Digital Divide...What a Tangled Web We Weave!

A digital divide is the inequality associated with the have and have nots.  This have and have not situation arises when groups of people, for reasons associated with race, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, etc, do not have equal access to the hardware and software associated with technology.  Providing access and training to technology is a growing concern for schools today when preparing students for life after school, but it is a tricky and sticky situation with how to close the divide and heal the gap. 

The 21st century is that of the computer or technology age.  Students graduating from our institutions will be required in greater and greater amounts to become increasingly more familiar with a never-ending stream of technologies that exist or will exist.  As educators, this is something that we will face when preparing students for the "real world".  This technical education is faced with some serious issues.  In our current educational system, our student come from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of personal situations.  This directly affects their access to technology.  There are some students who have personal access to some form or another and yet others do not.  This access challenge is a very real concern in the discussion of how to best prepare our students.  Schools understand the importance of access to technology, but many will struggle to make it happen.  First of all, technology is expensive and many schools do not have the funding options.  Secondly, those that have made the investment will have infrastructure issues with servers and equipment.  Finally, teacher preparation. 

1. Technology is expensive.  Many times schools are reliant on tax base to run their schools, but the increasing costs associated with being technologically up-to-date leaves schools in a financial short-fall.  
2. For many schools that make the investment, infrastructure is a real concern.  The more computers the more associated costs with networking and servers.  Technology has many associated costs that people fail to consider.  Most old buildings are wired for the increased electrical usage, it requires more servers and server space, Internet service and speed must be maintained, and software must be constantly monitored and updated for maximum potential.
3. Teacher training is a large area of concern.  Having technology is one thing, but proper implementation will make or break a schools investment into the technology for their students.  Closing the digital divide is just as much about teaching students how to use technology as it is providing the access to it.  Teachers must be able to teach students how to use technology effectively as a research and analysis tool.  Technology is for much more than word processing and presentations these days.   

This tangled web of challenges is a very serious concern for schools.  It seems that with one issue come many other attached or entangled issues.  Many schools in Iowa, like my own, have decided to help students with their access issues by going 1:1 with computers for their students.  This is one way to address the hardware aspect of the divide, but it must go hand in hand with preparation.  Schools need to invest in training their teachers on effective implementation if the hardware is going to work.  Especially in lower socioeconomic areas where teacher experience and quality is lower, extra effort must be given to helping them use technology as an effective tool.  Our school has spent a lot of extra time in professional development with the technology prior to giving it to students as a way for the teachers to understand how the technology work and how to maximize its usage.