The Digital Divide

I was much happier reading the Johnston/Cooley text this week. I felt last week’s reading truly left out the notion that not every student has access to technology. It merely stated that technology should be used in the classroom and that students, for the most part, know more about technology than we do. Which may be true to some extent; however it seems that many students only know the game or fun aspect of technology, and rarely know how to use it to complete tasks for school or how to use it to aid them in learning. I feel that the main difference between students and teachers is that students are able to learn how to use technology more quickly than teachers. Obviously that is not a statement that is completely factual, but it seems that last week’s readings failed to mention the students lack awareness on how to use technology for school.

As for this week’s readings, I felt that the text truly focused in on problems with technology as opposed to being the savior of education. This is evident when Johnston/Cooley quote Boreen (2000), “that greater access to technology does not automatically mean improved achievement (44). A large issue among districts is that many administrators feel that all there needs to be done to facilitate learning for students is to purchase technology, unfortunately though they fail to realize the importance of teacher education in how to implement this new technology in the classroom. I have a perfect example that occurred in my school. My administrator, after a few years of purchasing document cameras and smart boards for the classrooms, decided to ask me whether I even wanted a Smart Board in my classroom. Reason being, she has begun to realize that not all the teachers are using the Smart boards or that they are only using them as whiteboards. I told her that I would only like one if I can first be trained on how to incorporate the Smart Board into my English classes. I understand the practicality in a science or social studies class, but English I do not see the need to have one. If my administrator had not approached me and merely just purchased it and placed it in my room, it could have been another piece of technology that went to waste. Schools need to do away with the idea of updating and upgrading simply for the purpose of updating. By stating that each classroom has a Smart Board does not mean that the district is better than another.

Johnston/Cooley make another poignant statement in regards to the affluence of the students or their families. Even though computers are prevalent in our society, we cannot make the assumption that everyone has one. Johnston/Cooley state that, “Instructional leaders must be sensitive to the fact that all students do not have equitable access to the most promising applications of information technology…the ‘digital divide,’ is associated with community demographics, age, race/ethnicity, and gender” (44). This is important to acknowledge because if teachers make it a requirement that certain assignments must be done at home using technology, what will happen to those students who are too embarrassed to speak up and admit that they do not have a computer? The use of technology is great, but it also creates a greater difficulty for those who do not have the means, to learn.

I do not what this posting to seem that I am against technology, but that is simply not the case. I love technology, I use it constantly and I cannot imagine my life without it. We just need to be sensitive to all aspects of technology in the classroom as well as at home. One last point, Johnston/Cooley as make a valid point in using technology, and it is something that I do with my students. They state, in regards to an exercise, “the students learned to critique information and authors by comparing accounts, looking at sources, and checking authenticity” (46). We as educators must teach our students how to anaylize a website for authenticity as well as for factual information. Too many times students Google something only to take the first hit as the word of God. We need to teach them how to read with purpose and how to read with a critical eye. I feel that this skill is more important now with the advent of the internet than it was fifty years ago.