Balancing the Digital Divide

Please follow this link to see this video animation: http://youtu.be/jsfHUWgAgCU

As educators we are dedicated to support all learners in reaching his or her full potential. Preparing our young students to meet the demands of the 21^st century includes the “Four C’s”: critical thinking skills, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Content mastery alone will not prepare our youth for success. All learners must achieve proficient use of technology, and provided strategies that ensure students are learning in meaningful contexts. As the global economy expands so does our global society. It is imperative that our schools, our districts, and our states take all steps necessary to build in teaching practices and educational foundations that connect learning to real life (“An Educator’s Guide to the Four C’s”, n.d.).

If we apply this rationale to students across the globe we know that there is a great digital divide between those who will be prepared, and those who face many obstacles in simply being provided with a basic education. Imagine the world in a miniature view. That is to say that instead of billions of people, our statistics could be factored into the by products and demographics distributed among 100 people. The video “State of the Village Report” from Miniature-earth.com did exactly that.

For the sake of comparison, let us conclude that there are 100 people on the planet Earth. If we are to reduce the Earth’s population to 100 here are a few of the startling statistics:

• 6 people in 59% own the entire wealth of a community
• If you have a bank account you are one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world.
• Four out of 10 people cannot read.
• Only seven people out of 100 are educated on a secondary level.
• 25 struggle to live on $1.00 (U.S.) per day
• $181,000.  (U.S. dollars) are spent on weapons and warfare

These statistics are staggering. For a moment, let’s consider that four people in 100 have an Internet connection. As educators we are compelled to build the bridges toward our collective future. How can we build the bridge across digital divide? Considering that sixteen out of 100 people live without an improved water source this goal of interconnectivity seems quite lofty. Yes, the digital divide is wide, indeed (“State Of The Village Report”, n.d.).

It is hard to imagine that some children have no access to technology what so ever, while others are connected 24/7. It is clear that the use of technology is unbalanced amongst the youth of the world. An Edutopia video documentary of mothers discussing their kids’ digital lives reveals the following:

• One of the biggest obstacles in educating the digital generation seems to be balance.
•  Getting kids outdoors, and away from technology takes a great deal of effort.
•  Students need to know how to transfer what they have learned inside of the classroom, and apply it into life situations. 
•  As a parent there’s a balance between micromanaging, and opening the world up for them. It is so all encompassing that if you stand back too far they’ll get lost.
• The laptops are simply a modern tool for learning, just as much as a pen or a notebook would have been for me in the 60’s or 70’s (“Mothers Discuss Their Kids’ Digital Lives”, n.d.).

            As we look forward into what the definition of a global society means, we must first acknowledge that we are connected to each other on the most primary of levels. The digital divide may be bridged through interpersonal skills and compassion for humanity. Here are some active steps that teacher leaders can make toward creating a global society:

• As educational leaders you must gain entrance into the lives of the students that you may positively influence.
• Educators must gain experiences within “their world”. 
• We need to humble ourselves to understand that we are looking to the digital generation for their advice. 
• As educators we need to understand what activities to put into place that will pique their interest.
• When we know what will inspire their learning we are in a position to deliver tools that will allow them to begin to develop a core set of skills around the use of media and a wide array of technological tools (“Educating The Digital Generation”, n.d.). 

Teacher leadership in a global society requires the educator to take a multi-cultural perspective. Teacher leaders are empowered to cause the shift that will open the walls of the classroom to the world. Educational reforms on national, state, and local levels must identify and explore innovative digital technologies with the following goals for a global society in mind:

• Develop the next generation of educational technology leaders. 
• Prepare K-12 teachers to effectively integrate technology in their content areas.
• Develop, implement, and assess methods and materials to help teacher educators and teachers appropriately integrate educational technologies into their teaching.
• Assist corporate partners in developing hardware and software for K-12 education.
• Implement state and national policies related to integration of technology in the teacher preparation process.

Conclusion

To quote John Dewey, “ School should be less about preparation for life and more about life itself.” In conclusion, as the world becomes our classroom educators must keep in mind inclusion of all learners, and the importance of depth over breadth of coverage (Bransford, J., Brown, A., and Cocking, R., eds. 2000). Service learning opportunities must be put into practice to enable teacher leaders to build bridges across the digital divide. Learning environments, curriculum, instruction, and inclusion are the basis that supports innovative learning that will enable students to build life and career skills to sustain them and allow them to thrive. Deep understanding of a subject, combined with collaboration of shared ideas will ultimately lead to solutions to the issues that face our global society.

When we invite the world into our classrooms, we foster a kind of global awareness and positioning of the world. “An awareness is stimulated when students connect and collaborate with students and experts in other countries and on other continents” (Laurence Peters, Global Education, 2009, p.2). All of these factors, in essence, are the definition of our global society.

References

An Educator’s Guide to the Four C’s. (n.d.) Retrieved from
            http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/A-Guide-to-Four-Cs.pdf

Bransford, J., Brown, A., and Cocking, R., eds. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind,
          experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (2000). The social life of information. Boston, Massachusetts:
          Harvard Business School Press.

Building 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from    http://route21.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=2

Educating the Digital Generation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-
           generation-teachers-video

Friedman, T. J. (2007). The world is flat: a brief history of the twenty-first century. New
          York, New York: Picador.

Jukes, Ian., McCain, T., & Crockett, L. (2010). Understanding the digital generation . 
          Kelowna , BC, Canada: 21st Century Fluency Project.

Mothers Discuss Their Kids’ Digital Lives”. (n.d.). Retrieved from
          http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-parents-discussion-video

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Retrieved from
          http://route21.p21.org/images/stories/epapers/skills_foundations_final.pdf

Peters, L. (2009). Global education: using technology to bring the world to your
          students. Eugene, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education.

State of the Village Report. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.miniature-earth.com

Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills, learning for life in our times. San
            Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.