To me the Digital Divide is the amount of technology and how technology is used in the classrooms and at home based on the students Socio Economic Status and comfortable or not comfortable computer use is at home and school. Throughout the articles about the Digital Divide I was really thinking about the students I have in my classroom. I have one student whose Dad is computer programmer for a living and then I have one student whose technology at home is a cell phone. It is really interesting to me to hear my students talk about what kind of technology they have in the home and how it used. Many of my students have gaming systems, but not computers and/or internet access. During some of my parent teacher conferences I have to ask if they have a computer at home and not just tell them a website to use at home, or a computer game to get to help them at home.
I agree with the comment that in the Kids Count Article when it said that “over the years the costs of having a home computer and an internet connection have become more affordable…” even though the cost of computers has come down, it is still a cost that some families can not afford. If we want to reach those children then we are the ones who need to be able to provide those families with access to the technology needed in order to not have such a big digital divide.
Lizzie Oakley
The purpose of this blog is to help teachers get experience with what it feels and looks like to create a blog post or add comments to another person's blog posting.
2 comments:
It is interesting to think about your own classroom! Being at a fairly affluent school with high test scores and awards for meeting AYP for many years in a row, the division of the have and have-nots is more obvious. There are many students in my classroom who have their own personal computer, gaming system, portable gaming systems, and iPods. On the other hand, there are a handful of children in my classroom who do not own a computer. Thinking about the digital divide in my classroom alone, it's the have-nots in my school who are not receiving it at school either because we do not qualify for technology funding. If this continues the digital divide will simply grow. The longer those students are without access to new technology, the more behind they will fall. There has to be a better solution!
Kelsey Mitchell
As a high school teacher, it is very apparent that there are haves and have nots. There are students who struggle with using Word or PowerPoint. Even asking a student to email me to remind me to send them notes is a difficult task. I have expected students to have basic technology skills since computers have always been around them. I grew up with a typewriter and word processor until my family had the money for a computer. I'm not sure what the alternative is for students who parents can not afford a computer. Although I cringe at the idea due to my school's environment, cell phones might be an alternative. Most students have a phone and they can access the Internet. I allow students to research with their phones in class, but it would be great if there was a word processing program on the phones too.....There might be, but I just don't have that type of phone yet, so I'm not sure.
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