The New Digital Divide

Every one of us gets through the tough times because somebody is there, standing in the gap to close it for us.

- Oprah Winfrey

While 73% of faculty say digital content is essential for 21st century classroom, only 11% of districts are using it, according to IT professionals.

- 2011 CDW-G 21st-Century Classroom Report

 Not all students have equal access to technology.  The gap between those that have access to technology and those that do not has been called the digital divide.

There are different levels of access that needs to be considered.  Does the student have access to technology, such as a computer?  Does the technology have access to the Internet?  Does the student possess the skill sets needed to access and use an e-learning system?  Is adapted technology needed to overcome a physical handicap, such as blindness or loss of hearing?  Then there is a new one.  Does the school actually provide e-learning or is the e-learning experience up to the level of the students’ expectation and proficiency in technology?

Discussions on the digital divide express the concern that students without computers and without access to the Internet do not participate in online learning and other online benefits.  According to a 2009 survey conducted by the PEW Internet and American Life Project, 95% of all teenagers ages 14 – 17 use the Internet.  According to a 2010 survey conducted by the same group, 90% of all young adults ages 18 - 29 use the Internet.  The Digital Divide widens as older age brackets are examined and when race, ethnicity, and income are considered.  The trend, however, is that the digital divide based on access to technology and to the Internet has lessen significantly and is diminishing.  And by inference, concerns about the skill sets needed to access e-learning systems should also diminish.

 It is a mistake, however, to assume that teachers and students would instinctively know how to access and use an e-learning system.  As a guideline to teaching online, Gilly Salmon has outlined a Five-Phase Model for Online Learning.  In this model, there are five stages of e-learning from the student, teacher, and technological perspectives.  

For the student the first stage is learning to access the system. In the second stage the student begins to appreciate the social environment of the e-learning experience. The student begins in the third stage to appreciate the benefits of the e-learning experience.  The fourth stage there is a change in roles in which teacher and student begin to work collaboratively.  The student, in the final stage, becomes more independent in the e-learning experience.

The teacher in the first phase is welcoming and encouraging as the student learns to access system.  In the second phase, the teacher provides bridges between cultural, social, and learning environments as the student begins to appreciate the online experience.  In the third phase, the teacher facilitates tasks as the student begins to appreciate the benefits of online learning.  In the fourth phase, the teacher facilitates the learning process while working collaboratively with student.  And in the fifth phase, the teacher is encouraging, as the student becomes a more independent e-learner.

There is also help to close the digital divide based on other factors.  For example Club Digital is a program designed to help families bridge this technological gap.  A Spanish language summer program pilot was recently launched to help close the divide that disproportionally affects Hispanic families in America.  It is a comprehensive bilingual multimedia Internet training program.  Created with the partnership of AT & T, California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), and Dewey Square Group, it will provide a free opportunity for millions to learn basic Internet skills.

  

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project (2011), one in four American adults live with a disability that interferes with activities of daily living.  Only 54% of these adults use the Internet while 84% percent of adults without such disabilities use the Internet.  This subsection, of course, overlaps with the older age bracket of adults that seldom use the Internet.  The point that adaptive technology is needed for students with a disability is still valid and more pressing than for the general population.

New and interesting to note is a juxtaposition shift in the Digital Divide discussion.  In a news release by a private provider of technology products and service, CDW (2011), the second annual 21^st Century Classroom Report states that only 39% percent of students say their high schools are meeting their technology expectations.  Perhaps it is time to consider that the Digital Divide now is more about meeting the expectation of today’s students than it is about making technology available.

Please join me in my reflections on 21st century learning.  I want to read your comments and opinions.  I will do my best to answer questions.

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Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCHslv51d5c

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Club Digital 

We Can Have Teachers Without Borders Part 3

Location! Location! Location!

What Does Location, Location, Location Mean?

It means identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. It's repeated three times for emphasis, and so you will remember the phrase. It's the number one rule in real estate, and it's often the most overlooked rule. The best locations are those in prime spots such as:

·           Within Top-Rated School Districts

·           Close to Outdoor Recreation and Nature


·           Homes with a View


·           Near Entertainment and Shopping


·           In Conforming Areas


·           In Economically Stable Neighborhoods


·           Near Public Transportation, Health Care and Jobs


·           In the Center of the Block

Elizabeth Weintraub – about.com

This is the last in a three part series.

Real estate agents know more about public education than politicians.  Elizabeth Weintraub in an article for about .com states, “Home buyers with children are concerned about their children's education and often will pay more for a home that is located in a highly desirable school district.”

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to buy a home in neighborhoods with top-rated schools.  Tanya McDowell, not the best poster parent for school reform, was recently arrested again, but now for drug charges.  She first received media coverage when she was arrested for stealing a $15,000 kindergarten education by using a fraudulent address to enroll her son in a school in a more affluent neighborhood.

Kelly Williams-Bolar spent nine days in jail for fraudulently using her father’s address to enroll two of her children in a school in a more affluent neighborhood.

What is it about schools in more affluent neighborhoods that seem to make them better than other schools?  That is besides having parents with more education.  And besides being in a more economically stable neighborhood.  They are better funded.

In California, schools are funded from three sources:  state, federal, and local.  On average for the past ten years school districts receive 79% of their funding from the state, 13% from the federal government, and 8% locally.  The percentages change according to neighborhoods.  For example, a school district in an affluent neighborhood, such as, Beverly Hills Unified may receive 70% of their funding from the state, 4% from the federal government, and 26% locally.  A school district in a much less affluent area, such as, Adelanto Elementary School District, may receive 86% of their funding from the state, 10% from the federal government, and only 4% locally.

Now consider this, approximately 30% of California’s budget is for K-12 education.  There is a $9.4 billion dollar deficit that has been deferred for a later date.  However, when the state eventually deals with its huge budget deficit with cuts to services – the schools more dependent on state funding will get hurt the most.  The districts that can raise more money locally can better maintain services and keep enrichment classes in the curriculum.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights gathered information from 72,000 schools across the nation to gain insight on how equitable or inequitable schools are within districts and across states. Not all of the information has been released yet.  But the new federal data shared last week showed that not all schools and districts offer an equivalent high quality rigorous education. 

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated, “These data show that far too many students are still not getting access to the kinds of classes, resources and opportunities they need to be successful.”

Nirvi Shah, in an article for Education Week, broke down the data. 

·           3, 000 schools serving 500,000 high school students did not offer Algebra II classes.

·           7,300 schools serving 2 million high school students did not offer calculus.

·           At schools where the majority of students were African-American, teachers were twice as likely to have only one or two years of experience compared with schools within the same district that had a majority-white student body.

Is it little wonder that parents are willing to pay more for a house in a top-rated school district?  Is it any wonder that parents unable to buy homes within a top-rated school district are willing to lie to enroll their children there anyway?

A 21^st century education, if not tied to a location, doesn’t have that problem.  New and creative ways to provide an education online are being developed all the time.

Sophia.org, for example, is a free social learning community focused on education.  Founded by CEO Don Smithmier, Sophia is built on the belief that it can be the place where you teach what you know and learn what you don’t know. 

The ambition is clear when the search bar on Sophia asks, what do you want to learn?  The categories offered include applied sciences, English/literature, humanities, mathematics, and more.  The categories are then broken down to more specific subjects.

Registering on Sophia is like joining any other online social network. One creates an account and customizes their profile by uploading a picture and sharing a short bio.  You then have access to create learning packets, create groups, provide ratings and reviews, and follow others.

Learning packets are multimedia created tutorials with a learning objective using tools such as text, images, video, audio, and slideshows.  They can be shared privately with a group or made public.  Sophia provides a dual rating and review system for users to evaluate the packets for quality control.

Groups are invitation only.  They can be used to coordinate a study group, organize a class, or evolve around an interest.  A “bookshelf” of learning packets can be created or adopted by the group. 

Sophia recently acquired Guaranteach, a web-based service that provides customized short-form mathematics video tutorials along with assessment tools.  Guarantech has nearly 23,000 videos from counting to calculus developed by 200 teachers and experts in mathematics.  They also provide quizzes and other assessment tools to match tutorials to learning styles and provide student progress reports.  Prior to the acquisition, this service was provided solely on a pay per use basis to schools.  The videos will be available for free on Sophia.org.

Sophia.org plan to expand the Guarantech model to include a full range of English and science tutorials.   And create a new platform that may be licensed by colleges and schools.

Don Smithmier states that the acquisition will provide students and instructors a free resource of math tutorials ranging from basic math to college algebra.  For colleges and schools the combination of Guaranteach’s adaptive learning model and Sophia’s social learning capabilities will provide a powerful platform for differentiated instruction and blended learning.

Sophia.org is not an accredited school.  It is, however, an example of how learning can be re-imagined online away from the brick and mortar of traditional schooling.

Online, teachers can teach without physical borders and boundaries. 

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Sophia.org: Video 

Guaranteach: Video

CTPost.com: Lawmakers raise questions in case of homeless woman enrolling son in Norwalk school

EdSource: California’s Fiscal Crisis: What Does it Mean for Schools

EdSource: Challenging Times: California Schools Cope with Adversity and the Imperative To Do More 

EdSource: How California Ranks

EdSource: School Finance Highlights 2010-11

Education Week: Federal Data Shed Light on Education Disparities 

Ohio.com:  Judge - Kelley Williams-Bolar not close to becoming teacher 

Sophia Blog – Purchase Will Add Tens of Thousands of Math Tutorials to Sophia.org and New Capabilities for Licensed Use By Colleges and Schools

Used by U.S. Department of Education:  Civil Rights Office Data Collection