I have to admit that I had never spent much time really thinking about the subject of the digital divide. Since my school has a high number of free and reduced kids but also as a fair amount of middle class families, the difference in situations has always been very noticeable.Our school has spent the last several years focusing on wellness which includes helping with breakfast, snacks, and having food available for weekends. Now that we have many programs in place I think it is time to spend effort on focusing on digital inequality.
Reading these reports brought to light that the divide is much deeper than just technology. The awareness gained from the reading is invaluable. Unfortunately, many of these issues are ones we cannot focus on as educators. Many of those issues are left up to administrative policies and budgets. The National Education Technology Plan 2010 approaches issues from an angle that is completely within our reach and control as a teacher. I find myself looking at things again from the perspective of what changes I can make if I was the only one involved. The NETP report does the same. Using technology to engage learners, personalize education, improve assessment and data collection in order to drive instruction, connect teachers to other teachers to collaborate, and focus on less time in seats and more time actively learning are all things I can do. By improving the methods and approaches to teaching we can provide digital equality while the students are in school and hopefully improve their chances of reducing inequality as they become integral members of society.
I included a link to my thread if you want to view in a bigger screen. I also experimented with increasing the size of the embedded video. It looks kind of funny but it's easier to see.
Voice Thread
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