Comments+for+Heather+regarding+the+YES+side

=Comments for Heather in response to: //Yes the Digital Divide is Relevant to Teaching Today// = Heather, you have done an excellent job of explaining the relevance of the digital divide in our classrooms today through a balance of research findings, videos, testimonials and your own personal experiences. I read Joyce Valenza's article and became quite teary-eyed recognizing similarities between the student's library and the stodgy library I "inherited". I wonder if Joyce could book a tour for me as well as I'd love to see her library in action. Joanie

 Hi Joanie - Wouldn't it be great to visit Joyce's library? Maybe we could arrange for our whole class to go some day! I'm sure it would be "A visit to remember"!!! The school I am teaching in right now is exactly like that too...our TL is NOT using any of the amazing resources available to her. She is nearing retirement (yeah!!!!) and just not enthused about her job anymore and frankly doesn't care! I think she'd be humbled by Joyce's manifesto. I was tempted to give it to her but I don't think I want to "throw it in her face" either. If she does head for retirement in June, she should leave with pride and fulfillment. How hard has it been for you to "update" your stodgy library? - Heather I found your activating questions engaging, relevant and compelling. I could answer YES to all of them. As a teacher-librarian I recognize it as a critical issue given our responsibility to create awareness and opportunities for equitable access to resources and information - and yes to assist teachers to acquire the literacy skills necessary to integrate/infuse them in their practice - HUGE job! - Rhonda

Hi Rhonda - Looking at the "digital divides" that still and will probably continue to exist in our schools for some time, it is a daunting task to take on as a SOLO TL in a building. Joanie had an interesting idea to train a team of TA's to help spread the word and teach the teachers and students! What do you think of that idea? - Heather I think it’s important that you noted the divide for teachers and students is often getting into an open lab. In the schools I’ve worked in, there are nowhere near enough open computers to engage students and teachers in the kinds of work and skills we need, especially if we’re talking about new apps. Also, I watched a teacher-librarian last week valiantly try to get all of her students logged in to leave comments on her blog. By the timer almost all of her students were in, the bell rang to go to the next class, leading me to wonder if the high-speed Internet access is good enough to get us across the divide. - Chris Hi Chris - The scenario you mentioned with the TL getting everyone logged on, is NOT unfamiliar to me either! It's not just getting into the lab BUT the time needed to accomplish quality work while you are there! It seems that no matter what school I am in, it is a constant battle for computer lab time. Nothing frustrates me more than teachers booking lab time for word processing!!!! AGGGHHH! Ironically, those teachers that have their students in there "typing" still feel they are providing technology opportunities for their students (it's just a typing class folks!!!) - Heather I really connected with Joyce Valenza's article that you directed us to. I work in a school that is what some in our district call a "have not" school. In fact, I just recently was awarded a grant from our district to work with at-risk students in taking ownership over the redesign of our library! Thank you so much for bringing it to our attention.

As for me, this week's articles and your presentation really helped clarify the term "digital divide". The graphic organizer from "Our Digital Divides Are Showing" illustrated the four main barriers to closing that divide. Chris, I would like to share a quick story to further illustrate your point about internet access. Just last December I attended a training session at our district office to learn about the new databases that they district had just launched. They didn't think ahead about the fact that 50 teachers trying to access the database using the same wireless connection MAY be a problem. However, within 5 minutes they were able to add extra ports so that we could all access the databases quickly and easily.........So, I'm going to suggest that YES high-speed access is enough to solve that particular barrier, it's just convincing our districts to give the same attention to our students that they give to us when they are trying to "show off" what they have been up to.- April

Hi April- Isn't that interesting that when PD opportunities are given to staff, they have ALL THE ACCESS IN THE WORLD but when we return to our school environments, we struggle with high-speed and enough computers to do the job. I attended a workshop last fall and each of us was seated at a wi-fi laptop with a Smartboard presentation walking us through the items in the workshop!!! What a dream world! - Heather Unfortunately, I was able to answer "yes" to all of your initial questions, which made me realize that perhaps the digital divide is bigger than I thought. I'll have to be honest and say that as often as I've complained about the lack of computer lab time, as well as access to enough bandwidth, I have never given thought to the difficulties that some rural schools might be facing. I am guessing that for some "high-speed" isn't even an option. So what does this mean for those students when they go to post-secondary, or when they leave their rural communities to find a job in an urban center? Jes Hi Jes - It is a bit scary to think about the disadvantages that are growing for some of our students that are living in rural areas without the bandwidth or high speed. At the same workshop I mentioned above, there were teachers from northern Manitoba that could hardly contain themselves because the ideas and activities being presented were NOT something they could even fathom doing because of the lack of access and high speed. An interesting comment many of them made was regarding the literacy level of many of their students, if they are unable to read and write "on paper" how can they be expected to collaborate and contribute to the world of Web 2.0? Good question! - Heather

Great job presenting the "yes" side to the digital divide issue. I have started teaching Grade 1 in a new school and I can't believe the difference in technology between this school and my last school. My eyes have just popped open this week! I had access to lots of technology in my last school, with 3 computer labs, 5 computers in my class a smartboard, etc. (for a school of 80 students!) In my new school, of 190 students, we have a super small mobile smartboard, (that comes with many challenges in a Grade 1 classroom), and I have yet to see a computer lab in the school. I have no idea where it is, or if there is one. I realize now, how lucky I was in my last school. I hope to bring some techno-energy to my new school in hopes of tech'ing it up a few notches! Danielle

Hi Danielle - If it isn't hard enough to change schools, not having the resources you are used to makes it that much more challenging...but as you say "it's an eye-opener"! I am in my 2nd year at a different school but the resources are about the same (although my last school was putting a Smartboard in every classroom this year and we're not quite there yet!!!!). Good luck spreading your "techno-energy" around...I like that expression...I might have to use it that...do I have your permission(teehee)? - Heather

//Hi Heather, Thank you for presenting such a creative spin on the "pro side" of explaining how the "digital divide" is relevant to teaching today. The question/response format worked especially well in conveying your supporting evidence. I could really identify with your comments on how teachers can sometimes mask old methodology in conjunction with using new technologies, under the guise of fulfilling their ICT outcomes. One might think this is more common among older teachers, but I find that young teachers often get carried away with the "technology as a toy" syndrome and neglect to think about how they might use the technology to support student learning outcomes and inquiry. I agree with you when you say that "teachers that use the technology they have as new toys, to deliver their old curriculum and dated lesson plans, are creating a digital divide for their students...." //  <span style="font-size: 140%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">        <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(255, 0, 100); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 140%; color: rgb(187, 17, 41); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 80%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">//<span style="color: rgb(67, 53, 212);">I still find it incredible that some teachers will use precious lab time to use computers as typewriters. //  <span style="font-size: 80%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 140%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">        <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(255, 0, 100); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 140%; color: rgb(187, 17, 41); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 80%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(67, 53, 212);"> //I was particularly struck by your reference to Esther Rosenfeld's comment about a new "digital divide" developing between "students and teachers who have access to the tools of 21st-century learning and, on the other, those who have that access blocked." As you may remember, our divisional access is heavily filtered, blocking many of these new tools... so it gives me pause when I read this comment. We do have simulated access to blogs and wikis in our portal, but the lack of opportunity to connect with others outside the portal is not only a safety feature, but an inhibitor to the full Web 2.0 experience. Obviously, I don't like to think that our students and teachers are being held back by a digital divide of our own making.

In response to the concerns being expressed about a lack of computer lab time... we are actually in the process of dismantling our computer labs in favour of smaller computer pods throughout our schools. I actually don't think this is a bad idea in terms of promoting inquiry-based learning experiences... I like the idea of a pod of computers in the library and in each classroom. Developing a centre approach whereby all learners spend time with a variety of resources and technologies, including computers, during the day. We are also promoting the one-computer classroom in early years. Imagine students collecting data from primary sources using digital cameras and then uploading that data to the computer and projecting the photos with a projector for all to discuss. There are many ICT concepts that don't require students to be in a computer lab. If we perceive a digital divide in our classrooms, innovative teaching strategies and re-inventing how we use the technologies that we have at our disposal, can be instrumental in addressing some of our concerns. -katkins//

<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(169, 30, 30); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Hi Kathy - Thanks for commenting! I agree that we need to be more innovative with how we use the computers that we do have. I guess it's part of that old style of teaching that we feel each child needs to be sitting in front of their own computer as we teach a new computer skill or tool. I've heard of this trend of creating computer pods in classrooms and breaking up labs...it's a great idea to get computers into more classrooms but I would still fear those teachers that would just let them sit there and collect dust (or only be used for word processing) when other teachers would be using them for more effectively if they had the access in a computer lab setting! (Does that make sense?) Heather

<span style="font-size: 80%; color: rgb(81, 43, 218);">Hi Heather, I don't know if you remember the IMYM (Interdisciplinary Middle Years Multimedia) projects sponsored by Manitoba Education and Training... but this program funded pods of computers in classrooms for the purpose of inquiry-based learning. Of course, participants applied to be part of this program, so teachers who had no intention of using computers in this way, would probably pass on the opportunity anyway. This program was immensely popular with the teachers and students who participated in the pilots because it wove technology into the fabric of the unit of study in an innovative and effortless way.

From my experience, I find that the lab setting has a much greater risk of becoming the steno pool... it's just too easy to give everyone the same task, and one that requires very little instruction at that! I think that classroom pods actually discourage teachers from using the computers as typewriters because it takes so much time to run the whole class through the pod, just for everyone to type up a text. Pods force teachers to use a centre approach to planning learning activities... teams of students might share a computer to collaborate on an area of interest, which speeds up the rotation... while others may consult books, engage in examining primary sources, use digital cameras to document findings etc. The teacher might also demo a site or a new software to the whole class using the projector, and then groups of students have time to visit the pods to explore.

What I really love about using classroom pods is how seamless the use of technology becomes... it's just one of many tools in the classroom and students use it on an "as needed" basis. The lab can become so much about... "we have computer class" next period... and as for those teachers who aren't using their pods effectively... as a teacher-librarian, I would be planning a subtle, yet invasive, assault! -katkin