Digital Divide is the term used to describe the gap between people who have access to technology and those who don’t. This is something of which educators should be very aware. One of the biggest reasons for the Digital Divide is socioeconomic status. Students coming from lower income homes are less likely to have access to computers and technology than students who come from higher income homes. This puts lower income students at a disadvantage because they don’t have the same skill levels as students who have access to computers, internet, etc. at home. We are living in an age where technology plays a huge role in all of our lives. We use the internet for everything from paying bills and finding jobs to ordering pizzas and renting movies via downloads. It is imperative that all students come out of school technologically savvy for them to be able to function in today’s ever changing society. To do this we need to close, or at least significantly lessen, the gap in the Digital Divide. I am recommending six ways to help close the gap and lessen the divide.
The first thing I recommend is extra instruction time in the computer lab for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Students from low socioeconomic homes are eligible for free and reduced lunch, and they should also be eligible for extra time in the computer lab. Extra time each week in the computer lab with a low student to teacher ratio would be very beneficial in helping students learn more about computers and technology.
The second idea I am recommending is a computer loan program. I student taught at Hillcrest Elementary. The year before I started they received several brand new computers to replace some old ones. Instead of throwing out the old ones, they were loaned to the families of students who couldn’t afford computers. The families could keep the computers for as long as they had children attending Hillcrest. I think a plan similar to this would be great for both the school and the community. We could purchase new computers for the entire school and loan out all of the old ones to students’ families who couldn’t afford a computer.
Thirdly, I recommend that as a school board we lobby the local government and internet companies to work together to provide free wireless high speed internet. With the expansion of high speed internet, it is harder and harder to surf the web using dial up services, yet high speed internet can be too costly for low income families to afford. If we could blanket our entire city with free high speed wireless internet it would make it much easier for low income households to have access to the internet. If this seems like a farfetched plan, it really isn’t. In 2005, Google proposed the idea to blanket the entire city of San Francisco with wireless high speed internet, and is in the process of building a city wide wireless network.
So far I have only addressed the digital divide in terms of economic status. Although I believe this is extremely important for educators to be aware of, the digital divide refers to more than just socioeconomic status. Age also plays a big factor in the digital divide. Older people tend to know less about technology than younger people. This is a problem because a lot of our teachers are older and don’t know how to use new technology. I propose that teachers have to take mandatory technology classes. Teachers who don’t know how to use different types of technology obviously can’t use that technology in their classrooms. This means that students are either falling behind in the area of technology, or at best, at a standstill in their learning of technology. By making teachers take technology courses, and learning about technology, they will begin using it more in the classrooms.
A fifth idea is to have a parent computer night once a month. We could invite parents to the school one evening a month, along with their children, and have them work on activities on the computer together. Not only would this be a great way to get parents involved in their child’s lives at school, but it would help them learn more about computers as well as giving their children more computer time. This would benefit older parents who don’t know much about computers and technology and families in low socio economic statuses who don’t know much about computers.
My last suggestion is to organize a computer drive, and try to get as many computers and computer equipment donated as we can. We can then give these computers to families who can’t afford them.
It is extremely important that the gap in the Digital Divide be closed. We live in a time where we rely upon technology for nearly every aspect of our lives. People who are behind technologically are at a big disadvantage. We need to work together to make it possible for all people to cross over the Digital Divide. I have outlined 6 ideas to help with this problem. Although it would be implausible to implement all six of these steps immediately, we do need to start somewhere. A good beginning would be to implement extra computer time for students from low socioeconomic households. This wouldn’t cost any extra money and would be extremely beneficial for the students. Thank you so much for your time, I know that by working together we can help conquer the Digital Divide.
4 comments:
Jahan,
I agree that socioeconomic status is the main indicator of which side of the divide a student falls on. I am not sure about more lab time only for low income students. I think that computers are such a valuable resource that all students should get that time. The "richer" students may have computer access at home but I think they would also benefit from low teacher student ratio computer time. Maybe a class after school for those who feel they need it, with a teacher recruiting those from homes without computers?
I have heard of a few Boise schools doing what Hillcrest is doing. What a great idea!
You have some great ideas, Jahan. I like the loan program although I wonder what happens if the computer dies and who pays for repairs. It would be great if the computers were given away, but I think it would be a good idea in either scenario if the parents or guardians had to come in for training, first, before the loan or giveaway.
I love the idea of blanket wireless access over the entire city of San Francisco. I can't wait until it's free, too!
You're right about the older generation of teachers. Many are not tech savvy, but many want to be, too. It takes time and money for training, and often, it just isn't available.
There will always be resistance to new things. I think it's important not to jump on bandwagons just because the whole world is. There is beauty in dinosaur wisdom, too. Not everything about tech enhances life. It is certainly part of our present and future, and it's valuable to know how to participate if you want to. But, my life was certainly a lot simpler, and pretty fine, without it. So, I am a part of the resistance in a way, although I am working hard to learn all I can in this Master's program. :)
Hey Jahan,
While I do provide a link on my blog to an in-progress study that shows that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds actually do have accesses to ICTs in the home, I certainly agree with your statement that, "Students coming from lower income homes are less likely to have access to computers and technology than students who come from higher income homes."
I would take your statement, "It is imperative that all students come out of school technologically savvy for them to be able to function in today’s ever changing society." one step further by saying that it is imperative for students to be able to function in tomorrow's society. I can't quote the sources, but I have read in multiple online resources that when many current high school students enter the workforce, they will be working in a position that does not currently exist.
Like Geoff, I can't say that I agree with allocating more computer lab time to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Your free and reduced lunch argument is not analogous to additional computer instruction. Free and reduced lunch programs don't allocate food for one group while taking it from another. I understand your passion, especially since I work in such a school. However, students deserve education no matter what their background is. Therefore districts should not endeavor to increase understanding for one group of students by removing instructional time from another group of students. This, in fact, may ultimately tip the scales in the other direction rather than provide equal accesses.
Your idea of a loan program is a good, and with some follow through to ensure fair dispersal, upkeep, and oversight it could certainly be a worthwhile pursuit. I learned a lesson the hard way six years ago, when I loaned one of my students an old computers. Soon after took the machine home, he disappeared, and I never got the computer back. The computer was already five years old at the time, so I didn't really care, but it did illustrate the need for a policy in regard to loan terms.
I would agree with the idea of blanketing the city with broadband internet access for those who met a certain socioeconomic criteria. Although, at this point, I'm not sure that telecommunications companies are ready to meet such demands while remaining financially solvent. I believe that free broadband services are in our nation's future. Still, I'm not sure that we have the political infrastructure set-up to oversee such programs at this time. The "scheme" to which you refer is not far fetched for Google, but that is simply because they are in the financial position to be able to offer free broadband services to San Francisco. Realistically, there are not many companies that have ability or capital to take on such a lofty venture. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea to lobby local, state and federal governments for changes, but there might be better uses of your district's time to achieve the goal of eliminating the digital divide.
I'd be careful about how you word your next point - Older people tend to know less about technology than younger people. I don't necessarily disagree with your statement, but you'll gain more credibility by being sensitive to all groups of people. Also, I'd advise you to use more diplomatic language that makes technology training sound like an opportunity rather than a prison sentence - " mandatory technology classes" In other words, meeting your goal of ongoing technology training for educators might be best served without inciting anger in the generation of teachers that educated you.
Your statement "By making teachers take technology courses, and learning about technology, they will begin to using it more in the classrooms." is a fallacious argument. By that reasoning, teaching kids and adults about the benefits of exercise would simply yield a nation of healthy physically fit individuals. This, however, is not the case. Most states require health classes, yet still we have an obesity problem in the United States, leading to a plethora of maladies and diseases.
Instead, I submit, that those that are interested in influencing an older generation of teachers to use technology in their daily teaching should do so by pulling them in (by stating the benefits), rather pushing them in. Resistance to change is deep seated in human nature, however, that doesn't mean that individuals can't be reasoned with and shown new ways of interacting with the world around them. To put it simply; invite, don't mandate. The net result will be the same or better.
A monthly open house centered around technology sounds like a great idea. Make sure you feed them too, that always seems to bring more families out ;)
A drive to fund technology and computers specifically sounds like another good idea. My only caution would be to have a very specific stated purpose and delineate acceptable donations (to ensure certain quality). At some point, computer equipment becomes a liability that can be costly to get rid of. In some areas CRT monitors can cost $10-$30 to dispose of properly.
For the most part, you have some good ideas, and with some more thought they could be great.
-Jon
Socioeconomic status makes such a difference, and it's important for us as teachers to be aware of the different resources students have at home.
I teach both low and high level courses in my school, and it's always easier to bring an honors class to the computer lab. However you make an important point that it is the lower level classes (that are most likely the lower socioeconomic) that need to have MORE time in the computer lab.
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