Digital media use has been part and parcel of today’s children with computers, handheld and console video game players, smartphones, and audio players being their main source of entertainment and tools for learning (/uploads/1/6/3/0/16302432/zerotoeightfinal2011.pdf). 21st century teachers are tailoring their instructional methods in an attempt to take advantage of children’s habit and aspirations by using tools that do not only engage them, but also make lessons as authentic as possible. As teaching methods are changing, so should resources needed by students.
In spite of the improvement in access to media within the last couple of years, there is still a digital divide between students from the low and the high-income families, either by physical access to the media or how the students use them to solve tasks (Baron,2010). Students from high-income families or with parents having higher education are more likely to use computers to perform sophisticated task than their counterpart from low-income families. This is due to the influence of parent-child-coactivity with computers as well as peer-group learning within the student's neighborhood. With early interventions, all students, regardless of the socio-economic background, would likely make optimum use of digital media in achieving academic goals.
As indicated in Tina Hohlfeld's (2010) paper, interventions aimed at ensuring equitable access to digital tool for academic work should not be directed only to students if serious education is to take place. The family and the community who inspire the student should also be considered. Therefore the following can be used as ways of bridging the digital divide among students:
In spite of the improvement in access to media within the last couple of years, there is still a digital divide between students from the low and the high-income families, either by physical access to the media or how the students use them to solve tasks (Baron,2010). Students from high-income families or with parents having higher education are more likely to use computers to perform sophisticated task than their counterpart from low-income families. This is due to the influence of parent-child-coactivity with computers as well as peer-group learning within the student's neighborhood. With early interventions, all students, regardless of the socio-economic background, would likely make optimum use of digital media in achieving academic goals.
As indicated in Tina Hohlfeld's (2010) paper, interventions aimed at ensuring equitable access to digital tool for academic work should not be directed only to students if serious education is to take place. The family and the community who inspire the student should also be considered. Therefore the following can be used as ways of bridging the digital divide among students:
- Schools may provide ICT access and education to families and communities to increase their involvement in training and inspiring students on the use of digital tools.
- Community organizations may also donate digital devices to schools.
- Students could be made to bring their own laptop computers acquired either through discounted prices or school district donation (as in the video below).
- Schools should permit smartphone use by students. Most smartphones are capable of running educational apps.
- Schools may allow students to take home school-owned devices so that students from low-income families can gain as equal learning opportunities as their peers from high-income families.
- Using mobile labs to ensure full and effective utilization of the limited digital devices by all classrooms.
- Encouraging the use of free or open-source programs in schools.
- Providing in-service training for teachers on how special-needs students can be helped in accessing digital tools and resources.