Harms - “The Digital Divide” - ED 514 Instructional Technology

Harms - “The Digital Divide”

11/25/2012

Throughout our blog entries this semester it is apparent that the availability, access and experience with technology varies widely between each of us as well as in the school districts that we are most familiar. The “Digital Divide “is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet (specially broadband access) and those who do not have access. The term became popular among concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990s.” This “divide” is also apparent in the availability to technology that students might have available to them at home or in their schools. What are your thoughts on this “Digital Divide” and how it can be bridged in classrooms and school districts?

12 Comments

Aaron Schroeder

11/26/2012 11:05

In my opinion, the digital divide is no different than any other divided between rich and poor schools. There has always been, and always will be, schools that offer more than other schools. Some offer more language classes such as German, Mandarin, etc. on top of the standard Spanish courses most schools offer today. These diffences can even be seen in the cafeteria. Some elite schools offer foods that are "organic" and grown by the school itself while others still serve canned peached smothered in syrup.

One can argue that the students in these elite schools have an advantage over less fortunate students, and this is true. I can not argue against it. We do not all start with equal rules, starting points, etc. This will never change. I do not think it is anyone's fault and do not necessarily think it is anything that can be changed. We just have to make the best of what we've got, and move forward as best we can.

Michelle Unnerstall

11/26/2012 14:16

I think there will always be a divide. Schools have different budgets. Some schools are poor while others are rich. They have to work with what they got. Some of my students don't have internet or have dail up internet too. They still turn to books. People will just have to learn to find other resources and work with what they have. I don't know how someone would change the fact that there is one.

Angie Richardson

11/26/2012 17:19

Unfortunately there will always be a divide between rich and poor - at school, at work, in our communities, etc. It is just a fact of life and I really can't think of many ways to change this. Schools will have to work with the technology and funds they have in order to educate their students the best they can. My own children have no cable or internet acess at our home but they do have an abundance of books and a family who loves them and spends quality time with them. Will they be behind their same age peers who have ipads and personal laptops? Maybe so but I will take my chances.

Lauren Robb

11/27/2012 14:14

I agree with the previous comments on this divide issue. I don't think it is something can be controlled. We will always have smaller schools that cannot afford the stuff that the large schools can. It all depends on budget, number of students, and funderaising. The students who live in these small towns and don't have much access to internet or computers will be behind later when it comes to computers. It won't be a huge deficit because computers and technology is always changing.

Angel Massie

11/28/2012 04:41

The digital divide is one that may not ever completely go away, much like the divide of the rich vs poor. However, I think school districts are doing their best to level the playing field by offering courses and assignments using technology that the school district can provide. Many educators strive to find time in their curriculum to work on any technology-based assignments within the school day, often times not ALLOWING work to be completed at home to avoid any differences in program use, etc. With that being said, I know that students ARE allowed to use their own technology resources at other times (tablets for reading, outside research, etc.) I think keeping all students informed to our best ability is the only solution to help bridge this divide, but there is no way to level the field completely.

Brittanee Jacobs

11/28/2012 06:12

The digital divide is not something we can fix. There is never going to be a time when everyone is on the same level of anything, and there will never be a time when everyone has the same resources available. It seems that most smaller schools are at a disadvantage budget-wise. This is unfortunate, but the best thing to do is for teachers to find new and innovative ways for their students to best use the available technology.

Daniel Simmons

11/28/2012 19:00

Because of conflicting parenting styles and various cultural beliefs, it is fairly difficult to close the "digital divide". The best chance I could see to close the "digital divide", would be to incorporate it in a STEM or Magnet school. Schools which rely on technology, and use it to solve problems in the classroom, and in their lives. Closing the digital divide between generations, or public schools is impossible, due to peoples outlooks. Some people are intolerant, and refuse to buy into technology.

Lauren Noble

11/29/2012 11:09

I agree with everyone's comments about not being able to fix or control the digital divide. There are a lot of schools that don't have the funding to provide their students with the latest technology like other private, rich schools. Schools just need to be creative on funding and providing the best technology they possibly can for their students.

Igor Misljenovic

11/30/2012 08:41

I agree with the opinion of my classmates that the digital divide will never disappear. Furthermore, I do not believe it should completely disappear since competition and necessity drive innovation. However, due to Moore’s law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law ), and the progress which has been made in the DIY community with creative commons licenses, the excuses which have been used in the last few decades are coming onto thinner ice. Those with little money have the opportunity to catch up and spread progress.
Ubuntu, Fedora and Sugar Linux kernels have made Linux as a free OS attractive to many computer users. Libre/free software and apps give you tools which were unthinkable 10 years ago, for free. Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Android based devices have driven the price down and competition up. Peripheral components can be procured at University auctions or via web-stores during sales for little money. There is only so much computing power necessary to run your browser, Office-software, PDF reader and other basic applications.
Crowd-funding has given an opportunity to groups with a video camera, an excellent plan and knowledge to gather the money they need not just from the local community but from around the globe. It also gives you the opportunity to get the latest innovations for cheap and tinker with them.
In a decade or less open source/creative commons blueprints will enable you to literally make you own computer components/toys/ tools/machines/majority of things you always wanted to make.

Just one more thing; 3-D printing…

Becky Rose

12/02/2012 12:34

What are your thoughts on this “Digital Divide” and how it can be bridged in classrooms and school districts?

Unfortunately, the digital divide is a sympton of a deeper social issue - rich vs. poor. School districts deal with this everyday, most noticeably in terms of food. My daughter was telling me this morning that one girl in her class has to get "buddy packs" at school so that she can take them home to have food when she's not at school. School districts have developed several ways to assist students who need food; however, I'm not sure of ways that they've assisted students with technology needs. My suspicion would be that they provide opportunities to utilize technology while at school in order to complete schoolwork that requires it. Teachers would also then need to be mindful of homework requiring technology and their students' access to such technology and allow time at school to complete these requirements.

Mike Tzianos

12/02/2012 17:57

I believe that there will always be some sort of digital divide in our society. Socioeconomic status will always differ from family to family, and so will technological availabilities. Schools have made tremendous strides over the years in trying to close the gap, but it all comes down to funding/time.

Scot Davis

12/02/2012 21:05

In the 90's I would say that there was a strong Digital Divide; however, there is probably a very weak Digital Divide anymore. It seems that everyone puts a very high priority on technology, despite economical class. However, there is still those students that don't have the technology. I feel that schools should allow an hour before school and after school for any student to come in and be able to use the school computers for whatever they need.

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This blog is for class conversations for ED 514 at Central Methodist University. These post are by the students of ED 514. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms.

Harms - “The Digital Divide”

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