4.1 Digital Equity
Candidates model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers. (PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a)
Artifact: Digital Equity Blog Posting
During the ITEC 7430: Internet Tools in the Classroom course I read the article entitled, Education Equity and the Digital Divide by Paul Gorski. During this course we had to read and respond to the gap between students that have access to modern technology compared to students that do not or have limited access to technology. Within this blog post I learned a great deal about the digital divide, understanding the seven principles and how they can be used to formulate solutions, and compare how my school is trying to close the gap.
Gorski begins by defining the digital divide as, “inequities in access to computers and the internet between groups of people based on one or more social or cultural identifiers” (p.5). The author goes on to discuss that the digital divide is more than just giving our students more access to technology or a faster internet access. In fact the digital divide must recognize how race, gender, socioeconomic status, language, and disability create a wider gulf in the digital divide. Along with access to digital tools and resources, teachers have to model and promote higher level thinking skills while providing authentic learning experiences for all of our students. This is especially true with our students of color, disabilities, and our female students. It is imperative that we are providing them with opportunities to see individuals with similar characteristics in leadership roles and making a difference in our world. Along with these changes my views on how technology will be used in my classroom must also change. I must constantly reflect and make sure that the technology resources that I am implementing in my curriculum is providing my students with technology related best practices that is giving them the best possible learning experience.
Looking back over my initial blog, I did not fully define how the digital divide goes beyond just access to technology. The digital divide includes more than just giving our students access to computers. It involves access, changing teacher and student perceptions, increasing rigor and higher level thinking skills and so much more. During this blog I only discussed how the digital divide is affecting the staff at my school. I looked at the lack of resources and time and how it limits our ability to implement technology successfully in our classrooms. I should have included how that impacts our students and what steps we could take to change this.
The discussion of the digital divide was discussed in my end-of-the-year Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. My principal and I discussed how we could meet our teacher’s needs while changing their perceptions. I volunteered to have Techy Thursdays to help teachers explore a variety of system technology resources. The impact can be assessed through feedback from the teacher’s that participate in our Techy Thursday professional development opportunities.
Reference:
Gorski, P. (2005). Education equity and the digital divide. AACE Journal, 13(1), 3-45.
Gorski begins by defining the digital divide as, “inequities in access to computers and the internet between groups of people based on one or more social or cultural identifiers” (p.5). The author goes on to discuss that the digital divide is more than just giving our students more access to technology or a faster internet access. In fact the digital divide must recognize how race, gender, socioeconomic status, language, and disability create a wider gulf in the digital divide. Along with access to digital tools and resources, teachers have to model and promote higher level thinking skills while providing authentic learning experiences for all of our students. This is especially true with our students of color, disabilities, and our female students. It is imperative that we are providing them with opportunities to see individuals with similar characteristics in leadership roles and making a difference in our world. Along with these changes my views on how technology will be used in my classroom must also change. I must constantly reflect and make sure that the technology resources that I am implementing in my curriculum is providing my students with technology related best practices that is giving them the best possible learning experience.
Looking back over my initial blog, I did not fully define how the digital divide goes beyond just access to technology. The digital divide includes more than just giving our students access to computers. It involves access, changing teacher and student perceptions, increasing rigor and higher level thinking skills and so much more. During this blog I only discussed how the digital divide is affecting the staff at my school. I looked at the lack of resources and time and how it limits our ability to implement technology successfully in our classrooms. I should have included how that impacts our students and what steps we could take to change this.
The discussion of the digital divide was discussed in my end-of-the-year Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. My principal and I discussed how we could meet our teacher’s needs while changing their perceptions. I volunteered to have Techy Thursdays to help teachers explore a variety of system technology resources. The impact can be assessed through feedback from the teacher’s that participate in our Techy Thursday professional development opportunities.
Reference:
Gorski, P. (2005). Education equity and the digital divide. AACE Journal, 13(1), 3-45.