Divided we fall...

After my practicum placements, I saw first hand the extent of the digital divide between classrooms at a school. In my first placement, a 7th grade civics/world geography class, my students had somewhat of an access to technology. Their 7th grade team had a lap top cart, that all of the teachers had to share. They also could use the schools "smart board," if they could check it out. This lower level group of students though did not have the access to technology like the students in the higher level classes. Furthermore, using the technology at the school was for some, the only technology they used at all. In my second practicum placement I was in an Advanced Government and AP Government classroom. The filter for the school was so strict, there was not much that the teacher could use online to enrich their curriculum. The only access to computers that the students had was the computer lab, if they could book it. The classroom I was in suffered from not being able to integrate technology into the classroom, because the school just didn't provide an adequate amount of technology for the students.

Before I was in these placements, I truly did not think about the "digital divide" in our country, let alone in our school systems. I was shocked when I saw first hand the lack of technology in the classroom. It was hard to see how some students were not able to expand their understanding of certain concepts and topics because the technology that would allow them to do so was absent. It is very important that students are given an access to technology in the classroom. I am not saying that all students must have the ability to tweet, and make podcasts, and do crazy cool projects on the computer... But it is important for students to be able to search and research online, and to be able to do certain things using technology. Every student across the board should have access at times to a computer and the internet. It is imperative that students learn how to utilize the internet, how to conduct good searches for information, and how to synthesize the information they find on the web. It is important that teachers have the ability to expound on the information from the textbooks with technology, be it clips from a movie, a youtube video, or a glog the teacher created to share with the classroom. Many times the students do not have access to computers at home, so we need to make sure as educators that we grant them the access at school. It is in fact where the learning "takes place."

If the school system that I end up working in does not provide the type of adequate technology that I deem necessary in my classroom, I will for sure take some action to change that. It is important to apply for grants as teachers, for technology in the classroom. We are the "spokesperson" for our students, and we need to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to provide the best source of education for them, which includes integrating technology in the classroom. If the grants do not work, I hope that I can take part in surveys or studies where some sort of "compensation" for my time may be some kind of "technological thing" that I can utilize in my classroom. Furthermore, I know that by rallying the community it is sometimes possible to raise money for certain things for the classroom, and technology could be one of them. Its bad that state funding for teachers is getting cut, but they have increased the spending on technology in the classroom, making the funding specifically for getting teachers up to speed with the technology and actually getting it in the classroom. There are certain other steps teachers can take to get technology in the classroom, posted in this 50+ ways to raise $$$ for technology Furthermore, schools could perhaps get recycled and donated computers to help bridge the digital divide. Many teachers ask for these recycled computers from businesses upgrading.

Many people debate what the actual cause of this digital divide is. Some claim that people "don't want to use technology" only making them fall further behind in this technological world. But that does not touch on the fact that some people don't have the monetary funds to afford technology in their homes. "Education and tax reform move a lot slower than the speed of technology. If they want to help low-income Americans, that's the gap policy-makers should seek to close." Maybe if we focus on this aspect of the digital divide, the actual "digital divide" will not be such an issue!