Digital Divide, Broadband Divide &Grant Writing Finale

Digital Divide, Broadband Divide &Grant Writing Finale

Hopefully throughout this blog everyone has gained insight into the digital and broadband divide that will eventually impact our classrooms and our ability to provide our curriculum in engaging and exciting ways. This blog has also provided some resources for you to tap into someday when you find you do not have the adequate tools needed in your classroom. It is also my hope that along with the insight, we have gained an awareness of the limitations that some students suffer and as a result become proactive in helping to erase the disparities in technological access that affects these students each day. I feel it is part of our responsibility as teachers to ensure our students are recieving an equitable education. Whose responsibility do you feel it is? I found an interesting video that demonstrates how school districts in Palm Beach FL took on the responsibility of the digital divide and turned it into an awesome program for their students. Check it out:

 http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1a201c0dd171621d565b

A Possible Solution

 

Grant Writing:

One way to help alleviate the digital divide is through grant writing. Many people do not know a lot about grant writing and personally at first I found the whole idea daunting. However I know the great things that can come as a result of a grant. So, I interviewed the “grant writer” at the school I work at. Referred to as the “grant writer” by other teachers, Julie Hammer is also the Elementary Librarian. Julie suggested two places for teachers to go to get grants for technology in their classrooms: The Catskill Regional Teacher Center and The Broome Tioga BOCES Technology Research Committee (TRC) .

Julie has had great success with both places and described the grants as “easy to obtain and very teacher orientated”. She also told me that despite what I have been told, grants are NOT hard to write, ANYONE can write them, you just have to play by their rules and meet all criteria. Speaking with other teachers, I was told that it is a shame more of them did not utilize grants more often to get more technology in their classrooms .

Through the TRC, Julie was able to acquire digital cameras and an IMAC computer among several technological devices to further enhance classrooms and student experiences.

Please go to Broome Tioga BOCES TRC and check out the grants that are available now. Choose one grant that you could envision using in a classroom and share.

 

Technology Research Committee

Part II: Broadband Divide

 

In addition to the digital divide, currently there is another divide impacting mainly rural school districts and enabling them from fully and easily accessing the world wide web comparatively to other districts–this is the broadband divide. An article that highlights this problem is

“The Broadband Divide: Rural Access Lags Far Behind Cities”. 

 http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/10/lloyd_testimony.html/print.html

After reading through the article, please read through a recent letter from a local rural school superintendent to state legislators asking for help to this problem: (The name of the school district has been changed to XXX and some other names have been deleted at the request of the superintendent)

  letter

 After reading through the documents, what do you think should be done to alleviate this gap?  

 

 

 

 

 

Part II: Digital Divide, Broadband Divide & Grant Writing

     

 “Disparities in Digital Opportunities for Young Children and Young Adults: At A Glance”

Now that we have a clear sense of what the digital divide is and have all read / skimmed through this article:

 

http–cjtc.ucsc.edu-docs-digital.pdf  

 

 

 

What stands out to you as a major concern and how may it impact your future classroom?

Box Tops for Education

Take a look at General Mills’ Box Tops for Education website: http://www.boxtops4education.com. Through this program, companies donate ten cents for every mailed in box top clipped from specific food and home products. When an entire school body participates the box tops accumulate and the money adds up fast. This is a much easier way than grant writing for schools to receive funding for supplies they can not afford: from paper and ink to technologies, better internet access, and computers. Have any of your schools participated in this program? On the website you can look up how much money schools have earned through the program. Many schools have earned over $6,000 over the course of 6 years! What are your thoughts on this program? Grant writing is a difficult process that only the trained can do. What are ways other than grant writing for schools to earn money?

Grants Overview

Grants help close the digital divide because they fund expensive computers and technology for schools and homes. This web page http://www.grantsearchengine.com/faq offers a great explanation of grants. Take a look at this website: http://www.cpsb.org/scripts/abshire/grants.asp. Its compilation of links directs you to organizations that are making efforts to help the digital divide. The sites provide grant applications and information. You can specifically select the “Technology Donation Programs” category for a list of technology grant information. What have you learned after looking through the linked sites? Which sites did you find most helpful?

Computer and Internet Usage

The article “Measuring Digital Opportunity for America‘s Children” (pages 20-36), that was emailed to everyone, illustrates the importance of computer and Internet access. There are countless vital ways in which people use computers and the Internet for both personal and educational purposes. Those who do not have access to computers miss out on all of the opportunities stated in the article. Do you understand why the digital divide is such a serious issue? What points in the article interest you? How important is Internet access to you?

Digital Divide Overview

Briefly read over this article, especially the section labeled “What is the Digital Divide,” for a fitting overview of the digital divide: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/01/digging_deeperyour_guide_to_th.html.

Computers are the tools of 21st century learning, yet many families do not have access to them. Statistically, homes located in rural areas, such as upstate N.Y., (an area where some of us might teach), can not afford home computers. Nowadays all children need to be granted adequate access to computers so that they learn how to use them. Computer skills are necessary to thrive in school and in future careers. What are your thoughts on the digital divide after reading the article or based on any experiences you have had with the effects of the divide? Why is computer access essential for a child to succeed in school? How do you use computers to learn in your everyday life?