Digital Divide Essay

Imagine you are at the Super Bowl to cheer on your favorite team in competition. As they march onto the field you and everyone in attendance jump to their feet with a deafening roar. However, as your team lines up you notice that they are not wearing any equipment, not one piece. How would you expect to compete against the other team who has the necessary pads, shoes, and protective gear needed for this game? When we do not address the issue of digital divide in schools and districts we are doing this very same scenario with our children’s education. Gone are the days of factory workers replaced by researchers, computer programmers, and scientists. The jobs of the 21st century are going to require critical thinking and problem solving,

Department of Commerce in the 1990’s. They used this term to “describe the haves and have-nots who did, or did not, have access to technology, particular high-quality technology” (Krogh, Fielstein, Philps & Newman, 2015, 7.4, ph. 5). For teachers and school districts it is the ability to provide every student with the proper technology for their education. However, over the past couple of years the divide has gotten very narrow. One of the factors of the divide comes from teachers who are given training on a program or new equipment, but are not comfortable with using it; “This divide in teachers ' abilities can affect students” (Krogh, Fielstein, Philps & Newman, 2015, 7.4, ph. 8). If a teacher is not comfortable with the program or new technology, how can they teach their students to use it or effectively teach a lesson with the new technology? Another divide comes from low-income families who do not have their own computer or the technology required for working away from school. These students could fall behind in their studies without the technology available to them. Another divisional problem for low-income schools is the availability of the computers or even having enough for everyone to use. In some schools computers are kept locked up and it takes up a large portion of class time signing into the lab leaving very little time for

If the devices are tablets or laptops then a good contract between the school, student and parent will allow the student to check out the device for the school year allowing them access outside of school. Teachers can also encourage families to donate their old devices and computers to their schools making it a tax deduction. The old devices can be wiped clean and reset so they can be used in classrooms and labs giving the school additional units at no cost to them. Many schools are turning to alumni to donate or help raise the funds necessary to provide children with the technology they need to learn and succeed in this new