Journal 3

"Social Justice: Choice or Necessity?" by Colleen Swain and David Edyburn

I really think that using technology in the classroom, from a social justice standpoint, is really a bumpy issue. On one side, kids today really need to know and understand technology in order to succeed in real life like never before in history. Everything is online now, and so if kids don't know how to access computers and the Internet, they are really at a disadvantage. So from this point of view, it really is so beneficial to teach our students about technology so that they become comfortable using it in their day to day lives. On the other side, not every kid has access to computers and other technological devices. I remember as a high school students, not having a computer at my house, even 10-14 years ago, made a lot of homework and projects nearly impossible. I had to coordinate with friends who did have computers in order to complete my assignments. At least I was lucky enough to have some sort of access to computers, but some kids do not have any access to them and that puts them at a very big disadvantage to those do. The use of technology in the classroom is not an easy topic to address and, I believe, will be one that will need to be addressed in depth in the near future.

Questions:
!.) What if I assign a project that requires the use of computers, but not all students have access to one?
I think at the begging in school, just taking a few moments to assess which students do and do not have access to computers would be the first step. Once you know which students have access and which ones do not, you could heterogeneously pair students together, thus ensuring all students a computer to use.
2.) What do you do if a child really just doesn't understand how to use the computer?
Again, pairing students together is a great way for them to receive additional help. Not only is one student learning, the other student is teaching and they are working together.