Nagel, D. (2008). Digital Divide? What Digital Divide? The Journal. Retrieved from:
Summary: For years, people have assumed that low-income students have had a technological disadvantage when compared to high-income students. However, this may not be the case. A survey conducted by the University of Minnesota found that 91% of low-income students access the Internet at least once a week. 50% access the internet daily, and 25% access the internet multiple times a day. Mainly, these students were using the internet to access social networking sites, but visiting these sites may have inadvertently helped these students develop 21st century skills. Low-income students who visited social networking sites said they developed technology skills, creativity, being open to diverse views, and communication skills. These are all skills that help one find a job in the 21st century. However, the study did not look at if these sites actually had any affect on low-income students' ability to obtain a job.
Reaction: While it is encouraging to see that students of all socio-economic classes are accessing technology, I would be afraid that a study like this may give lower-income districts an excuse to not incorporate technology classes into their curriculum. If students are already online, why should they bother trying to teach them 21st century skills? Furthermore, being able to post on a Facebook wall doesn't really seem to correlate to marketable job skills. Everyone can use social media nowadays, so what can schools do to help students compete in a globalized marketplace? We cannot sit idly by and just hope kids will teach technology to themselves. We need to proactive, not reactive!
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