The U.S. is Divided Digitally
As I've spent some time thinking about the idea of a Digital Divide, I've come to see how much of an issue it really is in the U.S. It is true that we continue to place more computers in classrooms and schools, but I'm unsure as to whether or not we are really moving towards solving the problem. I was amazed to find out that the U.S. falls sixth in the list of countries most "connected." And I fear that we will only fall farther behind as more time passes. Is is possible to help students and young people to acquire the skills to succeed with technology and in a global world faster than other countries are pushing forward? I'm not so sure that it is possible. If this country is going to continue to compete in the global market and countinue to be a power in business and industry, we need our students to pick up the skills necessary. This is going to require, I think, teachers, administrators, school officials, and legislators to change their way of thinking about education. I realize that money is tight in this economic down time, but we must find ways to provide the tools required to be completely literate in all new literacies.
There is but so much teachers can do towards this effort. I feel like if we can find ways to allow all students the opportunity to use and work with these technologies outside of school, we can begin to move in the direction we would like to see. But the divide may be widening.
I hope this is not seen as a knock on our education system, but it is what was on my mind. I'd love to hear what others think about how we can start to close the digital divide and prepare students for the world that will be theirs.
November 07, 2009 by Michael Cook
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
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I completely agree that funding needs to be focused on getting technology to the classrooms and training teachers to use it and "teach" with it. A lot of times, parents have a fear of the unknown and will not dig deeper. However, if their child comes home talking about using it at school, the parent may be more inclined to get it and allow their child to teach them.
Money is not the only answer to the problem, however; a big step I would like to see a huge step in the one-to-one computing take off in the US.
I agree - teachers can only do so much. We need the working tools/technology in the classroom for the students to use - not just to show them.
Very thought provoking comments - good job!
Posted by Tawnee Bounds on November 08, 2009 at 01:34 PM EST #
I agree that the digital divide might be widening and it is something that we need to think about. The interesting thing is ... I never thought about this topic before this past week. I guess I assumed the internet was available to all just because it is always available to me. I think this topic needs to be talked about more because that is how progress will be made. As teachers we should communicate these ideas in our communities to spread knowledge and hopefully be the driving force of some change. Great post!
Posted by Rachael Lundin on November 09, 2009 at 12:44 PM EST #
Yes Michael, I agree. Another thing that is adding to this Digital Divide is the lack of training that teachers receive in new technologies, or any technology for that matter. Only 19% of schools offer any kinds of technology development training for teachers. Not too impressive.
Posted by Scott Jewitt on November 09, 2009 at 03:10 PM EST #