, White Flight in Networked Publics? How Race and Class Shaped
American Teen Engagement with MySpace and Facebook, she stated, “teens from less-privileged
backgrounds seemed likely to be drawn to MySpace while those headed toward elite universities
appeared to head towards Facebook” (9). It’s fitting to assume that because Facebook was a
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
safer option, these categories of people moved. Boyd even stated that some teens were moved
because of the policies of their parents and called the move a “digital white flight.” She
explained that this is how cultures group together and go from fad to fad in their respected
demographic group. Though this has a racist connotation, Boyd showed this was true through
various statistics and examples. The “digital white flight” regarding MySpace and Facebook had
to do with people’s socioeconomic status and home life. People who grew up in more high
income areas were more likely to get off of MySpace and move to a safer social network site,
whereas students who grew up in a low income area were not aware and more likely to be
associated with the security issues. There were many serious security issues that resulted from
MySpace and the fact that these students weren’t as informed of them is absolutely desolate. This
research proved that people of lower income areas were more at risk in dangerous situations in
addition to not being as informed about the importance of building relationships with their
teachers and their education.
In Digital Natives, Boyd stated, “Educators have an important role to play in helping
youth navigate networked publics and the informative-rich environments and the Internet
supports” (180). To further support her argument, I identified with another source, my own
Mother, who is a third grade teacher in Ramona. Ramona is a low-income area North of San
Diego so she was able to relate her first-hand personal experiences as a teacher. She stated,
“Schools located in low income areas don’t have the same opportunities as schools in higher
income areas. There is no comparison between affluent areas and schools located in low-income
areas. They don’t have the same class offerings, technology, or resources.” This opinion of an
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
elementary teacher from a low income area can be supported by her own first hand experiences
She is also, for the most part, aware of what is going on in their lives at home based on the
information her students disclose to her. Boyd also examined that “a teen that uses a library
computer with filtered access for an hour a day has a very different experience with the internet
than one who has a smart phone, laptop, and unrestricted connectivity” (193). The affluent
schools my Mother was referring to have Ipads in every classroom, while her school uses
chalkboards. This example directly displays that students from higher classes are able to have
more resources to ensure successful futures and digital knowledge. My mom also stated, “some
kids definitely have disadvantaged home lives and don’t have access to the same resources as
others. Many of my kids don’t have computers,” which could support Boyd’s claim even more.
The fact that many students do not have computers is a concept that is important to address
because it is significant to address who actually owns the computers and how many people own
them. Also, identifying the laptop owners can more clearly display why certain people are high
class as opposed to low class. In Hargaittai’s text, she shared a graph regarding laptop ownership
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
in terms of parental education and there is a picture of this specific graph below:
This graph gives a clear idea of whose owning laptops and who isn’t based on the parental
education of students and emphasizes that a parent’s lack of education meant that there would be
less of a chance that their child would own a laptop. This statistical information is informative
because it visually displays the value of education and it shows that having a high level of
education can result in having more important resources in the long run. Some people are born
into wealthy families and immediately start out with the unlimited access to resources, whereas
other people are born into low-income families and have to work their way to the top. Though it
is beneficial to learn this work ethic, it still immediately ensures that there isn’t a level playing
field in access to resources from the time one is born. People who do not have these important
resources are the ones that are residing in low-income areas, come from low-income families,
and do not have the right level of education.
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Hanna Van der Linde
Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
It is important to recognize just how much a student’s success depends on the education
he or she receives. In some families the parents believe that it is an accomplishment to receive a
degree from high school. Others expect a degree from a university along with graduate, medical,
or another specified study directly after the four years at a university. Many people are not
aware that there are a variety of different education programs before college that prepare students
to go to college. One high school that is not only properly preparing students to get into college,
but also allowing students access to technological classrooms is High Tech High School. A
friend of mine, Griffin Gillmore, who is now a student at San Diego State, went to this high
school in North County. High Tech High is a technology and lottery driven school that seeks
students of all socioeconomic statuses to apply for admission. In fact, Gillmore stated, “My high
tech high school was a lottery system. The goal of that was to get as much diversity in the school
as possible. There were kids there that had next to no money, and then there were kids who’d get
a $50,000 car for their 16th birthday.” At this specific school, the goal was to provide educational
services to a diverse group of people, rather than people who only grew up in a higher income
areas. It also provided technology that was far more advanced than the average public school and
offered an inclusive environment. On High Tech High’s website I found that the mission of the
school was to “develop and support innovative public schools where all students develop the
academic, workplace, and citizenship skills for postsecondary success.” The word “all” clearly
delineates that this high school has an accepting and inclusive environment. Also, it is evident
that the faculty encourages student success far beyond attending high school by using advanced
resources. Gillmore even said, “We actually didn’t have any text books, we all used computers
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
instead. There were close to 30 MacBook’s in every classroom and people could bring their
computers to school too. We had a 3d printer, too.” This exponential access to resources is
undoubtedly substantially positive, but there are only thirteen High Tech High schools. In
Gilmore’s graduating class there was only 40 students, 500 students all together, and less than 40
teachers. This school is a step in the right direction, but many do not know about schools like this
or know how to apply to these schools. The number of these schools compared to the 21,000
public high schools in the United States that don’t have mutual access to computers in every
class is a drop in the ocean. Nonetheless, this concept of schooling is an optimistic start for
society and encourages the necessities to succeed in postsecondary schooling. There is almost a
100% graduation rate and Gillmore believes this is because “you or your parents have to go out
of your way to sign up for the school and everything.” This extra push to apply for schools
prepares students for the application process for college and which is worthwhile. This
preparation is substantial for the future of students. Also, being surrounded by students who had
to go through the same admission process shows he or she had the drive and eagerness to
succeed in years after high school. This motivated group of students is more reason to succeed
for all who are attending. Unlike this advanced high school, many community colleges don’t
have access to computers. Dian Schaffhauser, a freelance writer, wrote a feature on community
colleges titled, When Students Can’t Compete. She identified, “There was a Pew Finding that
only 70 percent of students at community colleges had a laptop or desktop computer and only 78
percent had broadband at home and could connect wirelessly.” She then prolonged that 89
percent of college grads had access to broadband at home. This is further proof that the lack of
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
technological resources of those who are not as educated is present. Schaffhauser also extended,
“ community college students lack the tech skills – and the access – to take advantage of
resources.” In conclusion, it’s clear that students at a community college level could be attending
community college just because they were not aware of options like High Tech High School or
their families didn’t encourage academic success. Not to say community college is a negative
route to take after graduating from high school, but the various socioeconomic statuses of a
family relates to their access to resources and the overall motives of a student at a very young
age. Parents who are successful and encourage their children to further their education
statistically have more access to resources and contribute to their child’s academic future. Boyd
even stated, “ many high-status opportunities—from higher education to new forms of
employment—expect people to be media literate and technologically advanced” (198). This is a
serious matter considering the fact that if someone has more access to resources he or she has a
higher chance in furthering their education after high school. Since education is so important in
today’s job market, furthering one’s education after high school is mandatory depending on what
one wants to do and a lot of jobs require their employees to have attended graduate school. In a
study from 2010 regarding how different types of students value writing, a researcher stated,
“participants who attend master’s granting institutions were significantly more likely to have
written cover letters….academic genres, digital genres and more.” This wide set of skills could
benefit so many students for future job opportunities so it is unfair that not everyone gets the
same opportunities due to their social status and unawareness about the importance of furthering
one’s education to postsecondary schooling.
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Hanna Van der Linde
Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
Obviously, there is a clear issue at stake that students are unable to access the same
resources when evaluating their level of socioeconomic status. However, there are definitely
ways to begin to solve this issue and Boyd emphasized that throughout her text. She stated,
“Rather than assuming that youth have innate technical skills, parents, educators, and
policymakers must collectively work to support those who come from different backgrounds and
have different experiences” (180). Her optimistic tone is reassuring that there are ways to solve
this issue, but it is first important to recognize that all of youth should not be classified as “digital
natives.” In order to stray away from this assumption, people should focus on everyone having
equal access to resources. This general assumption that young people are natives in the digital
world shouldn’t be assumed until there is equal access to resources for everyone. Schaffhauser
extended Boyd’s argument and illustrated, “students often have difficulty navigating to different
pages, distinguishing between pop up ads and a legitimate one, saving files to a folder, or using
the mouse and keyboard to enter information in a field.” Considering most schools do not offer
or require digitally technical classes, there isn’t proper education on these matters so no one
should really be considered “digitally native.” Students simply do not understand the phonics
behind computers, but it is not their fault because they are not taught these essentials in a
classroom setting or by an online tutorial To add, Boyd even stated, “Most formal educational
settings do not prioritize digital competency, in part because of the assumption that teens
natively understand anything connected to technology and in part because existing educational
assessments do not require prioritization.” There aren’t many big steps that can be taken
immediately, but there are ways to improve the current education system. It should be ensured
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16 December 2015
that all students in both public and private schools could use computers, for one. Also, there
should be digital media classes from early on so that students can become more digitally
knowledgeable in their youth instead of their older years. Schaffhauser said, “by providing a
consistent computing experience, explains Victor Navarro, director IT at Chandler-Gilbert,
faculty don’t have to worry about whether students are able to pull up programs or get to
particular research sites.” By achieving the goal of having classes that allow students to learn the
phonics behind computers, there will be fewer questions about how to operate the systems and
more focus on education. Furthermore, all students should be offered the same courses and
encouragement to go to college so that students are granted the same opportunities, awareness
and experiences, regardless of where they came from. It is most important for all students to have
mutual experiences and opportunity to learn. Gillmore discussed his experience with the faculty
at High Tech High and stated, “The classes were really small so you got to know your teachers
really well. I still text my high school Math teacher and keep in contact with my English
teacher.” This strong bond between Gillmore and his teachers, which has lasted two years after
him graduating high school, is something all students should have the opportunity of having. If
more students had this type of relationship with their professors or teachers, the inequalities have
the potential to be far less apparent. These may only be baby steps in the grand scheme of things,
but these steps could be beneficial for the academic future of all students.
All in all, there are ways to solve this problem, but achieving these goals may take time. I
may have gone to a high school where AP tests weren’t encouraged so I wasn’t able to get AP
credits transferred over, but I have still achieved a lot of personal academic goals in my life thus
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Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
far. It might take long to achieve my long-term goals, but it’s worth the effort because I want to
end up with a career I am passionate about. It’s possible that this goal wouldn’t have been the
same if I wasn’t encouraged by a supportive family or motivated by my fellow classmates.
Ultimately, it’s up to the student how to react when adversities arise, however, if there was fair
access to resources in all schooling there is potential for more academic success. Boyd’s text was
inspirational because it prompted the desire to accomplish goals to improve our system and to
focus broad assumptions. The text was also informative because Boyd clearly defined the digital
divide and influenced the importance of teachers and education. It made one consider the fact
that many people are not given the same advantages as others and it is important to realize that
many people do not have the same access to resources because of their socioeconomic class.
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Annotated Bibliography
Boyd, Danah. "Are Today's Youth Digital Natives?" (n.d.): 176-98. Abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
This journal article addressed the assumption that young people in our generation automatically
know how to use all of technology, just because of the age we were born in. She argues that this
is not the case and that our generation is actually digital immigrants. Even though we are born in
a digital age, it doesn’t mean that we know all of the technical details and Boyd goes on to
express that throughout the article by evidence and proof.
To evaluate this piece, I can say that it was very informational and was very interesting. I easily
agreed with most of the arguments that were presented. The evidence that she provides supported
her arguments and the structure was also very organized. She was very thorough and her points
were clear, furthermore.
Grabil, Jeff, and Stacey Pigg. "The Writing Lives of College Students." Weblog post. Matrix, n.d. Web.
This text was about how students value writing and the inequalities associated with those values.
It was a study that addressed many different points of this topic by an assortment of different
researchers and authors. There were surveys that were discussed and an explanation of why
students write how they do over various social media platforms, text and email.
I thought this text was very helpful because there was information on how students from
different institutions compose and value different kinds of writing. This helped me realize the
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types of education students have and how education after high school is very important. This
increased my research on my paper and helped create a new claim for me.
Overall, this text was very informational and helped me understand a new claim. It was also
structured and very organized, which made it easy to read. The visual and color coordinated
graphs were also extremely helpful.
"High Tech High Student." Telephone interview. 14 Dec. 2015.
My interview with a student from High Tech High, Griffin Gillmore, was informational to say
the least. There was discussion about the admission process and all the factors of this advanced
high school. He shared that there were no textbooks and only computers, which was
unbelievable.
This interview was invaluable for my report because it showed different sides of the spectrum. It
also showed that there are people out there who are encouraging increases in technology,
digitally based classes, and a more diverse community all in one. I was also able to share in my
report that having all of our schools like this would benefit all students.
Hargittai, Eszter. 2003. How wide a web? Innequalities in Accessing Information Online. Princeton, NJ:
Sociology Department, Princeton University.
This piece of writing stressed the argument that socioeconomic status directly relates with the
resources that students have growing up. She presented statistics that showed that students that
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don’t have the same resources as more privileged students, are given an unfair advantage and are
more successful in life.
Hargittai’s piece was very enjoyable for me because it presented evidence that was engaging and
appealed to ethos and logos. She appealed to ethos because her evidence was very credible and it
even said that she attended “Northwestern University” write at the bottom of the title. Her
writing appealed to logos considering it had graphs with information and statistics. This aspect
also made it more visual for the viewers all together.
Schaffhauser, Dian. "When Students Can't Compute -- Campus Technology." When Students Can't
Compute -- Campus Technology. Public Sector Media Group, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
Schaffhauser’s article was informative with various statistics and examples. The statistics and
examples provided a feature on community colleges, which opened up a new perspective to
analyze. She described the inequalities related to demographics, the broadband divide, and
shared invaluable claims.
Though this was a community college feature, there was only one section about community
colleges and I was expecting more details on community colleges specifically. There was a lot of
useful information, but there should’ve been more of a direct focus on community colleges if it
was labeled a “community college feature.”
With my own research in comparison to Schaffhauser’s, I’ve found that there isn’t a lot of access
to resources in community colleges. Also, many people who do have access to resources don’t
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actually have connection to broadband at home. There is actually more access to technological
resources in some high schools.
Smith, Aaron. "U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. Pew
Research Center, 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.
Smith’s research was regarding smart phone ownership in 2015. He credibly approved that
students with successful parents are more likely to have laptops. In opposition, students that
come from low in come areas do not have this same access and use the internet in
disadvantageous ways.
This research was extremely helpful because the information was accurate. There were a lot of
examples that were on graphs so it was very visual, as well. The article was filled with concrete
information and didn’t offer opinions. It was a serious report and added more depth to my paper
because there was clear examples that could further illustrate my claims.
Strauss, Valerie. "Confirmed: Standardized Testing Has Taken over Our Schools. But Who’s to Blame?"
Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
This was an article that discussed standardized testing. It was very informative in detail because
it discussed facts of standardized testing people don’t essentially know about. There were many
percentages and direct examples displayed that could help the public understand exactly what
and how many tests students are expected to take each and every year.
This article was very informative, but I only used one quote to further demonstrate one of my
claims. I still really enjoyed reading the article, however, and it was enlightening to learn about.
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It was also overwhelming to think about how many tests students are essentially forced to take
even though students aren’t given the same resources.
Telephone interview. 11 Oct. 2015.
I talked with my Mom about her experiences with her students. She is a third grade teacher and
in a low-income area. She told me that her students do not have the same resources that people in
high class areas do. She used the examples of Bishops High School, which is a private high
school, in comparison to the high school I went too to further her evidence.
The information my Mom gave me was valid and helped support the main arguments. She was
very helpful in explaining the details regarding this topic and about her students. She also made
comparisons that I didn’t think of myself and that creativity also helped support the main
arguments.
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Hanna Van der Linde
Professor Werry
RWS 411
16 December 2015
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