K Bechtel

Digital technology certainly improves the level of equity in so many different aspects.  First of all, technology completely removes any or all barriers to accessing people and places that can complement any student’s learning experience.  For example, when studying a unit on the solar system, students can talk to a real live astronaut.  When doing math homework at home, students can access live help with any number of math help sites.  When learning to speak another language, students can partner up with another student whose native language is the same one they are studying.  This goes back to the discussion we had about the “thin walled classrooms”.  Technology is making the world smaller and in turn, making students think about their own being as part of a global society.  Education is no longer what happens in our classrooms, but is provided and readily available to anyone at anytime.  That is anyone with access.  Which brings me to how technology hampers the level of equity.

The digital divide can be explained in two parts:  those with access and those without as well as opportunities provided via technology that create or impede the learning process.  Let’s first look at those without access.  This certainly hampers the level of equity.  Students without access at home certainly cannot take advantage of opportunities afforded to them if they had access.  They would not be part of that educational network and their learning would be confined to the classroom.  I would also mention schools that do not have access here, but research shows that nearly 99% of all schools are wired for technology access (http://www.ericdigests.org/2005-2/reflection.html).    So that point is irrelevant, unless we widen our discussion to education outside of the U.S. 

Now let’s look at those missed opportunities.  I’m talking about resources here, and yes, I’m including teachers.  Students in classrooms with technological savvy teachers are at an advantage over students of teachers that use very little or no technology as part of their instructional methods.  They are seeing technology in use, have access to it, made aware of the capabilities, and lowering their inhibitions with technology use.  These teachers are considered to be in the reaffirmation or rejection stage of technology adoption according to L. Sherry (http://thejournal.com/articles/14594).   Now I didn’t say their achievement level was higher or lower than students in a classroom that uses little or no technology.   I’m not really sure if there is research to support either of these judgements.  However, students in the low technology use classrooms are not seeing the benefits of technology, the opportunities created with technology, or improving their own skills at using technology.  Teachers in those classrooms are considered to be in the learning or adopting stage of development.  Two classes next door to each other could be providing their students vastly different educational opportunities depending solely on the level of technology experience knowledge of the teachers.  Thus the divide continues.  This may or may not be due to factors outside the control of the student.  Students in both classes may have the same levels of diversity in terms of gender, race, background, language, etc. but the differences in educational opportunities provided by information and communication technologies is determined by the comfort level and experience with technology of the teacher.  Which classroom would you want your child to be in?

When we think about the lack of technology adoption among different groups of people, you should be reminded of the groups own experience with technology.  Technology is not used among people for many different reasons including low motivation because they see no benefit from doing so, lack of interest, lack of affordability, lack of knowledge and experience with technology, insecure and uncomfortable about the uses of technology, and lack of support (http://www.rockresearch.com/success_pubart_ntrs.php).  Many of these reasons among adults for not using technology could be avoided if students are in classrooms where technology is being used.