Providing equal access to the digital world

Providing equal access to all students: In the 1996, the U.S Secretary of Education released the nation’s first educational technology plan with one of their goals being that all students and teachers will have access to information technology in their classrooms, schools, communities and homes (ed.gov). After doing some research and finding ways to see how we as educators could provide equal access to all students I came across some statistics about how many areas in the United States actually have internet service. As of 2005, only twenty-four percent of rural Americans had broadband access, compared to thirty-nine percent of urban and suburban communities (Hawkins & Oblinger, 2006). Today, we assume everyone has a computer and internet access at home, but this is so not true. So, how can we really provide equal access to our students?

This assignment was very hard for me. The more research I did the more I thought this question was impossible to find a solution to. Then it all came to me. This isn’t so hard after all. The digital world is out there, and to provide all children equal access we have to start in the classroom. First we need to teach children what is out there and how to get access to it. Knowledge of the digit world is the key to have children all be equal when it comes to technology. We as teachers do not have to give homework that requires internet access, but if a child wants to use it than that is the students choice. What we need to do is allow each student with or without a home computer the same opportunity to learn how to use it and how to navigate on it. Just like in our technology class, we may or may not have access to computers at home, but we do in the classroom and we are all getting the same education on learning about diigo, wordle, twitter, voicethread, blogging, podcasts, wiki, nings, livemocha, and so on. So, I do believe that children from around the world can have equal access to the digital world as long as educators like ourselves are willing to teach students all about it.

References:

Hawkins, Brian & Oblinger, Diana (2006). The Myth about the Digital Divide. Educause review, vol. 41, no 4 (July/August 2006): 12 – 13. http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume41/TheMythabouttheDigitalDivide/158073

U.S Department of Education (2004). Archived: National Educational Technology Plans. Retrieved Oct 12, 2009. www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/reports/e-learning.html