For teachers, this kind of disparity in access creates difficulties in the classroom. My school is like so many. We provide devices in a 1-to-1 capacity to all of our learners. While we have given them the tools to use at home, we cannot control their ability to use them. Last year, the district was going through the process of reviewing our 1-to-1 devices and exploring possible alternatives to continuing to use iPads. Many on the committee pointed to the initial cost savings of switching to Chromebooks. The problem of access to internet was a sticking point for the committee. If learners do not have reliable internet access after school hours, then we are doing them a disservice. We had been testing WiFi on the busses, but with limited success. We eventually stayed with the iPads but took on the added cost of providing Smart Keyboards and Apple Pencils as well. We are now working with teachers to develop learning activities that can be fully downloaded at school, and do not solely rely on internet access after school hours. We have to make sure that all of our learners have the same ability to be successful. That success should not be dependent on their household income.
References Repko, M. and Vestal, A. (2019, August 30). Dallas’ digital haves and have-nots. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved from https://interactives.dallasnews.com/2019/dallas-digital-divide/ Prompt 2. Digital Footprint/Digital Tattoo: What is a digital footprint/tattoo? What are the differences between an intentional and an unintentional digital footprint/tattoo? How can students deliberately cultivate a digital footprint? What should they include in their public ePortfolios? Digital access is fairly ubiquitous for teenagers (Lenhart, 2015). According the report, 92% of teens go online daily. A large part of this daily, and sometimes constant, activity is on social media. Ribble (2015) points out that most teenagers are not fully aware of their responsibilities in protecting themselves online. This facet of basic citizenship is not well covered in their lives. All of the artifacts that a person posts online becomes a part of their digital footprint. Your digital footprint is something that is almost permanent due to the way the internet works. Most people, teens and adults alike, are not aware of this fact. A quick search on the Internet Archive “Wayback Machine” (n.d.) will prove that the internet is permanent. Keeping up with the changes in your digital profile is difficult. Most people are not aware of a newer phenomenon, the digital fingerprint (Briz, 2018). Browsing habits are tracked by information transmitted from your browser and computer. This information is taken in by advertisers and routinely traded. Browsing habits are now a part of a person’s digital footprint. I used to not be concerned because I don’t do things I shouldn’t and am pretty boring. Now, I have a different attitude. All of this information can be used by so-called “bad actors” to impersonate me and cover their tracks. Helping learners be active in cultivating their digital footprint through the artifacts they intentionally post is as important as it has ever been. Helping them understand the passive artifacts they create is just as important. References Briz, N. (2018, July 26). This is your digital fingerprint [blog post]. Retrieved from https://blog.mozilla.org/internetcitizen/2018/07/26/this-is-your-digital-fingerprint/ Internet Archive Wayback Machine. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://web.archive.org Lenhart, A. (2015, April 9). Teens, social media & technology overview 2015. The Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/ Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship in schools (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: International Society of Technology in Education.
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