There are significant gaps in access to computing devices and high-speed Internet for children raised in English-only, bilingual and Spanish-only speaking homes, according to a new report written by Brigid Barron, associate professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education, and June Lee of Sesame Workshop.

The report, Aprendiendo en casa: Media as a Resource for Learning Among Hispanic-Latino Families, was released by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.

It found that families that speak primarily Spanish and which had the lowest incomes were least likely to have home Internet access or own computers, tablets and e-readers. They were also least likely to say that their children access educational content through these technologies.

This lack of access to digital content, the report said, meant families had fewer opportunities to use digital media for learning and turned more often to television for educational media. 

Still, more than 90 percent of Spanish speaking families expressed a desire to have more resources that can help them find high quality websites, games and television shows that can help support their children’s learning.

The report was among three publications recently released by the Cooney Center on digital media use in Latino families. The other projects are described in this news release on the Cooney website, from which this summary is adapted.

Related to this story:

"Aprendiendo en casa" Executive summary

June Lee blog: “When [my daughter] doesn’t know something, I go to YouTube.” How Hispanic-Latino families use media for learning