Equal Access

How can I as a teacher provide equal access to technology for all of my students? That is a great question. During my first 3 years of teaching I have found that most of my students do have computers in their homes. However, it is not appropriate for us to assume that all children will have home computers. Let’s face it we now live in a technology computer driven world and because of this everyone just assumes that everyone else owns a computer and has Internet access at home. Well, this just isn’t the case. Along with living in a world of technology we are also living in a world of hard economic times. There are people out there who either can’t afford to own a computer or they can’t afford to pay for home Internet access. I can remember being in high school and getting certain school assignments and I would often think to myself, “How would I be able to complete this assignment without having the Internet at home?” Due to the fact that there are students out there without technology access at home, we as educators need to think about how to assist those students. It is not fair of us to automatically put students at a disadvantage with an assignment just because they don’t have the means to complete that assignment at home.

So again I return to the question: How can I as a teacher provide equal access to technology for all of my students? Honestly this isn’t an easy question to answer. I teach elementary students so I don’t often assign homework that requires the use of the computer or the Internet. I do however assign several at home projects. I don’t require them to use the computer or the Internet to complete their projects, although let’s face it the students who do have these resources have a much easier time with their projects. Due to the fact that all of my students may not have Internet access at home I do always book computer lab time during the school day to allow my students to do some research for their home projects. This way all of my students are receiving equal access to technology benefits.

In thinking more about this question now I also thought that perhaps another idea would be to offer students free lab time with me before school or after school. I could book the computer lab during open lab time and let students know that if anyone needed help with their projects or if they needed access to a computer to research on, I could be available at certain times before and after school. Now this is easier said than done. This method would require students being able to get to school early or be picked up later after school. There are also many days that I have meetings or bus duty before and after school, therefore making this option a bit harder than it sounds.

Overall there is not an easy answer to this question. I guess what it comes down to is having an open mind. As a teacher you need to know all of your students at home situations and you need to be available to make accommodations for students who don’t have access to at home technology.