In this era of No Child Left Behind and high stakes testing, the digital divide between the “haves” and “have not’s” has gotten greater. As the country became primarily focused on academic achievement through prescribed scores, lost due to rote memorization and an emphasis on fragmented pieces of knowledge was learning and how to apply what is learned to access the world. The most glaring loss however was the integration and utilization of technology to assists learning. While No Child Left Behind legislation was being crafted, absent from the legislation was the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience to reflect the needs of the global economy.
Understanding this oversight and the need to reduce the digital divide, the Obama administration has begun an initiative to provide families with affordable access to the internet. With a third of American homes not having the internet, the federal government partnered with internet providers and non-profit agencies to develop “Connect to Compete.” Connect to Compete is a national pilot program whose mission is to provide low cost internet at $9.95 per month and $150 laptops to families who are eligible for free and reduced school lunches[i].
In this current global economy, this initiative could provide a huge boost to significantly reducing the digital divide. Providing affordable internet and laptops to income eligible families gives them access to the global economy. However for public education, we may finally see the integration and utilization of technology that is occurring in private schools and wealthier districts.
In private schools and wealthier districts, technology is integrated into the teaching and learning experience. Teachers utilize the internet to post classroom assignments, notes, schedules and other class related materials for students and parents to access from their home computers. Students can submit assignments to teachers, submit questions, and view their grades. However, a majority of public school students do not have this opportunity due to several barriers.
The lack of internet and a computer in the home is one of the barriers facing many public school students. Compounding this problem is that most public school districts have not developed the systems to integrate technology into the teaching and learning experience. With all of the needs of a public school district, integrating technology into the curriculum to prepare students for the global economy is a low priority when there are infrastructure, staffing, and other needs to be addressed. Since most public school districts do not have the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience as part of their district wide strategic plan, having access to the internet will partially address the mission of Connect to Compete.
In order for Connect to Compete to fulfill its mission of providing income eligible families with access to affordable internet and laptops to decrease the digital divide and to provide access to the global economy, public school districts will have to do their part to support this initiative.
Having access to affordable internet is not enough to prepare and compete in the global economy. Students in poorer districts need to be taught how to utilize the internet as their counterparts in wealthier districts and private schools provide to their students. This can only be accomplished if public school districts place in their strategic plan the integration of technology into the teaching and learning experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment