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Digital Equity
11/16/2014
Digital Equity
Students today begin exploring technology and media at a young age.
According to Common Sense Media, Zero to Eight: Childrens Media Use in
America, Half (52%) of all children now have access to one of the newer mobile
devices at home: either a smartphone (41%), a video iPod (21%), or an iPad or
other tablet device (8%) (Common Sense Media, 2011, p.9). Students today at
younger ages are able to use multiple types of media and mobile devices. Even
with this access there are digital divides not only in the community but also inside
the classroom that are primarily based on economic status, educational level,
and ethnic group.
As teachers we are posed with the challenge of providing equitable
access to technology and media resources in our classroom. Often teachers are
given limited access to technology in the classroom or having to reserve one or
two computer labs in the school. Luckily, at my current school we have 3 laptop
carts, 2 computer labs, around 40 or so Ipads, and a variety of other multimedia
tools like flip cameras. Also, students at our school due to donations are able to
check out Access Points and laptops to use at home. This is how equitable use is
addressed at my current school. In addition, students with devices may bring
those to school after signing a proper use contract. My current school also offers
classes for parents on utilizing technology for education and ensuring parents
understand how to use our communication tool, itslearning. In this light, schools
might play a role in bridging the gap in universal service as well as access, by
also providing ICT awareness and training opportunities for family and
community members to acquire the necessary ICT skills. Furthermore, Campbell
(2001) proposes that although having access and gaining skills with ICT are
important, the significance of the digital divide is with the dis- parity of outputs or
use of ICT for disseminating and using information for educational and economic
gains of individuals. (Holfeld 2010). This school seems to understand the
importance of technology in linking school, parents, and community.
But, why is that link between school, parents, and community so
important? Findings indicate that parental involvement in schools positively
impacts student achievement, reduces student absenteeism, increases
graduation rates, improves student attitudes and behavior, and increases student
enrollment in secondary education (Desforges & Abouchaar, 2003; Henderson &
Berla, 1994; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1997; Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005).
Our communication tool, itslearning, is used by teachers to show daily plans and
activities, resources, online practice quizzes, and recently has been determined
to serve as asynchronous learning during inclement weather. The challenge,
however, is still having equitable access. Although the school offers laptops and
access points for check out, if inclement weather occurs students will not have
access to complete assignments if they didnt check it out before the storm. Also,
students may only check out these items for up to 3 days at a time. Also, many
students utilize the public library as a resource, but if inclement weather occurs
access will not be available. So, how can this issue be addressed? That is our
challenge as educators, parents, and community.
The solution to equitable access isnt just about making sure each
classroom has technology, but also about educational uses. It cant be just to
give technology, but to bridge the educational gap with training opportunities for
parents on its plethora of uses. Equitable access is critical for the digital world we
live in today. Kids start as young as two being exposed and interacting with
technology. I know with my of my own child she learned to read because she was
motivated to read her Gameboy console. My youngest son, has been
maneuvering desktops, laptops, ipads, iphones, and his ipod since around age 2.
He has designed Minecraft worlds, experienced Lego Adventures, and explored
social media. Where in the past, kids needed to know the alphabet and numbers
upon entering school, this generation needs to know the language of media
forums. Home computer use correlates positively with measures of school
readiness and cognitive development (Li & Atkins, 2004), So, having equitable
access is critical to student achievement. Our job at school is to help bridge that
digital divide and offer as much exposure to technology starting at the
Kindergarten level and gradually challenging students as they develop into higher
grades. We do this by utilizing the tools we have and creating projects that
incorporate technology. Instead of just creating a paper brochure, have students
create using Google Docs or Microsoft Publisher. Instead of pulling out a
textbook, have students research using the world wide web. These are simple
solutions to a daunting challenge.
In conclusion, students today are living in a digital world with access to
more than we could ever have imagined- good and bad. The harsh reality is that
our society places demand on students and adults being able to use technology
for a multitude of reasons. As teachers, we must create opportunity and access
to technology to bridge the digital divide that exists limiting access for economic
and ethnic reasons. Schools need to provide access, as well as, education for
the community to help bridge that gap so that they in turn can partner with
educators in his or her childs education.
Diversity Blog
11/9/2014
Internet in the classroom is a great tool to help bridge gaps with the world. It
allows exposure to cultures in ways that textbooks and videos cant truly
accomplish. We can communicate with other cultures through skype and blogs.
We can tour a part of the world through interactive sites
like, http://www.visitlondon.com/discover-london/london-virtual-tour, that lets you
tour London orhttp://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne take an interactive tour of
the Louvre. These both allow opportunities to explore different aspects of culture
that without internet would require expensive travel to experience. Through these
experiences students will acquire an appreciation and respect for other cultures
both the similarities and differences.
Another issue we face at our school is a diverse economic population. For those
students not having internet or computer access at home, at my school we have
computers and internet resources that students may check out for use at home.
This is very beneficial for students and relieves the stress of having to find time in
the day to use a school -based computer or to get to a local library. Students also
have access to classroom computers, as well as, we have laptops and Ipads plus
2 computer labs that can be used to provide technology access for our students.
The days of excuses are over because as teachers we have access to a plethora
of resources that allow us opportunities to address our diverse populations of
students in our school. We also have a responsibility to expose students to the
wide variety of cultural experiences available to develop cultural understanding
and global awareness. So, lets jump in there and blog around the world and use
technology to end that cultural divide and merge us together.
Internet Safety
11/2/2014
Teachers generally provide lessons on Internet Safety with students at the
beginning of school. At my school, we provide students with an internet safety
agreement that is thoroughly explained. At previous schools, I have used the
websitehttp://pbskids.org/webonauts/. This site is interactive, and probably
geared toward 3rd-5th grade. It has a lot of reading involved, but really cool
tasks. Another site I use is a site geared also toward elementary, but it has wacky
characters that really engage students. It