‘The future arrived. It just wasn't equally distributed.’ William Gibson (n.d.)
If the future is technology, then it has definitely has arrived and with a vengeance! The thing about arrivals, no matter what type you may be talking about, is that they do not show up at the same time, place, or repetitively. Think about a recent package you waited for in eager anticipation. It is now possible to track this kind of everyday transaction online and in ‘real time’. You were given an estimated time of arrival for your item but, it is possible that it will come early, be on time, or be delayed. This is the fact with many things in life not just packages, flights, births, and technology; the distribution fluctuates and remains unequal.
The traditional definition of the digital divide is a metaphor to describe the perceived disadvantage of those who either are unable to or do not choose to make use of technology in their daily life. People who are usually considered disadvantaged in their access to or knowledge of technology include people with low incomes, people who have few educational qualifications or have low literacy levels, the unemployed, elderly people, people in rural areas, people with disabilities, single parents, women, and young girls (Cullen, 2001). (Wikibooks, 2009)
A redefined definition of the digital divide offered by Warschauer (2002) suggests that the digital divide should take into account a variety of factors related to physical, digital, human, and social resources so that social development can be enhanced through the effective integration of ICT into communities. (Wikibooks, 2009)
As a leader in educational technology for my work colleagues I will work as a collaborative member to be open minded to new ideas and share insights gained from this course. It is my intent to use this knowledge regarding obsolete and emerging technologies to steer our decisions towards items that will benefit all rather than just some. At our site the staff possesses a wide range of comfort levels in regard to their comfort level with technology. This is where the unequal distribution of technology is felt the most and not just by the staff members but the students as well. If we are to develop our students’ understanding, knowledge and capabilities with technological devices we need to ensure an even comfort level among the staff. The best way I see to accomplish this task is to hold collaborative, hands-on training sessions that provides the staff a stress free and supportive environment to learn and ‘play’ with the technology tools available at our site. Then, invite reluctant staff members to witness firsthand the tools being used in a classroom setting so that they may experience the tools in action with students as they would in their own classrooms. The goal would be to instill confidence and infectious enthusiasm for all of our staff, which would equalize the distribution.
References
Soloway, E. (n.d.). The digital divide: Leveling the playing field [vodcast] Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com
Thornburg, D. (2008). Evolutionary technologies. [vodcast] Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com
Wikibooks (2009). Web 2.0 and emerging learning technologies/digital divide. [website] Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Web_2.0_and_Emerging_Learning_Technologies/Digital_Divide
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