the digital divide
Today there is a great problem facing our society and our education system and that is the digital divide. According to the video, “What is the digital divide?” half of American households don’t have access to technology, like the internet. According to the video, this is creating a divide along the lines of class (social-economic level), geography and race. As educator, we should all make an effort to close the digital divide in our classrooms and schools, to provide all our students with equal opportunities to succeed.
How might teachers work with disadvantaged families to improve computer use at home?
The first thing a teacher can do to improve computer use at home is to improve computer use at school. Teach children how to properly conduct a search, how to upload and download documents, etc. Children will take that information home and hopefully teach the rest of their household. But a lot of families, about half of American households, don’t even have internet at home and might not have computers. A good way to close that divide is to provide computer use before and after school. But I believe the whole school should be involved in this effort. It would be great if the school library had longer hours and that teachers proved certain days that they will come in early or stay late to allow students to use the computers in the classroom. Another thing that a school could do is to have computer classes for parents whenever possible.
Do you believe explicit instruction in use of technology is an issue implied by law and tied to the child's civil right to free and equal public education, or is the access and teaching of technology a curriculum option to be exercised freely by teacher or school?
I do believe that instruction in use of technology is an issue implied by law and tied to the child's civil right to free and equal public education. Instruction in technology is very important. More things today are being done online. For example many jobs require that you apply online and now many government services require you to apply online as well. If the government wants to move the accessibility of their programs online then I believe that the instruction in the use of technology is a government issue. And this is a problem today because not everyone has access to the internet at home.
Should instruction in technology be sidelined for instruction in the other core STAAR skills?
Instruction in technology is becoming more and more prevalent. It should be integrated with instruction in the other core STAAR skills. By including technology in our instruction of the TEKS and STAAR skills we will be making the material more relevant to a large number of our students.
In conclusion, the influence that technology has on our society is only going to grow, so preparing our students to use technology will be essential to preparing them for the future. That is also why proving as many opportunities to those many households that do not have access to the internet and other technologies is so important. We must all make an effort to give our students all the opportunities we can to help them succeed.
How might teachers work with disadvantaged families to improve computer use at home?
The first thing a teacher can do to improve computer use at home is to improve computer use at school. Teach children how to properly conduct a search, how to upload and download documents, etc. Children will take that information home and hopefully teach the rest of their household. But a lot of families, about half of American households, don’t even have internet at home and might not have computers. A good way to close that divide is to provide computer use before and after school. But I believe the whole school should be involved in this effort. It would be great if the school library had longer hours and that teachers proved certain days that they will come in early or stay late to allow students to use the computers in the classroom. Another thing that a school could do is to have computer classes for parents whenever possible.
Do you believe explicit instruction in use of technology is an issue implied by law and tied to the child's civil right to free and equal public education, or is the access and teaching of technology a curriculum option to be exercised freely by teacher or school?
I do believe that instruction in use of technology is an issue implied by law and tied to the child's civil right to free and equal public education. Instruction in technology is very important. More things today are being done online. For example many jobs require that you apply online and now many government services require you to apply online as well. If the government wants to move the accessibility of their programs online then I believe that the instruction in the use of technology is a government issue. And this is a problem today because not everyone has access to the internet at home.
Should instruction in technology be sidelined for instruction in the other core STAAR skills?
Instruction in technology is becoming more and more prevalent. It should be integrated with instruction in the other core STAAR skills. By including technology in our instruction of the TEKS and STAAR skills we will be making the material more relevant to a large number of our students.
In conclusion, the influence that technology has on our society is only going to grow, so preparing our students to use technology will be essential to preparing them for the future. That is also why proving as many opportunities to those many households that do not have access to the internet and other technologies is so important. We must all make an effort to give our students all the opportunities we can to help them succeed.