Hey, there!  I'm glad you've decided to visit my little blog.  If this is your first time here, WELCOME! If not, welcome back. So after last week's post, this question was posed: "Do you see your focus on teachers' use of tools spill over to students' meaningful use of tools?"  And my answer? Absolutely! Generally speaking, a teacher's comfort level and confidence when utilizing and demonstrating technology directly correlates (in my opinion) to a student's willingness to engage with and explore said technology. Teacher's attitudes, habits, and modeling can build an atmosphere of learning, if you will.  And that, friends, is the basis of my "Call to Action". To understand where I'm going with this, consider the figure (below) representing modified levels of the digital divide in school (Hohlfeld et al., 2008) as shared by Ritzhaupt and Hohlfeld, 2019, p. 23. 

     I firmly believe my district has done a great job of providing access to our students. We're a 1 device:1 student district and have been since the pandemic.  We initially worked with local internet providers to establish emergency connections/accessibility for students lacking those resources when we closed schools unexpectedly.  When we returned to in-person instruction, our district provided internet hot-spots for students who needed them. Our district's technology infrastructure has been updated frequently and maintained over the years so all in all, we've done a good job of covering the first level in the digital divide.  Level one, check.  Our issues, based on conversations with colleagues and students, direct observations, and my own personal experiences, begin at the "use" level- level two- and progress into the "creation"-level three-stage. I completely agree with the authors that, "...if the teachers are not trained to meaningful integrate ICT into students' instruction (e.g.,, sufficient professional development),...the Digital Divide may manifest as inequitable learning experiences with the ICT resources for the students" (Ritzhaupt and Hohlfeld, 2019, p. 24).  So what accounts for our digital short-comings?  

     Let's consider dividing factors that might be impacting our community members. Is it age? Maybe. From my own personal experiences with colleagues in my building, the younger teachers seem to be more willing to embrace and explore technology for more than just online worksheets and Zoom conferences.  Generally speaking, many older teachers are failing to keep up with changing technologies and are lacking skills and a knowledge base necessary to help students make the most of the technology they have. (Note I said "many" and not "all". There are exceptions. :-) ).  What about race, geography, socio-economic status, or gender, you might ask? Well, I'm not sure I feel comfortable making any assumptions about those factors. But age, for sure, is currently a dividing factor in our school. I have to wonder, though, if it would continue to be a factor if teachers were given adequate technology training. Professional development that actually helps build teachers' technology competencies and leads to more tech-savy teachers of all ages is imperative if we're going to help students increase their own digital successes. And that, my friends, leads me back to how we choose to use our technology and the "cans" and "cannots". 

      Our district has seemingly addressed the "haves and have nots" (level one) hurdles facing our students and now we must do something about the "cans and cannots" (level two).  We are currently falling short in our preparation of students to use technology for their personal empowerment. Thus, my "Call to Action". 

Normore, A. H., & Lahera, A. I. (Eds.). (2019). Crossing the Bridge of the Digital Divide:  A Walk with Global Leaders. IAP. ISBN:  9781641133906.

     

Ritzhaupt, A.D., & Hohlfeld, T. N. (2019). An Examination of the Digital Divide and its Dividing Factors in Formal Educational Settings.

Learning Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide-week 1

    Welcome back to my blog. I'm happy you're here!  So the Spring semester has just begun, and I find myself in the middle of another exciting opportunity to learn more about technology integration and its impact on education.  During this first block of classes, I'm enrolled in EDUC 5353 Learning Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide and it promises to stretch my thinking, for sure.                                                                                                             

     The assignment this week is to begin thinking about a "Call to Action" that will address digital inequities in our community. Our resources this week include a photo essay of sorts as well as a podcast, both of which feature the work of Nicol Turner Lee, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation. In the podcast, Dr. Lee shares her insights into the technological inequities facing America, specifically a small, rural town in Virginia. Her thoughtful musings made me consider the technological inequities that might exist within my own community. My community, for the purposes of this blog and my impending "Call to Action", will be my local school district. 

     My school district is located in an urban city nestled within the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma. The city itself boasts a population of roughly 94,000 people, of which approximately 14,000 are school-aged children enrolled in our public school system. According to statistics and information found on the "Public School Review" website, our district's (comprised of 25 schools) test scores rank in the top 50% of public schools in Oklahoma. Additionally, our district ranks in the top 20% of public school districts in Oklahoma for the most diverse schools. Per the website referenced, our district's minority enrollment is 63%.  A public statement made by our district's McKinney-Vento liaison suggests there are approximately 600 students enrolled in our district who meet the definition of "homeless" and are being served/aided through her office. I share these specifics with you to highlight what might be considered inequalities amongst our student population and to illustrate why I feel it's imperative to address the issue of technological inequities within my school district. 

     My district has done a great job of securing 1:1 devices for our students and hotspots for those who need them and providing IT assistance for parents and students during periods of remote/virtual learning such as we're currently experiencing. Therefore, physical access is not necessarily an issue. The divide, as I see it, becomes apparent as one considers how we (as teachers and facilitators of learning) are appropriating the skills and competencies necessary to facilitate said learning and assisting those students who might be on what Dr. Lee refers to in her podcast as "the wrong side of the homework gap".  Our district has invested great sums of money in purchasing many licenses for specialized sites and student learning management systems yet hasn't invested in actually helping teachers learn how to maximize the benefits of those sites and systems. Sure, our teachers got the prerequisite "Spend some time looking around the platform and playing with it yourself; email us if you have any questions" bit before being sent on our way to muddle through and learn the basics. What's missing, though, is a concerted effort to help our teachers realize the full potential of said sites and systems, and therein lies the need for my "Call to Action".

                                                                   

     If you have an interest in accessing Dr. Lee's photo essay "Closing the Digital and Economic Divides in Rural America", you can find it here: https://www.brookings.edu/longform/closing-the-digital-and-economic-divides-in-rural-america/ .  If you'd like to access the podcast featuring Dr. Lee, "Who's Left Out by America's Digital Divide", you can find it here:   https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/whos-left-out-by-americas-digital-divide/  

Until next time, Friends!