U.S. Digital Divide

Addressing a societal problem on a large scale

Status: Complete

Follow up projects pending

Background

Data Science For All (DS4A) by Correlation One is an intensive fellowship program free for scholars from underepresented populations to learn data science methodologies to use in jobs across industries. Each fellowship includes a capstone project components where people work in teams to address an issue or solve a business problem.

For the Data Science for All (Empowerment Fellowship), in Cohort 3 my group (Team 13) worked on a capstone project hoping to solve issues around the digital divide in the United States.

In this program, I was the technical lead for my project team providing gudiance on analysis strategies and predictive modeling. I managed the project timeline for deliverables and led in the design of the presentation materials. I also gave detailed feedback on deliiverables other teammates led.

Topic

Currently, there are 30 million Americans that lack adequate internet access.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal has pledged $65 billion to invest in broadband infrastructure deployment, including digital proficiency. With the developing COVID-19 infection rates comes even more need to have access to the internet has working and schooling from home becomes a public health neccessity.

Additionally, device availability is a factor in addressing the digital divide. As families are home with children and parents all working and schooling on one device creates other barriers.

Goals & Questions

• What are the counties and regions in the U.S. with the highest need for internet and technology?
• What are the significant factors that led to internet and technology access issues?

Method & Tools

• Language: Python, R
• Data Processing: Python (Pandas & Numpy)
• Data Visualizations: Python (Seaborn & Ploty), R (ggplot2)
• Documentation: Juypter Notebook, RMarkdown
• Other Tools: Tableau, RStudio

Deliverables

• Datafolio
• Slide Deck Presentation
• Dashboard in Tableau
• Report