Equity and Connected Learning

There are well-known facts about the connections between family income and school experience, as well as the inequality associated with informal learning. Upper class families have the ability to spend much more money than low-income families on enrichment activities. The same is true about the inequitable national system of schooling.

Justin Reich found out in his research that educational technology builders produce work and put it on in the internet hoping that students benefit from it either directly or through facilitators. Unfortunately, the work is shared from the builders through the internet into schools and homes in high income neighborhoods much more than low-income neighborhoods for technological, curricular, pedagogical reasons.http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2012/04/will_free_education_technology_benefit_the_rich.html

There is an association between family income and children's academic achievement. The academic achievement gap between children from high- and low-income families is growing for the last five decades. The free technology tools and resources are closing those gaps in learning opportunities between wealthy and poor students in an inequitable society.

As a personal experience, I teach in two different universities. The student body of one of them made up by a majority of well-off students, while the other one is majority  middle class students. By using the free internet and technology tools in both of the schools, I really don't see a big difference in their academic levels.