SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B: Digital Backpack: Enabling Offline Web-based Content Access to Promote Student Academic Resiliency in Acute and Chronic Disaster Situations

The lack of home Internet availability is extremely problematic when schools shift to remote learning as part of community disaster response plans. Some of the most severe “homework gaps” are experienced by students living in tribal communities, where households often lack reliable broadband connectivity and students experience the highest dropout rates in the nation.

It is in this context that this project proposes Digital Backpack (DigiPack), an opportunistic content delivery network and mobile app that proactively uploads, downloads, and stores digital learning material to devices whenever they obtain an Internet connection. DigiPack will enable students’ mobile devices to automatically fetch and store digital education content that they can work on offline at home.

Content generated and tagged for upload while working offline at home is automatically transferred when Internet connectivity is encountered. This allows students to make the most of trips to hotspots and allows for more casual interaction with online learning; rather than having to remember a list of all the content that needs to be downloaded, uploaded, and interacted with whenever they are at a hot spot, students can focus on engaging in interactive learning activities (e.g., video calls with a teacher) when connectivity is available and DigiPack automatically handles content that can be engaged with asynchronously.

We will partner with STAR School, a public preK-8 charter school located in the southwestern corner of Navajo Nation in Leupp, AZ, to plan and pilot the DigiPack system in Navajo Nation.

This project's vision for research and civic engagement activities focuses on understanding the specific educational content needs of Navajo students and educators in Leupp, AZ. This research will (i) identify the specific educational information needs that DigiPack must support in the Leupp community; (ii) discern where DigiPack CDN nodes and access points should be placed in Leupp for optimal benefit to students and their families; and (iii) co-design the DigiPack mobile app user interface and back end service support to ensure that a deployment is effective and usable.

To this end, the project team will work with a community advisory board (CAB) comprised of Leupp families, educators and ISP operators to guide the design choices for DigiPack interfaces and services such that they best serve the learning needs of the community. This project's approach will integrate best practices from participatory action research, including asset-based community development and Lean UX design to work with community members as co-researchers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.