The Total Cost of Ownership: Exploring the
Digital Divide of Deaf-Blind Students
S. Jordan Wright EDU 821 Final Presentation
Background: Deaf-Blind Technology
Cost is a Defining Factor
•ZoomText
•Software tool for magnification
$898.00
•BrailleNotes/Focus 40 Blue
•Necessary for computer use
$5,495.00
JAWS:
$1,095.00
Two Case Studies: Divided by the Digital
Divide
James and Billy
James
1
James lives in a pleasant
middle
class
neighborhood
His parents hold advance
degrees and have a
combined
six-figure
income.
James has an array of
technological
devices:
ZoomText,
Focus 40
Blue, and JAWS
Total cost of operation:
$3,500.00 per year
Skilled communication
The Division
Billy
2
tBilly lives in a trailer
among a community of
working class families. He
is an only child to a single
mother.
He does not own any of
the devices James has.
Billy’s education is a
remote, rural school that
lacks
the
necessary
basics
3
tWhy is this important?
For higher education and
employment, Deaf-Blind
students will be expected
to have mastered
ZoomText
BrailleNotes
JAWS
.. To name a few.
Communication
is
haphazard and based on
home signs.
Survival of the Fittest: Cost
of Ownership
Defines Deaf-Blind Success
The Digital Divide between low and high ressource
schools is based on:
1)Physical Access
2) Computer and Internet in Classroom
3)Availability of Support
4)Social Consequences of IT use (Martin, 2003: DiMaggio et al.,
2001; March, 2001; and Warschauer as cited by Valdez & Duran, 2007)
•Children without access to C&I/devices are at risk for
educational achievement and job opportunities. (Cleary,
Pearce, and Trauth, 2006 p.12)
•Children in lower SES households do not have the
same access or ownership.(Lenhart, 2009 p.7)
C&I Fluency is Necessary For Success
• Employment, Education, and survival as a
citizen depend on fluency.
(Burgshtahler, 2003)
• SES status alters this reality for Deaf-Blind students based on
income (Cleary, Pearce & Trauth, 2006).
• Income is a predictor of C&I access/ownership
Class Does Matter.
Percentage with C&I Access
Money = Access = Opportunities
34%
$5,000
$12,000
$24,000
$36,000
$48,000
$60,000+
What about the
Government?
Free does not mean ‘Free’.
NDBEDP
Project
Endeavor
Free Equipment.
Not Realy Free.
Discount/Mainte
nance
In the beginning, we saw the cost of necessary
equipment. Even at a discount, it is expensive. The
maintenance and subscription fees effectively shut
out lower SES Deaf-Blind.
They are victims of the digital divide
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