Comments+for+Carol+in+Response+to+Digitally+Undivided

**COMMENTS FOR CAROL regarding "Digitally Undivided":**

Congratulations on your brave and bold stance Carol. Your statement: **"** We must realize that digital is only one of many aspects of education." rings true to me. I'm going to try to point out inequities and lack of equality of opportunity between locations of Winnipeg Adult Education Centre to my tech. committee on this issue - but I can't imagine being able to convince even the tech. committee to make this a priority in our school. Teachers are overwhelmed with more pressing issues - in my school discussion often centres around class size, timetabling, smoking on the property and the dreaded "staff room duties" discussion. - Rhonda

**//Yes, Rhonda, I hear you - our school had a high number of kids at-risk, and it was sometimes hard to discover which path to take to make any type of learning relevant to them. Kids bouncing from one foster home to another, suicide, pregnancy, families living in a shelter, to name a few issues....our Principal told me, "what we do is more like counselling than teaching." Library became something of a therapy session at times. I did a Wisdom project with the Grade 8's (we made scrapbooks) - and the emotional depth in their writing was huge. At the time, we couldn't access blogging, but I wonder if my Principal would have envisioned it as a therapeutic device for some of our kids. The notion of "protecting" our kids from on-line dangers when they were facing extremely dangerous experiences in real-time, still boggles my mind. (Maybe I've just argued that yes there was a Divide of sorts - oh dear!) Carol//**

I wondered how you would argue for this side of the question. You have done an amazing job and come up with many points that caused me to think and consider the other point of view just like Doug Johnson suggested in his filtering article //Change from the Radical Center of Education//. We have to listen and hear everyone and issues aren't always so black and white. I loved your comment "we need to step back and re-evaluate the continuing pressure placed on our schools to be digitally connected." We don't want to lose sight of all the other areas that schools need to address to help round out the experiences a child has. I had never heard of this book by Jamie McKenzie. Would you recommend tracking it down to read? Joanie //**Thanks Joanie - I'm usually a grey-area person myself, so it was a bit difficult sticking to one side. You can access the article by Jamie McKenzie at <**//[|//**http://www.fno.org/nov07/nativism.html**//] //**- he started an on-line journal called "From Now On" - and I quite like his writing because it makes me think critically about the issues we have been discussing each week. Carol**//

Carol, what a brave woman you are! This is a very tough topic to argue the "con" side and you did it with conviction and grace! I especially like the path you took to state your case. It's true that districts tend to jump on "bandwagons" with new initiatives and in the process, forget about others. We do need balance. In my school, we have children who come to school dirty and unfed, with bruises and matted hair. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to meet the basic needs of students before we get caught up in the technology race. The most important goal our school besides meeting the students basic needs is to help our students become functioning members of society so that they avoid the path that they are currently in. Many better paying jobs require being computer literate and internet savvy and that is where our school struggles.

  I would like to share my personal experience to counter the experience that you have in your school. As I posted on Heather's comments, in our district we have "have schools" and "have not" schools. The library I inherited still loans out slide projectors. The three computers in the library are over ten years old (remember the Mac "blueberries") and our school is just now creating a website!!!! We have one Smartboard in our school mounted in one teacher's classroom and one LCD projector for eight classrooms. So, based on my personal experience, I would have to say that a "digital divide" is still occurring in and throughout Canada. I have wistfully read the account you wrote of your school several times over (pssst....is your district hiring?!?!) and see a huge divide between our two schools revolving around access.- April

//**Thanks for your comments and perspective, April. On Blackboard I talked about the other side of the utopia I experienced - while it is true we had amazing technology - we were incredibly limited in its use as a result of very strict filtering. So, our young and excited-about-technology staff had to keep adapting- I think I said it was like watching race horses being held back from reaching their full stride. My Principal and Vice-Principal had a wonderful approach - they saw the importance of technology as one tool amongst many. We were also involved in a Greenway project - which was just a little strip of land, neglected and ignored in the past. Now, the grade 4's are doing a frog-watch program, and the grade 3's are involved in tagging monarch butterflies - the whole school was getting on board. We also used the Aboriginal Seven Teachings, and had monthly assemblies which focused on a teaching each month (respect, courage, humility....etc.). The EAL (English Additional Language) kids also had a strong voice, and every culture was celebrated/honoured. It was a unique, well-rounded school in so many ways (despite the fact that it had a bad reputation as being a tough place to teach.) I miss it, incredibly. Carol**//

Carol, a great argument opposing the idea of a digital divide. I am certain this was not easy for you to do. First of all, the situation that you were in last year sounds somewhat utopian, and I would love to experience something similar one day. Although my situation is not as primitive as April's, I think that it is somewhere in between yours and hers, and I am guessing that is more common for most Canadian schools. I would agree that there are many important issues, such as the meeting of basic needs, that we need to look at as educators, not just technology; however, I believe that access to technology could possibly help some of our neediest students transition into better situations once they leave school. There aren't too many jobs available to people who don't have some basic computer skills.

I found Jamie McKenzies quote of particular interest: " Some fear the consequences of sensory deprivation over the long haul with excessive exposure to things digital. A Digital Waste Land is a poor substitute for the rich flavors, smells and touches of the real world." I agree wholeheartedly with what is being said here, and I have often wondered about what affect too much digital time will have on our children. As a result, I am still a firm believer that not everything in schools should focus on computers. We still need to offer hands-on courses such as cooking, sewing, art (with pastels, paints, etc.) woodworking and so on. It is important for our students to have sensory experiences that engage all 5 senses, not just sight. Jes


 * //Jes, thanks for sharing your perspective with us. In "Fools Gold" (which is available on-line at://** [|**//http://www.allianceforchildhood.net/projects/computers/computers_reports_fools_gold_exec.htm//**]//**. They take a very strong stand warning about the dangers of computers to physical and developmental health of children. It provides a really interesting perspective which I think is largely ignored these days. One thing I found interesting was the comment that laptops are not ergonomically friendly, because you can't adjust them very well - I wonder if anyone thought of that before purchasing for our 4 - 6 classrooms last year? It's worth a browse, if for nothing else than providing a unique perspective. Carol**//

The Mackenzie quotation above resonated with me as well. Many of the schools on the "wrong side" of the digital divide could really be giving students great experiences that focus on ICT less - if their teachers are creative and forward-thinking in other ways, who is to say that their experience is any less valid? As we start seeing more and more people in education and otherwise benefitting from Web 2.0 tools, however, we may see a greater divide than ever. -Chris

//Chris, Thanks for your remarks about validity - I wonder if new prejudices are being developed in this regards? Or, do they already exist? Is that a part of the divide issue?//

You did an awesome job for the "no" side of the digital divide issue. I loved your intro, it is a pretty creative way to start your side of the debate. You did a great job supporting your point. Something that interests me, is that I moved to a highly urban area and the technology in the school and access to it just does not compare to the rural, isolated community school I moved from. The rural school was totally on board with technology and our vision was to give our students as much experience as possible. I have been wondering all week, why the two schools are so different? Does it come down to having a clear vision? Danielle

//Hi Danielle, thanks for the thoughts - I think you're right - a clear vision, a willingness to jump in and have a go, and support from all sides is important. I think there's often an assumption that rural communities are worse off when it comes to technology, but **in my own limited experience**, that just hasn't been the case. I worked in a small town in Saskatchewan 10 years ago, my principal was forward-thinking, and excited about possibilities of integrating other skills with computer education. I remember being invited to a committee to write our own local computer curriculum as there wasn't one in Sask. at the time. Years later, I look back and my former colleagues are blogging with their students, using smart boards and more! One of the Grade 5/6 teachers was enthusiastic and got on board early on. She's the one who was in the trenches using the technologies in a fearless manner - the other teachers on staff saw the excitement, the sense of community they were building on their class blog, and the neat "stuff" she could do with the Smart Board, and wanted in on the action too. This innovative teacher supported her colleagues in the digital journey, and I think that has made all the difference.//

//Now, fast forward to my experience in a city school in Manitoba. We had the technology, but none of us could blog, use YouTube, etc. because of filtering. Perhaps it isn't a DIGITAL DIVIDE, but a HUMAN DIVIDE//.

//Hi Carol,// //Thank you for such a compelling and persuasive counterpoint on how the digital divide is no longer relevant in our schools. When I first became aware of your assignment to present the "con side" of the argument, I immediately thought of your experience in our school division last year. By all accounts, if there was ever a school that should be a statistic for a "pro side" argument, it is your former home school. Despite all the challenges those students and teachers face every day, I'm sure you will agree that succumbing to the "digital divide" isn't one of them. The instructional support and use of technology in the building continue to be exemplary, so even if access is limited at home, the experiences at school are rich and plentiful.

I think a very valid point in your argument is that "these digital practices are emergent." As George Sciadas observes in "The digital divide in Canada," it is important to remember "that all new technologies are subject to a divide in their early penetration." Not only are they emergent, but because they morph so rapidly, they are also resurgent... therefore new technologies must repeatedly become emergent, over and over as they continue to evolve, perhaps providing a rationale for why we perceive a "digital divide?" - katkin// Thanks Katkin - Yes, that school was pretty darn stacked (I guess that statement could be taken in many ways). Physically we were undivided; virtually we were hindered due to the blocks - but I sense that is changing.

I like your idea that we are not only emergent but resurgent, I hadn`t thought of it that way, and it`s true. Being resurgent will be particularly valuable as the Web continues to grow and change.

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