Digital Divide Post

From reading these articles it is pretty clear that there is in fact a rather large digital divide. Mostly it is between different socio-economic populations and genders. These articles have brought up the clear point that not everyone has the same access to technology, therefore having different levels of knowledge. Also, that girls are often less knowledgeable in digital technology when compared to boys. The Digital Equity article brings up issues of how technology is used in the classroom and how it makes learning for students enhanced and more enjoyable and interesting for them Unfortunately, in urban and lower income cities digital technology is not as readily available for students either at home or at school because of low budgets. That right there is the divide between higher income and lower income school districts. As for us educators it means that if we work in a lower income school district we wont have the resources to allow our students to use to enhance their education. Educators in higher income districts will have an abundance of resources for technology use and can be assured that most students have access to technology at home. This gives them freedom to be more creative with lessons and assignments that might be more tech savvy and therefore more interesting for students and therefore enhance their learning. The other articles discussed the No Child Left Behind Act and the Gender Differences within technology use. In discussing the NCLBA it was brought up that technology is sometimes forced onto students because it is said that doing programs will up test scores on standardized assessments. Solutions to the digital divide are definitely needed and definitely difficult to come up with but I think first and foremost people should try to get students access to technology. Hold fundraisers, enter competitions...there are many ways to go about getting resources for schools. I also think that there needs to be a medium of using technology in school and for assignments.