Engage parents as partners to close the digital divide

Hoff, Jane

IL-21^st century skills

Boss, S. (2016, May 9). Engage parents as partners to close the digital divide. Retrieved from Digital Divide, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/engage-parents-partners-close-digital-divide-suzie-boss

Engage parents as partners to close the digital divide

Summary:  Addressing the issue of 21^st century technology and skills development where low income families are unable to support students due to lack of resources, no access to internet, or only access to digital devices with limited or unreliable access to the internet.  Featured are the innovative efforts of school administrators who recognized the problem, and sought to fix it through unorthodox means.  From programs that put digital devices (laptops or tablets) in the hands of every student to wiring school buses for wifi, the aim is to bridge the divide between the haves and the have nots which still remains to be the most impacting elements in academic achievement.  Ultimately, however, it is clear that without the support of parents, all the efforts of the school/teachers to provide 21^st century resources to their students would not accomplish the goals.  Parents must assume the role of partner with educators committed to learning how to use the devices provided, to understand the value of the technology and skills of the resources provided, and the tools to encourage the development of 21^st century skills in their children.

Review:  The featured educators and programs are remarkable, and should be seen as models or pilot programs for all our schools.  With 51% of public school students living below the poverty line across the nation, it seems especially important to begin providing the resources and technology to help students develop the necessary skills to perform in a 21^st century economy.  Obviously, many schools and school districts do not have the funding to be able to provide devices for every child, but it should be the aim to make 21^st century technology skills a priority.  A large majority of students have some form of personal digital device, but experience limited or irregular connectivity.  Taking a cue from the school district featured in the article, perhaps the solution is not providing devices so much as providing free access to high speed internet year-round.  Also, providing parents and caretakers with free education in the technology skills that their children are learning and expected to use for school work will likely help bolster the students achievement as well as strengthen a foundation for the parents in building a future for their children as world citizens.