Bridging the Digital Divide

I think the internet and the world wide web are amazing technologies that allow people to expand their knowledge and connection with the rest of the world to an unprecedented and powerful degree; that is, if it is actually used for this purpose. I believe that having computers in the classrooms is extremely necessary, and that teaching students effective and efficient use of technology and digital literacy is vital for the progress of our society. I have learned so much just from my little blackberry; I am frequently in the position where I want to know something, locate some place, etc. and all I have to do is pull out my phone and look it up. I can say that much of the stuff I look up is trivial, but I am still learning new things, (even if it is just about the birth process of baby kangaroos). My point is, the internet has inspired me and enabled me to learn about whatever I want, and this is an extremely powerful notion. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people don't use technology to its full potential, even if they have it. From what I have read, the access to computers in the U.S. is exponentially increasing, and I believe that it won't be an issue for too much longer, but this is very contingent on continuance of government and private contributions and funding. Even with access, however, there is still the issues of what Jakob Nielson (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html) describes as the usability divide and the empowerment divide. It isn't enough for people to be able to afford computers; once people gain access, they don't know how to navigate or search or utilize the technology in a way that will allow them to reach maximum potential. Additionally, many people, even with access, are at low literacy levels that make much of what is on the web incomprehensible to them. What that means is that not only do we have to strive for universal accessibility, but technology education for people of all ages should also be a goal in order to bring credence to the argument that technology and the internet are a valuable and necessary asset to society. In the edutopia source I found, Executive Director of the Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, Mark Lloyd, comments on this point: "Being disconnected in the Information Age is not like being deprived of a Mercedes or some other luxury. Being disconnected means being disconnected from the economy and democratic debate." Lastly, Nielson's idea of an empowerment divide touches on the notion that people many times don't see the full potential and have not mastered the web in a way that motivates them to use it in better and more powerful ways. He specifically mentions things like participation inequalities- most people don't contribute to the networks they subscribe to very often; they do not know how to effectively and efficiently utilize search engines or understand the concept of "sponsored links;" and they often stick to a default page that came with their computer instead of picking one that better suits their needs. This gets back to being educated in technology. Which leads me to my next point....
What does this mean for me as a teacher? Well, all I can say to begin is that no matter what, I will have to work with what I am given. Ideally, I would love for my students to have access to technology; furthermore, I would love for them to have access to a technology class where they learn the ins and outs. This would make my life easier for several reasons. First, I would being able to use the internet fairly easily for assignments. There is so much information out there; so much one can learn about any particular topic. I don't want to be the only source of information for my students because I recognize the inability for any one person to be completely objective; I don't want my students to have only my perspective, I want them to learn to think for themselves. I believe this is my job as a teacher, and I think the internet can be an extremely helpful tool in accomplishing this task. I think it is more realistic to believe that a school will have more access to technology than individual students, and I would have no problem allotting time in class to internet research.
Having access to technology in my classroom/school will also give me the ability to give projects and assignments that allow students to research their own topics of interest that may stray slightly from the direct subject at hand but still promotes student learning and engagement. For example, I could have students in a government or U.S. history class pick a particular supreme court case that interests them that they must write about, or in a sociology class, have them research and write about a particular social issue that they find interesting (gender, crime, socioeconomic status, etc.). Furthermore, there are a lot of great interactive resources out there that can help our students get more engaged and motivated in learning content material.
If my classroom/school does not have great or sufficient access to technology, I will do what I can to changing that. From researching about the digital divide, I found that there are a lot of organizations and programs that work to alleviate this issue. One website I found, (http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tool_kit.html), gives a "toolkit" to bridging the gap that I found very useful. It talks about what teachers can do in their schools; some of the things included are gathering information about what is needed, and what is out there that can help; building a coalition of people to support the cause; setting goals to be accomplished; planning; and grant writing. From what I understand, sometimes teachers can rally up enough support to get a grant for technology in their classroom- this is what both the teachers I worked with in my practicums did.
If my students just simply don't have access to technology and the internet, I myself will still be using it as an asset in my teaching. It allows me to connect with teachers around the world, gain useful ideas for lesson planning and infinite amounts of resources to provide a thorough and meaningful learning experience for my students. I will not hesitate to provide printed copies of internet sources I have acquired for my students (copyright laws willing of course).


Resources

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-where-we-are-today


http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html
affordability getting better, but usability and empowerment are low.

http://news.cnet.com/2010-1071-858537.html

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/tool_kit.html