As many educational institutions embrace technology and evolve their educational models, an almost equal number struggle to adequately join in this digital revolution. The result is a stark divide in our educational system and in public policy. The divide between the digital “haves” and “have-nots” echoes civil rights era warnings that we run the risk of creating two Americas, separate and unequal. To complicate things further, what we call the digital divide is not an issue in merely one population, system, or industry.

In our mobile, hyper-connected society, it’s easy to lose sight of the ease and convenience at which we access a world of information.

Every Internet Essentials customer has a story to tell.  Lisa, a mother of four and grandmother of two, is studying to get her GED.  Lisa and her family live in public housing.  Recently, they were connected to the Internet at home for the first time as part of Comcast’s Internet Essentials pilot program for public housing residents.  Listen to her family’s story here.

While attending the ICT4D conference in Kenya recently I took a side trip to the Masai Mara National Reserve, where members of the famous Masai tribe wore their traditional, iconic red-robes—and carried cell phones.

And on the horizon of the reserve, interspersed amongst the elephants, hippos, and lions, were cell phone towers. Old and new live together. The integration of mobile technology is both personal and social. And technology is ubiquitous.