When considering different levels of access that people have to digital resources, it is hard to imagine anything other than what i am familiar with. I would think that almost everyone has access to wireless internet all of the time, a couple of computers at their disposal, a smart phone, and possibly even a tablet. I am very wrong in thinking this way, but it hard to imagine something that you are not exposed to. In the school system where I work I see evidence of how wrong my thinking is daily. We have a "bring your learning device (BYLD)" system set up in our school system. You would think that every kid would have a smart phone or a tablet, but they don't. While I do see a lot of them in the classrooms and halls, I see a lot of students with no phone or an older style phone. I also receive notes quite often from parents stating that their student doesn't have access to the internet and they will need to use a computer at school to complete assignments.
I feel like one of the biggest barriers that we must overcome to help everyone access digital resources is financial burden. From having out of date computers to not being able to afford the fastest internet or even afford internet at all. To me, this is the biggest hurdle that must be overcome for most that are interested in access digital resources.
In order to overcome this barrier we have to work together in the state and local school districts to help students have the tools and access to the resources that they need. I know some schools will check out laptops to students so that they can work on assignments out of school. If they don't have internet access they can go to a local coffee shop of business where free wi-fi is available. Also, libraries are a good place to be able to access computers and the internet.
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