Educational Technology and the Digital Divide
For many students, the Internet is an amazing learning tool that has the capability to open up entire new worlds of learning for them. These students have virtually (and virtual) instant access to knowledge about almost anything they wish to learn about, and they can learn anywhere they are connected to a computer with an Internet connection. Similarly, online classes afford students a tremendous amount of flexibility. They don’t have to commute to school, they can take classes at their own pace and they can juggle busy work and school schedules. All of this has been made possible because of the Internet.
This all sounds wonderful, and it is – but there are many students who still do not have easy access to the Internet. Not all families can afford to have Internet connections in their own homes, and many adult students work full-time jobs to pay the bills, and for them an Internet connection is a luxury that they cannot yet afford. But shouldn’t these students be exactly the type of students who should have access to the Internet? The ones who are less fortunate and who need the extra help and assistance?
This situation has become known as the Digital Divide, and while it’s not a new idea, it’s becoming an increasingly important one as more and more schools require, due to No Child Left Behind, that all students be “technologically literate” before they reach the 8th grade. An 8th grader keep up with his or her peers in this department if his or her parents can’t afford to have an Internet connection at home? There are libraries, of course – but this means finding a ride to the library, which can be tough with two parents working full-time. And most public libraries don’t have enough computers to accommodate all of the students who need to use them. And most schools nowadays have computers connected to the Internet – but it’s not cheap for them to do so, and the poorest schools often don’t even have computers to begin with.
There are many good thinkers out there proposing solutions to this problem. For example, there’s a federal e-rate program on the table that would subsidize Internet access for low-income schools and for libraries. And, MIT has come up with what they call the “$100 laptop,” an attempt to make computers accessible to as many people as possible.
The Digital Divide is a problem that’s not easily solved, but it is a problem that needs to continue to be discussed – and action needs to be taken. Otherwise, our less fortunate students are going to miss the Internet wave that’s sweeping into our schools and homes.
It is scary to think that there are so many students out there that are not getting the attention they need. There has to be some way that schools can do something for those students that cannot afford to have a computer at home. In my computers in education class, we read a couple of articles about how there are schools that are providing laptops for all of their students to be able to take home. This is a great opportunity for us as teachers to get our government involved. Technology is becoming more and more important everyday. We need to make sure that our students are getting the technology experience they need in order to survive in the up and coming technology based world.