4.1 Digital Equity
Candidates model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers. (PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a)
Artifact
Reflection:
4.1 Digital Equity: Candidates model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers. (PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a)
For this artifact I provided two blogs I wrote, one addressing providing resources for ELL students and the second resource I provided discussed ways technology can be used to assist students. In each of these I wrote them after reading resources that provided great examples of how to assist students using technology. I also created a SWOT analysis which evaluates how well we use technology as well as how we address the needs of all students. I created this document using school data, surveys I created for the school and interviews with administration and faculty members.
I was able to model and promote strategies I used to create equitable access to digital tools and resources as I described how I use our schools Chromebooks to provide students classroom resources for students to use during class time, as well as before and after class times. I also referenced free wifi resources for students who don’t have the access and giving these students the same equitable access to digital tools and resources as well. I was also able to model and promote creating equitable access to technology-related best practices. Such as using NewsELA to allow students to read the same article but on their level or using chromebooks to read what is on the screen in the language of their choice. Each of these tools promote equitable access to technology-related best practices.
From this artifact I was able to learn various digital tools that would allow me to differentiate my classroom to better meet the needs of all of my students. I was able to learn about tools like NewsELA, snap and read and how to use Chromebook’s and the ways they are used to help build the content knowledge for my students. I was also able to look through the schools data and find the areas that were not addressed by teachers and subgroups that we could better assist to help improve our schools standings. To improve the quality of the SWOT I would have used more school data and recruited more teacher support to build upon the data and better understand the deficits in our school.
The work from these artifacts impacted our school improvement because it addressed the need to support our lower end subgroups in the school and finding resources to help them improve. Which directly improves student learning as we find strategies to differentiate our lessons and improve their learning by finding strategies that help all student build knowledge no matter what level. And by creating professional learning opportunities that focus on differentiation or technologies that allow for differentiation teachers lessons will also be improved. The best way to ensure that impact of these new strategies would be to see the development of scores by these students in these other subgroups.
4.1 Digital Equity: Candidates model and promote strategies for achieving equitable access to digital tools and resources and technology-related best practices for all students and teachers. (PSC 4.1/ISTE 5a)
For this artifact I provided two blogs I wrote, one addressing providing resources for ELL students and the second resource I provided discussed ways technology can be used to assist students. In each of these I wrote them after reading resources that provided great examples of how to assist students using technology. I also created a SWOT analysis which evaluates how well we use technology as well as how we address the needs of all students. I created this document using school data, surveys I created for the school and interviews with administration and faculty members.
I was able to model and promote strategies I used to create equitable access to digital tools and resources as I described how I use our schools Chromebooks to provide students classroom resources for students to use during class time, as well as before and after class times. I also referenced free wifi resources for students who don’t have the access and giving these students the same equitable access to digital tools and resources as well. I was also able to model and promote creating equitable access to technology-related best practices. Such as using NewsELA to allow students to read the same article but on their level or using chromebooks to read what is on the screen in the language of their choice. Each of these tools promote equitable access to technology-related best practices.
From this artifact I was able to learn various digital tools that would allow me to differentiate my classroom to better meet the needs of all of my students. I was able to learn about tools like NewsELA, snap and read and how to use Chromebook’s and the ways they are used to help build the content knowledge for my students. I was also able to look through the schools data and find the areas that were not addressed by teachers and subgroups that we could better assist to help improve our schools standings. To improve the quality of the SWOT I would have used more school data and recruited more teacher support to build upon the data and better understand the deficits in our school.
The work from these artifacts impacted our school improvement because it addressed the need to support our lower end subgroups in the school and finding resources to help them improve. Which directly improves student learning as we find strategies to differentiate our lessons and improve their learning by finding strategies that help all student build knowledge no matter what level. And by creating professional learning opportunities that focus on differentiation or technologies that allow for differentiation teachers lessons will also be improved. The best way to ensure that impact of these new strategies would be to see the development of scores by these students in these other subgroups.
“The App Gap”
I am asked all of the time the difference between honors students and my general education students. To me it is simple parental involvement is the biggest factor in the rate of a student’s education, but after some research it isn’t just that simple. “Community and family involvement in schools is a well-documented antecedent to student success; yet, educators often find it challenging to increase involvement with parents and members of diverse communities.” (Connecting schools, community, and family with ICT: Four-year trends related to school level and SES of public schools in Florida, Barron, Ritzhaupt, Hohlfield) Though family involvement is a crucial factor, sometimes parents can only offer so much and due to their lack of resources the student’s education suffers. In most cases the family isn’t able to afford the newest technology or the regular bills to keep up. This causes a divide between the students whom have access to the various types of technology and for those who don’t. This gives students in middle class to affluent families the ability to have experiences that those without technology can’t receive. Thus keeping the educational gap the same for students with more educational experiences tend to have better grades then students who don’t.
The best example of this is a student in my class Jose. Jose is a great student, in class he pays attention, he answers questions and turns in every assignment we have. His parents stay up to date with his grades, e-mail with concerns and are actively encouraging him to succeed in school. However he has a mid B in my class rather than an A, like many students who have many of his same attributes. The biggest reason for this would be his poor writing skills, difficulty completing any assignment using technology, and difficulties with prior knowledge to help link current material. He is the first to explain that he grew up helping raising his 3 younger siblings mainly all watching TV, while his mother worked to keep a roof over their head and a meal on the table. He said he used to never complete homework, never had internet to complete on-line assignments and though his parents cared, never had the support from home to keep him balanced. However he readily admits once his mother married his step father he was afforded the opportunity to receive resources he never thought his family would ever have in their household. He now has access to computers, internet, cell phones and various technology that in many ways is so foreign to him. But he says the ability to research and use software have really helped with his difficulties.
Situations like Jose’s are found throughout my school, where parents find themselves struggling to provide for their families, leaving their children behind in regards to technology. Many parents still push their students toward a better education, but the technological gap exists. This gap grows larger daily especially when you have generations who aren’t able to keep up with the more affluent counterparts. “This disparity is echoed in parents’ knowledge of and use of apps for their children. More than a third (38%) of lower-income parents don’t have any idea what an “app” is, compared to just 3% of higher-income parents.” (Zero to Eight, Children’s media use in America, Victoria Rideout) A continuous cycle revolves with the inability of parents to help provide the students with the resources needed to stay in touch with a technological advancing world and educational system. “The experience differences we found in this sample of students, all living in the Silicon Valley region, suggest that despite increasing levels of physical access, opportunities to participate in creative fluency-building activities are unequally distributed. Differences were tied to home access to tools, size of the non-home access network, as well as use of broader learning resources.” (Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools, Barron, Walter, Schatz, Martin)
Now with an increase in free apps, wiki’s, and resources designed to help bridge the gaps for less fortunate students is actually causing for the gaps to continue to grow. But research has shown that that schools with more affluent measures and better access to the technology have gained more from these free resources then under privileged students. In a study by Justin Reich through Harvard Graduate studies, he found in a 3 year study that students use wikispaces at more affluent schools continued to build on their website for 31 days rather than 6 days for students at the under privileged schools. They also found that: “The wiki’s made in these under privileged schools tended to provide thirty percent fewer opportunities in critical skills for the 21st century.” (Thoughts on Digital Equity, Justin Reich)
So what can we do to even the playing field? “According to the U.S. Department of Education in a study done in the Fall of 1999, 95% of schools and 63% of instructional rooms have computers and are connected to the Internet. Unfortunately, the technology is not being incorporated into the lessons depriving students and teachers of excellent Internet-based resources.” (Digital Equity in Education, Luci Nunes-Dore) Teachers need to use the resources available to them. At my high school we have the ability to check out laptops and computer labs for all of the students to use. With the use of free apps like wikispaces, google docs, or podomatic all with the ability to build the depth and breadth of classroom topics. Many schools just touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using technology in the classroom. But if students can use all of the resources to help students think critically and encourage student based learning, this would go a long way to help even the playing field.
“The Digital Equity Taskforce designed the Digital Equity Portal, an Internet portal of resources to assist teacher educators, student teachers and K–12 teachers to increase digital equity. Resources are organized around five dimensions of digital equity:
Specifically at my school we provide a library full of technology the students may use at school and some in which students can check out. Our library is open before and after school hours and allows for students to use their resources to assist those whom are without. Also our school provides free Wi-Fi for students to use with any device, many students tend to have cellphones but they don’t have internet or computer access. However many of the student’s use their cell service for all of their internet and using the school Wi-Fi helps save their data and allows them to research at faster speeds. Also many teachers have extra computer resources in their classroom, or have the ability to check out computers from our library. The school district has also purchased the rights to free technologies for students to use, such as edmodo, canvas, googledocs, all for the benefit of the students to help breath breadth and depth into each and every one of our courses.
After much deliberation I still believe that the best chances for student success are only with parental support. However I believe the second most important aspect would be the ability of the student to have access to resources and experiences that can help shape their identity of the world. These experiences can all a student to question and fill in details about topic and really broaden their depth of knowledge. However the loss of this experience can put a student at a disadvantage and playing on an uneven playing field.
Reference:
Victoria Rideout. (Fall 2011). https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/content/enforced1/699842-CO.430.ITEC7430.12252.20154/zerotoeightfinal2011.pdf?d2lSessionVal=KlS4HL2Sl0N4qke2GuBcZVVuz&ou=699842. In Zero to Eight, Children's media use
Tina N. Hohlfeld, Albert D. Ritzhaupt, Ann E. Barron. (March 2009). http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-education. In Connecting schools, community, and family with ICT: Four-year trends relatedto school level and SES of public schools in Florida. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from
Brigid Barron, Sarah E. Walter, Caitlin Kennedy Martin, Colin Schatz. (February 2009). http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-education. In Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experiencein two Silicon Valley middle schools. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from
Luci Nunes-Dore. (2007). imet.csus.edu. In Digital Equity in Edcuation. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/portfolio/nunes_luci/251/postersession/digitalequity/homepage.html.
Joy Wallace. (Winter 2002). www.ait.net. In ColloquiumResources for Increasing Digital Equity Needed . Retrieved 3/23/2015, from http://www.ait.net/technos/tq_11/4wallace.php.
Justin Reich. (November 8, 2011). youtube.com. In Dear #edtech: Thoughts on Digital Equity. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shgwTcJ9fo0.
I am asked all of the time the difference between honors students and my general education students. To me it is simple parental involvement is the biggest factor in the rate of a student’s education, but after some research it isn’t just that simple. “Community and family involvement in schools is a well-documented antecedent to student success; yet, educators often find it challenging to increase involvement with parents and members of diverse communities.” (Connecting schools, community, and family with ICT: Four-year trends related to school level and SES of public schools in Florida, Barron, Ritzhaupt, Hohlfield) Though family involvement is a crucial factor, sometimes parents can only offer so much and due to their lack of resources the student’s education suffers. In most cases the family isn’t able to afford the newest technology or the regular bills to keep up. This causes a divide between the students whom have access to the various types of technology and for those who don’t. This gives students in middle class to affluent families the ability to have experiences that those without technology can’t receive. Thus keeping the educational gap the same for students with more educational experiences tend to have better grades then students who don’t.
The best example of this is a student in my class Jose. Jose is a great student, in class he pays attention, he answers questions and turns in every assignment we have. His parents stay up to date with his grades, e-mail with concerns and are actively encouraging him to succeed in school. However he has a mid B in my class rather than an A, like many students who have many of his same attributes. The biggest reason for this would be his poor writing skills, difficulty completing any assignment using technology, and difficulties with prior knowledge to help link current material. He is the first to explain that he grew up helping raising his 3 younger siblings mainly all watching TV, while his mother worked to keep a roof over their head and a meal on the table. He said he used to never complete homework, never had internet to complete on-line assignments and though his parents cared, never had the support from home to keep him balanced. However he readily admits once his mother married his step father he was afforded the opportunity to receive resources he never thought his family would ever have in their household. He now has access to computers, internet, cell phones and various technology that in many ways is so foreign to him. But he says the ability to research and use software have really helped with his difficulties.
Situations like Jose’s are found throughout my school, where parents find themselves struggling to provide for their families, leaving their children behind in regards to technology. Many parents still push their students toward a better education, but the technological gap exists. This gap grows larger daily especially when you have generations who aren’t able to keep up with the more affluent counterparts. “This disparity is echoed in parents’ knowledge of and use of apps for their children. More than a third (38%) of lower-income parents don’t have any idea what an “app” is, compared to just 3% of higher-income parents.” (Zero to Eight, Children’s media use in America, Victoria Rideout) A continuous cycle revolves with the inability of parents to help provide the students with the resources needed to stay in touch with a technological advancing world and educational system. “The experience differences we found in this sample of students, all living in the Silicon Valley region, suggest that despite increasing levels of physical access, opportunities to participate in creative fluency-building activities are unequally distributed. Differences were tied to home access to tools, size of the non-home access network, as well as use of broader learning resources.” (Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools, Barron, Walter, Schatz, Martin)
Now with an increase in free apps, wiki’s, and resources designed to help bridge the gaps for less fortunate students is actually causing for the gaps to continue to grow. But research has shown that that schools with more affluent measures and better access to the technology have gained more from these free resources then under privileged students. In a study by Justin Reich through Harvard Graduate studies, he found in a 3 year study that students use wikispaces at more affluent schools continued to build on their website for 31 days rather than 6 days for students at the under privileged schools. They also found that: “The wiki’s made in these under privileged schools tended to provide thirty percent fewer opportunities in critical skills for the 21st century.” (Thoughts on Digital Equity, Justin Reich)
So what can we do to even the playing field? “According to the U.S. Department of Education in a study done in the Fall of 1999, 95% of schools and 63% of instructional rooms have computers and are connected to the Internet. Unfortunately, the technology is not being incorporated into the lessons depriving students and teachers of excellent Internet-based resources.” (Digital Equity in Education, Luci Nunes-Dore) Teachers need to use the resources available to them. At my high school we have the ability to check out laptops and computer labs for all of the students to use. With the use of free apps like wikispaces, google docs, or podomatic all with the ability to build the depth and breadth of classroom topics. Many schools just touch the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using technology in the classroom. But if students can use all of the resources to help students think critically and encourage student based learning, this would go a long way to help even the playing field.
“The Digital Equity Taskforce designed the Digital Equity Portal, an Internet portal of resources to assist teacher educators, student teachers and K–12 teachers to increase digital equity. Resources are organized around five dimensions of digital equity:
- Content creation
- Cultural relevance
- Effective use
- Quality content
- Technology resources
Specifically at my school we provide a library full of technology the students may use at school and some in which students can check out. Our library is open before and after school hours and allows for students to use their resources to assist those whom are without. Also our school provides free Wi-Fi for students to use with any device, many students tend to have cellphones but they don’t have internet or computer access. However many of the student’s use their cell service for all of their internet and using the school Wi-Fi helps save their data and allows them to research at faster speeds. Also many teachers have extra computer resources in their classroom, or have the ability to check out computers from our library. The school district has also purchased the rights to free technologies for students to use, such as edmodo, canvas, googledocs, all for the benefit of the students to help breath breadth and depth into each and every one of our courses.
After much deliberation I still believe that the best chances for student success are only with parental support. However I believe the second most important aspect would be the ability of the student to have access to resources and experiences that can help shape their identity of the world. These experiences can all a student to question and fill in details about topic and really broaden their depth of knowledge. However the loss of this experience can put a student at a disadvantage and playing on an uneven playing field.
Reference:
Victoria Rideout. (Fall 2011). https://kennesaw.view.usg.edu/content/enforced1/699842-CO.430.ITEC7430.12252.20154/zerotoeightfinal2011.pdf?d2lSessionVal=KlS4HL2Sl0N4qke2GuBcZVVuz&ou=699842. In Zero to Eight, Children's media use
Tina N. Hohlfeld, Albert D. Ritzhaupt, Ann E. Barron. (March 2009). http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-education. In Connecting schools, community, and family with ICT: Four-year trends relatedto school level and SES of public schools in Florida. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from
Brigid Barron, Sarah E. Walter, Caitlin Kennedy Martin, Colin Schatz. (February 2009). http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-education. In Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experiencein two Silicon Valley middle schools. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from
Luci Nunes-Dore. (2007). imet.csus.edu. In Digital Equity in Edcuation. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/portfolio/nunes_luci/251/postersession/digitalequity/homepage.html.
Joy Wallace. (Winter 2002). www.ait.net. In ColloquiumResources for Increasing Digital Equity Needed . Retrieved 3/23/2015, from http://www.ait.net/technos/tq_11/4wallace.php.
Justin Reich. (November 8, 2011). youtube.com. In Dear #edtech: Thoughts on Digital Equity. Retrieved 3/23/2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shgwTcJ9fo0.