Our school district has been progressive in its incorporation of technology to enhance the education of our students. However, there will always be concern that we are not doing enough internally to decrease the digital divide of two very important populations, students and teachers. Increasing the knowledge of teachers and students in regards to technologies improves the school system internally, but also externally the digital divide that exists for these populations has a chance to decrease. Two approaches our school district could take in the near future to increase our knowledge and skills with technology are described in this document providing the benefits and disadvantages.
Considering the need for the faculty to be thoroughly educated to maximize the potential of our current technological resources and many web-based applications, establishing formal training sessions must be considered. Trainings for half-day, full-day or multiple day sessions are options associated with learning about the benefits of technologies, as well as, practicing how to use them. The type of technology, accessibility in and out of school, amount of time needed to adequately train teachers, and trainer resources will need to be researched and organized.
The benefits associated with providing adequate training of technologies for teachers are building confidence in skills to begin establishing resources, immediate use in class, critically thinking about providing for student needs, and assessing approaches to meeting state standards for subject matter. The disadvantages are scheduling professional development days, funding, volume of demand for specific technologies, and follow up on teacher development.
Considering the array of student needs associated with technology and the digital divide, gathering data regarding the inaccessibility of technology outside of school to improve the options within the school day for students must be considered. Some issues to be examined are methods of obtaining information regarding the levels of inaccessibility for all students, what inaccessibility issues can be partially remedied in school, scheduling conflicts, and staffing needs.
The benefits associated with gathering data regarding student technology accessibility outside of school are teachers gain knowledge to use as they approach educating students in and out of class, student development of skills, student ability to use technology outside of a specific class, and improved completion and quality of assignments. The disadvantages to overcome are the logistics involving space and computers, scheduling to meet minimum graduation requirements, staff scheduling or cost for more employees, and communication between staff regarding class work and the necessary technology resources.
The issues presented regarding access of technology, the digital divide and special populations must be examined to assist in enhancing our school district’s policies for technology in the school setting. In my search for knowledge regarding these topics and how they could apply to our schools, one source of a variety of reliable, research-based information was the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Further supporting information to help our district develop policies regarding the digital divide and our special populations can be found in the source documented at the end of this document.
References:
1. Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 2005. Web. 15 Oct. 2009
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