RUNNING HEADER: FINAL PROJECT

Week 5 Final Project

Janice Lewis
EDU352: Foundations of Educational Technology
Kathleen Brady
January 3, 2017

FINAL PROJECT

The issue that I have chosen is one that I have mentioned in past posts but I didnt know it had an
official name, the digital divide. As a low-income parent, I understand the issue of not being
able to provide my son with the most up to date systems. It is assumed by many that everyone
has wi-fi, printers, laptops, tablets, high speed internet, smart phones, or SKYPE
capabilities. Not everyone does though. Economics and location are both factors regarding what
resources are available to students. Many schools now assign work to be done at home that
requires the use of computers. How does a student without these resources keep up with those
that do? The daughter of a friend of mine goes to a school that has issued tablets to all the
students. They are expected to use them from home. It is assumed that all the families have wifi. The students that dont are at a disadvantage because they cannot do the assignments unless
they find a way to access wi-fi. How is this fair? Are they supposed to go to a local coffee shop
or library to use free wi-fi? What is there are none in the students area? Maybe they should go
hang out at McDonalds. That way they can do homework while eating junk food.

This divide also occurs in the schools when they do not have the technological upgrades in place
to allow them to have internet access. Location and finances keep some places from having the
resources that many of us take for granted. I know that the town I grew up in is not wired for
high tech. They have one satellite provider who also offers internet. Many residents still use
dialup for internet. Cost and location cause many to stay with the older technology. The only
way that all students will have equal access to solid education is if there is a universal form of
technology available to them all. Sadly, until then, there will always be digital divides among
the population.

FINAL PROJECT

References:
Hudson, Hannah Trierweiler The Digital Divide http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ945726
Jan A.G.M. van Dijk Digital divide research, achievements and
shortcomings

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304422X06000167

McLeod, S. (2010, November 22). If we were really serious about educational technology [Web
log post]. Retrieved from http://bigthink.com/ideas/if-we-were-really-serious-abouteducational-technology
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2010, July 20). Top ten issues shaping today's technology
uses in education. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/ten-issuesshaping-today-technology
Rowena Cullen, (2001) "Addressing the digital divide", Online Information Review, Vol. 25 Iss:
5, pp.311 320 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/14684520110410517