Journal #4

"Mind the Gap" by Cindy Long

The main point of this article was to bring up the issue that schools not only have achievement gaps but they also have technology gaps depending on if students have easy access to it or not. It cites several examples of how students who have easy access to technology are learning the skills that they need to go onto college. These students are "digital innovators" and have the opportunity to express themselves through various outlets using technology. On the other hand, the article also cites how students who have limited access to technology are falling behind in technology skills, thus less likely to graduate high school or consider college afterwards. The term used in the article is called the "participation gap" meaning that students with limited access to technology have fewer opportunities for them in the future. The article states that over 30 million Americans don't have a computer, which is most common in low-income and rural communities. The students of these households are falling behind in the future of technology but there are some examples cited that show promise. One of these examples such as Andrew Rasiej's NY program called mouse.org that teaches students from these low-income communities how to use and maintain computers in schools. Another example of success was teacher Brian Crosby's laptop program for his classroom. In a school where most of his students are "at risk" kids living below poverty level he focused on incorporating technology into classroom lessons. The result is that students are more likely to go to college. Other programs cited such as programs that offer low-cost broadband or free digital learning communities are all making a difference in the "participation gap".

I'm really beginning to see the importance of technology in the lives of students by reading articles like this. My thoughts on technology use before seemed like it was more of a luxury than a necessity for students but now I see what a struggle students have that don't have access to technology. I've never looked at how individuals who use cites such as YouTube and Podcasting as learning. Reading that 30 million Americans are without computers in their home astounds me! I see what a challenge this may be for teachers and for myself as a future educator to learn how make technology accessible to all of my students. Depending on the economic level of the students in classes, this may be more challenging, as they may have never learned the basics of computer use. I actually just did a classroom observation in a 5th grade classroom in Oceanside that really impressed me because of their use of technology. Like Brian Crosby's program, the school integrated laptops for all students and incorporated technology in a majority of the classroom lessons. I think that during the observation I didn't realize the importance of what the teacher was doing for all of the student in their classroom. But seeing that each student in the classroom might go home and not have the opportunities to learn on computers I now understand how important this is for the student's success later on.

Questions:
1. How could I integrate technology into my classroom? If the school I teach at supplies me with computers I would like to research programs or software that incorporate lessons from the classroom into an interactive learning experience. Sometimes you can find educational games that allow students to participate in their own learning process. This also breaks up the monotony of always lecturing students.

2. How can our government aid students that do not own computers or have Internet access at home? Like the BRAIN broadband program mentioned in this article, I believe that the government could offer reduced cost internet for students if they have computers at home or focus on having good computer labs in schools where students have access to computers and the internet for research and self-expression. If statistics show that students are more likely to go onto college if they have the technology skills needed later in life, we are only helping our country as a whole.