What is it?
First, one most know what Digital Citizenship is. Digital Citizenship is a concept which helps teachers, technology leaders, and parents to understand what students/children/technology users should know how to use technology appropriately.(www.digitalcitizenship.net) Equitable Digital Access is making sure our students can have as much access to the digital world as possible at school and home. It is hard for some parents to keep up with the ever evolving world of technology. This includes latest Ipads, computers, tablets, and varying connection speeds. Equitable Digital Access means that during school times the students that need extra time to do "digital" work get a fair amount of time to do it. The teachers need to understand how to teach their students how to keep up with the technology and use it to enhance their learning.
Why is it so important?
Making sure a classroom has the right amount of devices, bandwidth, and time is crucial because students may not get it at home. The classroom is the frontline of technology for some students. If a student doesn't have access at home to do a project then their grade will reflect that. It will lack the depth, details, and time put into it. It can help students who have different learning styles get over a hurdle. If a student is a visual learner then seeing a dot jump across words may help that individual learn how to read. It also can serve different levels of education where nobody is being hindered by another student. If student "A" is doing complex math and student "B" is doing simple math then they both can be working on math at the same time without hindering the other. This is the power of Equitable Digital Access.
What can we do?
- As a teacher using our resources wisely and inspiration from other teachers is always the first thing.
- Collaborating on group projects such as timed centers, rotation of computers, and adequate rewards for using the digital media the correct way is a start.
- Maintaining the integrity of the technology is always at the top. This means cleaning, inspecting, and turning on/off correctly.
- Setting up fundraisers and setting aside funds for upgrades yearly is also a way to ensure our students stay up to date.
