December 15th Questions

1.  I believe that, yes, the digital divide does exist in my school.  Approximately 20% of my 8th graders say they do not have access to the Internet at home.  More than that have access at one parent's home but not at the other.  This is clearly a problem when they are trying to work consistently on a project for class.  One of the ways we attempt to remedy the problem is to have numerous computers available after school for students.  One member of our team stays after every day of the week, and we all have computers in our rooms.  Additionally, the library is open with 19 computers for student use.  One of the other unfortunate things that has been done to remedy the problem is to never assign projects that must be completed on a computer unless enough time can be spent in the computer lab during class.  Trying to get everyone time in the lab is often such a frustrating task that I shy away from assignments that require the use of computers so that I can use my class time teaching instead of monitoring typing.

2.  I think it is important to try to help students bridge the digital divide by providing exposure to technologies.  I know that I just stated above that I shy away from this, so I am guilty of hypocrisy here, but exposure is the only way to chip away at the divide.  I would like our district to give every student in our middle school an e-mail address, so they can have more access to the blogs, etc. on our web-sites.  This idea has yet to get approved.  Group work is a good way to make use of the computers in my classroom and to get students helping each other become more proficient using certain programs. 

3.  I think that I have a great deal of responsibility as an educator to bring learning experiences involving technology into my classroom.  My students know a lot about some technology, but they are not well-versed in academic technology, and this will hold them back in high school and college.  We must prepare them now so they are ready to compete at the same level as their peers.  I honestly think that I have been shirking my responsibilities in this area.  After taking this course and learning from my peers about how many amazing programs are out there, I realize that I am woefully uninformed about the technology that can help my students.  I am going to commit myself to learning at least one of these programs each semester in order to more fully prepare my students for high school.