What is "Equal access to the digital world?"

[DaveC]

The topic for a course I'm teaching this week is one of the NH 610 requirements on certified teachers which simply states that in elementary education, teachers will have knowledge of how to provide equal access to the digital world.

I'm curious what this means to you. I know what it means to me, but thought it an interesting topic of conversation.

One one hand, it could mean that the teacher must physically provide access within the lesson or classroom. But would that mean it needs to extend beyond? Would an assignment (even one that isn't required to do online) that could be done online provide an unfair advantage to those without access at home?

On the other hand, it could mean knowledge, just having a car doesn't mean that you have access to the highway system, you need to know how to use it.

What does

[Lesley Edwards]

Hmm, it could mean that teachers engage their students in using both print and online resources when they are learning and researching. That they offer students choices. That they actively teach how to access and best use digital resources. I would hope that they also offer students the choice of producing both paper and digital assignments.

[coakes]

Dave, What a great question! There are many ways I see this question.
I see this as a teacher having the knowledge to provide access to the content, ie. using text to spoken word so all students can 'access' the information.
I see this as the teacher having the knowledge and management skills to offer a range of activities for all learners to access the, audio, visual and written.
I see this as teachers having the tools to offer choice for students to create their projects about the content.
More questions than answers!
Cheryl

[Bob Sprankle]

Dave,

I think a lot about the new digital divide that exists, which is more than having the tools or not having the tools. It's also about those students who are getting the proper teacher support in navigating and understanding the digital world, and those who are left to conquer it on their own, without any guidance.

From Henry Jenkin's paper, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century:”

“[Our goal is to] shift the focus of the conversation about the digital divide from questions of technological access to those of opportunities to participate and to develop the cultural competencies and social skills needed for full involvement.”

It's not in the teacher's power to provide equal access to the tools outside of the school. Teachers can provide equality by being a part of the students' journeys into the digital world with lessons that teach the necessary skills for finding and managing information, understanding ethics, and the responsibilities involved in being a digital citizen (to name a few).

[DaveC]

Thanks everyone for the input. As I mentioned, this came about as a topic of conversation in a graduate class I am teaching on integrating technology into the classroom to both in-service and pre-service teachers. While I do know what it means to me, I have never really discussed it with anyone before either. I have lead discussions, but that is guided conversations. I never really spoke to anyone to see if we're on the same page. Glad to say that I think we are.

As has been mentioned in posts, it is not providing the physical equipment, even in school, it is providing the information needed in order to be a member of a digital society. In slightly more concrete terms, in elementary/primary grades we teach many things that the students won't be doing for years to come. Yet, we are providing them the information they will need when the time comes. For example, around election time we talk about voting, the electoral college, how to become president, how to calculate percentage-off, and many other skills that will come in handy. My son is in driver's ed, I don't expect the driving school to buy him a car (although at the price they charge, they should) I expect them to teach him the rules of the road and how to act/react in a variety of situations that may arise. These are all ways of providing access to the world around us.

Providing information on how to be a member of a global society, collaborate with others, evaluate information, are all skills that are needed to succeed in the 21st century whether digitally or f2f.

Providing access to the digital world means a way of providing the background and the skills needed in order to be a productive resident in a digital world.

Just my thoughts...

[Terry Smith]

Dave, I'm on the same wavelength as Bob with Henry Jenkins' participatory culture:
**Participatory Culture is one:

1. With relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement
2. With strong support for creating and sharing one's creations with others
3. With some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices
4. Where members believe that their contributions matter
5. Where members feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created).

The access to the physical stuff is getting easier and easier but the knowing of how to "be" in the world of the physical stuff is the hard part. Howard Rheingold said the same thing somewhere - something like "it's not the have nots we should be concerned about, it's the don't knows."

I teach preservice teachers like you and also little kids - my efforts to my teachers are to get them to believe that a participatory experience for the kids - project based learning is one way - is how they should be proceeding in the classroom, blending the content with a meaningful context.

[John Elfrank-Dana]

Glad I found this thread. I also teach a pre and in-service course on media literacy and technology for grad students.

I also found the concept of "participatory culture" most useful in validation and providing some direction.

We discuss in my seminar the "new digital divide". This focuses on HOW the new media are used in schools. The lower socio-economic districts tend to use it for drill and kill in order to raise test scores. Their higher social-economic counterparts use the media for enrichment and higher order thinking.

The article his here if you are interested: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.software21sep21,1,6949097.s... (it's about five years old but, sadly, still relevant).

Cheers,

John