|
Implications of the Digital Divide for Education |
|
Purpose: This presentation was produced in collaboration with Scotty Auble of iMET One. We designed it to share information about the digital divide with an audience such as our respective faculty members. Scotty and I never did meet face-to-face. We used e-mail and the Tapped In to brainstorm, discuss, and produce this artifact. Audience: We did this while we both were making up a class over the summer so we didn't get to present it to out cohorts. Mike Mechaca was our sole audience member. Scotty and I presented it to him via Tapped In. This would be a useful and interesting presentation for a teaching staff or parent group. Feedback: -Clear definition of the problem and surrounding issues. You were very thorough in examining programs offering possible solutions. -Coherent design, very clean -Your work blended nicely; good cooperation! -Well-organized -Some slides would benefit from charts/graphs to supplement the text Reflections: Looking back, I'd be curious to know what the numbers look like now. I'd bet the divide is even greater. School continues to be hit-or-miss in addressing the problem. Even in schools with proper funding for enough computers, there's too much of what Jamie McKenzie calls "screensaver's disease". Computers are not being used in ways that will empower economically disadvantaged students. Drill and practice programs, Reading/Math Renaissance quizzing, and trivial pursuit under the guise of topical research are not getting it done.
I'm still amazed at how easy it was to collaborate even though Scotty was in Tahoe and I was in Roseville. Boy, those technology tools really do break down walls, don't they? iMET had prepared us well; we jumped on Tapped In to define the task, divvy up the work, share our progress, and tie it all together. I was glad to have this experience because this is how I hope my students will work.
|
|