Equitable access requires local solutions

http://larrysingleton.weebly.com/blog/much-ado-about-nothing
Yes, The Times, They are a Changin. Why cant we just be patient and let things
follow a natural course? The Baron paper posits the variation of computing tool
usage and skills across income, age, ethnicity, gender, and education level as a
problem that must be fixed. (Barron, Walter, Martin, & Schatz, 2009) The Los
Angeles School District had to scrap a $1 Billion program to put iPads in every
students backpack. The recently resigned Superintendent, John Deasy stated that
This is a civil rights issue. My goal is to provide youth in poverty with tools that
heretofore only rich kids have had, and Id like to do that as quickly as possible.
(Blume & Ceasar, 2013) That failure was a perfect storm of cronyism, good
intentions, corruption, hype, lack of preparation, social justification, irresponsible
use of resources, etc., etc.
Yes, there is a Digital Divide, (2013, p. 178) and there always will be. There was a
Radio Divide in the 1930s and a TV Divide in the 1960s. If the bureaucrats
want to spend taxpayer money to expedite things theyll be hard to stop, but they
dont need to. The skills and usage of computer tools is growing across all segments
of our society. It may be growing faster in some segments than others, but thats
okay. Its the natural order of things, and we should embrace that rather than fight
it. Nobody is out to deny technology to students who want and need it. It is
happening as we speak, and we dont need $1 Billion initiatives to expedite it.
Now, as encouraged by the professor, Ill dismount my high horse (my words, not
hers) and mention what I feel is most important for teachers. They must
concentrate on the needs of individual students in their classes. Administrators
must focus on helping teachers meet the needs of those individual students.
Initiatives made at this level of the system are much more likely to enable progress
toward equitable access. Money spent at higher levels within systems tends to be
wasted, as evidenced in LA. Here are two very plausible solutions that can be
implemented at a local level:
1. Start an initiative with parents, and within the community, to collect smart
phones (to be used as WiFi connected PCs not phones!) and chargers so that
they can be available for teachers to loan to students who need them for
classroom activities where students are using their own technology. Careful
administration of the details regarding clean up of phone memories would
need to be initiated with volunteers. Such an initiative could immediately
expand the world of web 2.0 tools such as Zondle, Kahoot, EdPuzzle,
Socrative, etc., etc. to the classrooms everywhere. Its not unreasonable to
imagine that major cell phone providers might even get involved in the effort
for the publicity and potential good will of consumers.
2. Open the school computer lab or Media Center two or three evenings a week.
Set it up as a program where transportation is the responsibility of parents

not an after school program to be taken advantage of. Access to the PCs and
basic training for the parents would be a secondary benefit of such a
program. Local administration of the details and logistics of staffing the
facility with qualified school faculty/staff and trained parent/community
volunteers is just a matter of sincere effort.
My message to the educational leaders, who are ultimately responsible for
addressing the needs of students: get off of your high horses and dont spend
money, which you didnt earn, to make yourself feel good and powerful Try
working to support and encourage those at the local level who are willing to spend
time and effort on behalf of the students. Get down in the trenches with them. You
should be among the number of those who forgo the rebate when you upgrade you
phone. You should volunteer to be the qualified staff member who works in the
elementary media center until 9:00 PM on Tuesday nights, and shows parents how
to navigate the online school grade book.
Yes there is a digital divide, but bridging it with common sense seems like a good
idea!
References
Barron, B., Walter, S. E., Martin, C. K., & Schatz, C. (2009). Predictors of creative
computing participation and profiles of experience. Computers and Education,
178-189.
Blume, H., & Ceasar, S. (2013, October 01). L.A.Unified's iPad rollout marred by
chaos. Los Angeles Times.

Response to Beth Wardlow: http://bethwardlaw.weebly.com/blog/equitable-access-amust

Your fourth paragraph ended with a profound statement; Teachers cannot use what
they have not been given, or taught to use. Which comes first; the technology, or
the knowledge of how to use it?
Thats a trick question. Neither of those should come first. Giving teachers
hardware, software, and training is not a solution unless it follows a desire on the
teachers part to have those tools and training.
You stated that Overall, my school needs to rise up in this area. Are you talking
about those who control the purse strings, or are you talking about when other
teachers have the same kind of goals for incorporation of technology into our
lessons that you and I both have.

Equitable access is not a student focused issue, its an educator focused problem!