The digital divide is certainly something that is prevalent in Boyne City Public Schools. One of the biggest differences for the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is access to the internet. Because many of our students live in rural areas, they simply don’t have access to wifi or internet at all. However, by implementing a system where each student has an iPad, there is less of a divide between those students who would struggle financially to provide some sort of device. One way in which our administration has worked to alleviate the issues that arise with the internet divide is by encouraging teaching staff to utilize apps that allow students to do work offline and/or online. One app that has been extremely useful for this process has been iTunes U because any document, video, podcast, photo, etc. that is downloaded on wifi can be viewed without wifi as well. This has helped us to overcome a huge hurdle of parent and student frustration about limited access to internet. We have also used apps like Pocket or Safari tools like ‘Reading List’ to help students be able to read articles when they are not connected to the internet.
BCPS also does a great job of creating equitable classroom setups for teachers. For example, every single classroom is equipped with a short-throw projector, sound field system, and Apple TV. Each teacher has a personal MacBook Air and iPad 2. By creating equitable situations, I believe the administration frees themselves from unwanted frustration because some teachers have more technology than others.
Dr. Barrons mentioned one of the largest issues in the digital divide was the lack of females in the STEM field. While I think this trend is certainly changing (I’ve heard mention that MSU offers scholarships specifically geared towards women in their engineering programs), our district certainly does not seem to be affected by this trend. Our administration have offered technology leadership positions to those people who are most qualified. In fact, of the six technology mentors in our district last year, four were women. Additionally, the two technology coaches that have worked in our district were both women.
While my technology proposal does not specifically address a gap, there are a few considerations that I now realize I need to be aware of. The first is that some teachers do not have access to the internet outside of the school day and may struggle to participate in an online learning environment. Perhaps a good option here could be providing choice - either stay for traditional after-school PD or log the hours on one’s own time.
I would agree that your schools are set up quite nicely for mass downloading before heading home to a remote area.
ReplyDeleteI've had several undergrads this summer (who are working back at home) ask for extensions because of poor connections in the UP.
Per your comment on the tech leaders, that may be because of the male:female ratio of teachers in the district. While secondary is relatively even, elementary staffs are overwhelmingly female. So, if 4/6 (2/3) of your mentors are female, it may be due to the fact that 2/3 of the staff is female, which would represent an equal ratio. It is alarming when the ratio is even slightly skewed toward males.