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: ITEC 7430 Equitable Access Blog Entry - Digital Equity: Bridging the Digital Divide
Reflection:
This blog entry, Digital Equity: Bridging the Digital Divide, was a reflection on the disparities in digital access for today’s learners and the need to address the disparity. In this class assignment, we were asked to review research regarding the number of students who do not have the same access to digital resources away from school as their peers and possible strategies to manage this gap in availability. This blog was completed as an individual class assignment.
Standard 4.1, Digital Equity, asks that candidates be able to “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). The ability to do this lies in first recognizing the problem. Though the statistics found in the articles used in the blog post state some pretty remarkable numbers, it is also important for a teacher to understand the dynamics that exist in his or her classroom and must be assessed as soon as the teacher is able. I assessed disparities in equitable access to digital tools and resources by administering a survey to my students at the beginning of the year. It is at this point that I could research and develop strategies to address the disparities that existed among my students. Examples of technology-related best practices that I modeled and promoted in my classroom to ensure that all students had sufficient access to digital tools and resources were opening up my classroom before and after school so students could use student computer stations, encouraging collaborative practices within the classroom so students could share devices and workstations, and working with students who did not have access outside of school on a schedule and requirements that fit with their needs. Now as an instructional technology specialist I advocate for digital equity by advising administrators and teachers about technology-related best practices in addressing these needs. I offered advisement on purchasing devices that will meet the needs of the most students and having devices available for students to check out. In the future, I also hope to work with schools to make this a more common practice.
Although reviewing the research regarding disparities in digital equity and strategies for managing it was an important piece of the learning experience, it was putting what I learned into practice that was more important. Assessing the access to digital tools and resources my students had outside the home gave me a far better perspective of what my students were facing and made it more personal. Implementing best practices to meet the needs of these students proved to be a valuable learning experience.
The impact on student learning can be assessed by interviewing students throughout the year to see if the strategies are working to best meet their needs and if using the technology is helping students better master the content. The impact on faculty development and school improvement can be assessed by interviewing faculty to gauge whether teachers are making use of the suggested strategies and what kind of impact it is having on their students.
This blog entry, Digital Equity: Bridging the Digital Divide, was a reflection on the disparities in digital access for today’s learners and the need to address the disparity. In this class assignment, we were asked to review research regarding the number of students who do not have the same access to digital resources away from school as their peers and possible strategies to manage this gap in availability. This blog was completed as an individual class assignment.
Standard 4.1, Digital Equity, asks that candidates be able to “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). The ability to do this lies in first recognizing the problem. Though the statistics found in the articles used in the blog post state some pretty remarkable numbers, it is also important for a teacher to understand the dynamics that exist in his or her classroom and must be assessed as soon as the teacher is able. I assessed disparities in equitable access to digital tools and resources by administering a survey to my students at the beginning of the year. It is at this point that I could research and develop strategies to address the disparities that existed among my students. Examples of technology-related best practices that I modeled and promoted in my classroom to ensure that all students had sufficient access to digital tools and resources were opening up my classroom before and after school so students could use student computer stations, encouraging collaborative practices within the classroom so students could share devices and workstations, and working with students who did not have access outside of school on a schedule and requirements that fit with their needs. Now as an instructional technology specialist I advocate for digital equity by advising administrators and teachers about technology-related best practices in addressing these needs. I offered advisement on purchasing devices that will meet the needs of the most students and having devices available for students to check out. In the future, I also hope to work with schools to make this a more common practice.
Although reviewing the research regarding disparities in digital equity and strategies for managing it was an important piece of the learning experience, it was putting what I learned into practice that was more important. Assessing the access to digital tools and resources my students had outside the home gave me a far better perspective of what my students were facing and made it more personal. Implementing best practices to meet the needs of these students proved to be a valuable learning experience.
The impact on student learning can be assessed by interviewing students throughout the year to see if the strategies are working to best meet their needs and if using the technology is helping students better master the content. The impact on faculty development and school improvement can be assessed by interviewing faculty to gauge whether teachers are making use of the suggested strategies and what kind of impact it is having on their students.