4.1 Digital Equity
Candidates model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers. (PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a)
Artifact: Equitable Access Blog Post
Reflection:
Throughout the course of ITEC 7430, I was asked to add entries to my portfolio blog about various topics concerning instructional technology. One of the topics I covered in an entry entitled “Narrowing the Digital Divide” centered on the issue of equitable access. In this blog post, I discussed the “digital divide” as it applies to both physical access to digital media such as computers, smart phones, tablets, etc. as well as the quality and sophistication of tasks with which these devices are being used among various groups of students.
This artifact demonstrates my ability to model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources as it includes a discussion of specific ideas for overcoming inequitable access to these tools and resources. For example, I explain that most schools have resources at their disposal to allow students to check out equipment, such as laptops or iPads, to bring home to ensure equitable access for online homework assignments. Schools can also ensure equitable access to digital tools and resources during class time by having strategies such as a dedicated class set of resources and tools for all students, a cart checkout reservation system, or having rotating centers so that all students can have equitable access to these digital tools and resources. For schools that implement “Bring Your Own Technology” (BYOT), schools can assure equitable access for students who may not have their own devices by allowing students to “check out” supplemental devices for use both in class and at home. This artifact also demonstrates my ability to model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to technology-related best practices as it includes a discussion of specific ideas for overcoming this inequitable access as well. For example, I explain that schools can make a more conscious effort to give students more in-depth experiences with technology, no matter the subject or class make-up. This might start by providing professional development for all teachers regardless of their students’ income, gender, or achievement. I also examine possible reasons for this inequitable access so that teachers may become more aware of what this type of inequity looks like and thus more conscientious about the problem. For example, I quote Barron et al. (2010) to explain that while students of low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds may have spent more time on computers in Math and English courses for drill activities, students of higher SES backgrounds use computers in courses like Science for more advanced computational tasks like simulation and research (p. 179). Lastly, I explain that schools can offer outreach to parents, families, and the community to educate the larger population about technology use and its important impact on the success of these students living in a digital age in order to help conquer the “digital divide.” I could further promote and model these strategies by emailing this specific blog post to colleagues, discussing the blog post and its discussed strategies during faculty meetings and PLC meetings, and linking this blog post to my own classroom blog.
Before conducting the research to complete this blog post, I had heard of the “digital divide” but assumed it only referred to students’ inequitable access to the physical tools and equipment as a result of disparate family income and SES. I quickly learned, however, that this is actually becoming less of a concern than the inequitable access to quality instruction with technology. This inequitable access, I learned, could be rooted in several other factors besides just school or family income, such as students’ achievement and ability levels, the content being taught, and even students’ gender. To improve this blog post, I could have conducted more research about effective strategies for overcoming the “digital divide” instead of just research focusing on its seriousness or its cause. Although I tried to develop my own strategies for overcoming this inequity, my blog post would have been much more useful had I included these research-based strategies.
If shared and discussed, this blog post could have an impact on faculty development as it could be used to help teachers understand not only the reasons for inequitable access in their classrooms, but also possible solutions to help overcome this inequity. This impact could be assessed by comparing anecdotal data from walkthroughs and observations about the prevalence of digital equality both before and after the discussion of this post. This blog post could then in turn have an impact on student achievement, as it would likely lead to more equitable access to digital tools and resources as well as technology-related best practices in the classroom for all students, thus increasing their access to technology and improving their academic achievement. The impact on student learning could be measured by comparing student achievement data before and after the discussion of this blog post.
Barron, B., Walter, S., Martin, C., & Schatz, C. (2010). Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools. Computers & Education, 54, pp. 178-189.
Throughout the course of ITEC 7430, I was asked to add entries to my portfolio blog about various topics concerning instructional technology. One of the topics I covered in an entry entitled “Narrowing the Digital Divide” centered on the issue of equitable access. In this blog post, I discussed the “digital divide” as it applies to both physical access to digital media such as computers, smart phones, tablets, etc. as well as the quality and sophistication of tasks with which these devices are being used among various groups of students.
This artifact demonstrates my ability to model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources as it includes a discussion of specific ideas for overcoming inequitable access to these tools and resources. For example, I explain that most schools have resources at their disposal to allow students to check out equipment, such as laptops or iPads, to bring home to ensure equitable access for online homework assignments. Schools can also ensure equitable access to digital tools and resources during class time by having strategies such as a dedicated class set of resources and tools for all students, a cart checkout reservation system, or having rotating centers so that all students can have equitable access to these digital tools and resources. For schools that implement “Bring Your Own Technology” (BYOT), schools can assure equitable access for students who may not have their own devices by allowing students to “check out” supplemental devices for use both in class and at home. This artifact also demonstrates my ability to model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to technology-related best practices as it includes a discussion of specific ideas for overcoming this inequitable access as well. For example, I explain that schools can make a more conscious effort to give students more in-depth experiences with technology, no matter the subject or class make-up. This might start by providing professional development for all teachers regardless of their students’ income, gender, or achievement. I also examine possible reasons for this inequitable access so that teachers may become more aware of what this type of inequity looks like and thus more conscientious about the problem. For example, I quote Barron et al. (2010) to explain that while students of low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds may have spent more time on computers in Math and English courses for drill activities, students of higher SES backgrounds use computers in courses like Science for more advanced computational tasks like simulation and research (p. 179). Lastly, I explain that schools can offer outreach to parents, families, and the community to educate the larger population about technology use and its important impact on the success of these students living in a digital age in order to help conquer the “digital divide.” I could further promote and model these strategies by emailing this specific blog post to colleagues, discussing the blog post and its discussed strategies during faculty meetings and PLC meetings, and linking this blog post to my own classroom blog.
Before conducting the research to complete this blog post, I had heard of the “digital divide” but assumed it only referred to students’ inequitable access to the physical tools and equipment as a result of disparate family income and SES. I quickly learned, however, that this is actually becoming less of a concern than the inequitable access to quality instruction with technology. This inequitable access, I learned, could be rooted in several other factors besides just school or family income, such as students’ achievement and ability levels, the content being taught, and even students’ gender. To improve this blog post, I could have conducted more research about effective strategies for overcoming the “digital divide” instead of just research focusing on its seriousness or its cause. Although I tried to develop my own strategies for overcoming this inequity, my blog post would have been much more useful had I included these research-based strategies.
If shared and discussed, this blog post could have an impact on faculty development as it could be used to help teachers understand not only the reasons for inequitable access in their classrooms, but also possible solutions to help overcome this inequity. This impact could be assessed by comparing anecdotal data from walkthroughs and observations about the prevalence of digital equality both before and after the discussion of this post. This blog post could then in turn have an impact on student achievement, as it would likely lead to more equitable access to digital tools and resources as well as technology-related best practices in the classroom for all students, thus increasing their access to technology and improving their academic achievement. The impact on student learning could be measured by comparing student achievement data before and after the discussion of this blog post.
Barron, B., Walter, S., Martin, C., & Schatz, C. (2010). Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools. Computers & Education, 54, pp. 178-189.