Technology

I think using technology in the classroom is a must, but we have to consider how it impacts all our students. If we don’t use technology, and make students use it, then they aren’t ready for the job market or for life. Even employment aside, if you don’t know how to use the internet to find information, you are at a disadvantage in everything from working on your motorcycle to video game tips.
Without putting students on the spot, we need to find out if they have access to the computers and programs that we expect them to use. This can be done a number of ways, but I’ll probably have a survey that students turn in privately, so I can find out what they have at home without making them come tell me. I also don’t want students to feel like they have to tell me in front of the class.
As the article and lecture both point out, technology is used in most jobs, and students with less exposure to it are being done a disservice by allowing them to remain segregated. This is another way that poverty can be continued from one generation to the next, and that isn’t fair for us to exacerbate it.
I plan to address disadvantaged students in a number of ways, customized to the needs of the student and the resources available. The local libraries or a school computer lab will be my first recommendation. I also plan to locate or request additional computers so they can be loaned to students as needed. I’ve heard of grants to get laptops, and local businesses donating old computers. I intend to handle the access problem any way I can.
Bibliography
swain, C., & Edyburn, D. (2007). Social Justice: Choice or Necessity? Learning and Leading with Technology .