EDCU-5353
Week 2 Blog
Technology
integration within the classroom has enhanced curriculum instructions and has transformed
teaching and learning within the district; however, ethnicity, socio-economic
status, language and cultural barriers, access to home technologies, and internet
connection are the dividing factors impacting the community members. This has resulted in the inequity of digital
access and usage for students and their families.
The
COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all stakeholders of education and other
community members, which catapulted the populace to become digitalized. This
has resulted in a number of challenges that negatively impact students'
academic performances because of learning loss. Some students are performing below
their grade level because their families are from low socioeconomic backgrounds,
hence putting them at a disadvantage in purchasing digital equipment and having
a sustainable data plan at their homes for their children to have for completion
of assignments and access other learning platforms to improve their academic skills.
Digital
education has also impacted parents, especially those who are from diverse
cultural backgrounds and the ageable, due to their inability to maneuver all
digital communications, registration forms, access reports, and assist with
online assignments that are predominantly written in English. Parents and the elderly
also lack the technological skills to access digitalized materials and utilize software,
which is another factor derived from digital education or digital literacy.
Leaders
work within the district to ensure that all digital resources are functioning effectively
for students and educators to utilize; however, there is no connection with their
homes as it relates to ensuring the continuity of online education from the
board leaders. Computers that were given out during the COVID-19 pandemic were retrieved
upon the resumption of in-person classes; hence, students from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds are at a disadvantage than students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds
to access online education, which resulted in a digital divide and inequality
in students’ success in district and state standardized assessments.
Homework
gaps, socioeconomic status, access to digital resources, and digital education
are all factors that educators have grappled with over the past years that have
impacted students’ achievement. Inadequate support to provide equitable access
to educational technologies will definitely impact educators' mental health and
take a longer time for concepts to be grasped.
As
we move forward into the twenty-first century, there is much more that needs to
be done collaboratively to stem the gap of the digital divide among all students
to ensure their success academically.
References
Brown, W. (2020). Digital
Divide. Retrieved from https://open.library.okstate.edu/learninginthedigitalage/chapter/the-digital-divide/Links
to an external site.
Gallardo, R. (2022). The
State of the Digital Divide in the United States. Retrieved from: https://pcrd.purdue.edu/the-state-of-the-digital-divide-in-the-united-states/Links
to an external site.
van de Werfhorst, H.G., Kessenich, E., & Geven, S. (2022). The digital divide in online education:
Inequality in digital readiness of students and schools. Retrieved
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9435462/pdf/main.pdf
