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.