The digital divide many years ago used to be talk about who
had access to the Internet and who did not have access. Was it the schools that did not have enough
technology in their classroom or was it a students’ home-life that prevented a
child from having access to the Internet?
Over the last 10 years or so having access to the Internet has become
easier and easier with the usage of smartphones and tablets. Jan
van Dijk said on Science Direct, “A shift of attention from physical access
to skills and usage is observed. In terms of physical access the divide seems
to be closing in the most developed countries; concerning digital skills and
the use of applications the divide persists or widens.” I could not agree more with that
statement. After teaching in a variety
of schools over the last 7 years the issue is not having access to technology
the issue is having the skills to use the technology in a productive way.
Individuals and
families now have more access to the Internet then they have ever had
before. Lee
Rainie the Director of Internet, Science and Technology research at the Pew
Research Center published this chart to show that racial demographics are not
the thing holding individuals back from having access to the Internet.
What I think this shows is that a lot of
people are using their phones and tablets on a regular basis to access the
Internet. Another chart that Lee Rainie
made shows how many individuals have access to broadband at home and I think
these results are a little bit more telling.
I think what this
chart shows is that people now have unprecedented access to the Internet,
however they don’t have access on things like computers. I think this is important because when kids
are in school they use computers not phones.
When parents are applying for a job they are not asked how many text
messages they can type in a minute. The PBS video said it
perfectly, “There is an increasing concern in how broadband is being used among
different groups. Whether spending more
time on social networks, streaming television programs or movies, and playing
games is at the expense of educational advancement, managing finances, or
pursing job opportunities.”
If there were not a digital divide, my job would not look
the same as it does right now. My job is
to teach “technology advanced” students Microsoft Word, Excel and
PowerPoint. All of these students have
access to the Internet and all of these students have access to computers. However, I teach them very similar skills
that I taught at my other schools in very different environments. Whether it was formatting a word document,
setting up an excel sheet or making a presentation these were all things that
had to be taught to all of the students that I have taught. The issue is that I do not need to explain to
my current students how to print, open a document or find different buttons on
the computer. With lower income students,
I had to explain everything like this was the first time they were on the
computer.
What are the things you have been surprised when either
teaching or observing your classroom?
*I would have Kindergarten students wet themselves because
they had never been on a computer before and they did not want to get up.
I know what you mean when it comes to witnessing the basic computing skills some students lack. My practicum is at a lower SES school with laptops for each student. In one of my classes, the students were tasked with creating a power point presentation on a system of the body as an end of the year project. The teacher required they provide the file to her on a flash drive for the presentation. The students were able to successfully create slideshows, but when they went to save to the flash drive, many lacked the skills necessary to understand how to find a saved file in a nested folder, how to transfer a file from the hard drive to an external drive, etc. I ended up spending a significant portion of the bell assisting the students with very basic computer technology/literacy skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree that access to the internet is becoming less of a problem, but as long as professional careers continue to rely on using a PC, those without access to similar devices at home are going to be at a disadvantage competing with individuals with access to laptops and desktops.
Until I was 14 years old and in my freshman year of high school, I lived in a house that was in the middle of nowhere. The Internet was not accessible unless we were to choose some form of dial-up or something as slow as molasses. There was not even any cell phone service. Therefore, the only time I accessed the Internet was at school or at the library to do my assignments. The only assignments I needed computers for though were writing papers, as I went to a high needs school due to lower SES status. So, to answer your first question I think that it was both the classroom and the home-life of children. To add to that, I think that more-seasoned teachers were also reluctant to using the Internet just because it was unfamiliar. It was a combination of everything. Also, you pose an interesting point about mobile devices and the skills that some people lack due to the overuse of the mobile device and not the actual computer. This brings me to my surprising observation which is that some schools still do not have anything other than projection screens and have to rely solely on the whiteboard.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post!
Hey steve:
ReplyDeleteHow are you going to create your technology rules?
-Personally after reading your post I keep in mind that students are so connected to technology that it would be impossible to keep it out of my classroom, I only hope I can keep them from using it in ways that makes it counterproductive. I don't want my students cheating and refusing to learn the material just because they can get on their phone and get around actually improving their intellectual faculties. My classroom rules will revolve around getting students to use their tech productively and not in ways that harm their growth.
What are you going to do to keep the students focused on just their work?
-I think you have to have make your expectations clear, and have zero tolerance when they cross the boundaries. In my own experiences, I have had to confiscate tech entirely when they fail to use it productively, and will continue to do so in the goal of helping my student. I don't have a problem with computers in the classroom, but when my students are watching Dragonball Z instead of tackling the project they are very far behind on, this has to be addressed.
Icarus I think that it is interesting that you have the same issues in your lower SES school that I have in my catholic one. It makes you think that the divide isn't as large as some people think it is. Savanna, I sometimes wished I could just teach on a whiteboard. Sometimes technology can become an issue instead of being able to help. I am glad you called them "seasoned teachers" and not anything else.
ReplyDeleteJack, I think when you set up a classroom you have to gave a bit of give and take from the students. I personally know that students would much rather do a lot of things in class other than what I assign and I think that because I allow them to listen to music after the class instruction allows me to help control certain aspects of the classroom. Because I gave the students one thing that gives me something I can take away. Nothing is worse when all of the students can do one thing and that one individual can not.
I am glad I was able to post something that most people agree with. This was an interesting post because it is something that I have not thought about a great deal in my classrooms. I tend to start at the very beginning (no one has learned anything yet)and I continue to move on from that point so that everyone has the basics.