This short video helps to explain the "digital divide" and the impact it has on today's society.
As a leader in educational technology, what can you do to help make emerging technologies valuable to others, while maintaining gender, cultural, and socioeconomic sensitivity?
As I watched the vodcast by Dr. David Thornburg about addressing the digital divide, I could think about my past years as an educator and if I had addressed any of these issues with fidelity.
In the early part of my teaching career I taught in a modest school that had a high rate of free and reduced lunch and minority population. These students mostly came from broken homes and had little time and respect for the learning process due to their circumstances at home. It was in these early years of my career that technology was slowly making an impact in schools and the practical applications were far from in the teacher's hands. Many people questioned my methods when integrating computers into my lessons or putting them in the hands of my students rather than sitting idly on my desk.
At that time, and now, I feel it is my job as an educator to provide the best learning environment for my students. If that meant that my one computer in my classroom was it, then I made sure that each child had an opportunity to experience all it had to offer. It was amazing to see the value of these lessons when students could use a tool that was far from ever being in their hands at home. Today, I teach in a different area with a different group of students. Although computers are more prevalent in homes today, there are still students that do not have one or many that don't know how to use them as a learning tool. Dr. David Thornburg made a powerful statement in his vodcast, "It’s always important to be thinking about other people and how they might be using these tools." I take this into consideration with every project I develop and the opportunities that it will bring to my classrooms. I also try and promote this way of thinking about technology integration with my colleagues, many who still see "those things" as a nuisance and waste of time.
It is vital in today's digital world that we expose our students to all that the world had to offer and to make those experiences full-filling and meaningful to them as students and people. So know as I reflect upon my post and think about all the years I have tried to integrate technology I can honestly say that I have helped to make emerging technologies valuable to others, while maintaining gender, cultural, and socioeconomic sensitivity.
And will be something I continue to do throughout the rest of my career.
For more information about the digital divide please look at these resources:
http://www.digitaldivide.org/
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-where-we-are-today
http://www.digitaldivide.org/
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-divide-where-we-are-today
Reference:
Thornburg, D. (2009). Diversity and globalism. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2010 from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=5828341&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Good point you mention that we have to keep asking ourselves how are others using the technology. In order to be sensitive to to others, we have to put ourselves in their shoes. Think like they would think and idenitfy what they think is imporant and how they can or would use the technology.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good post. I have some students that do not have a computer at home, but they are able to go to lab and get their work done. We have to learn the different technology that comes out that will benefit and help our students.
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