Equal Access

It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide equal access to the digital world to all learners.  What does this mean?  How does one accomplish it?

The first time I read this statement, I read it as a question: "Is it the responsibility of the teacher to provide equal access to the digital world to all learners?" My answer is No. It is not my responsibility as the teacher, however, I believe it is each individual community's responsibility to create a learning environment where everyone has equal access to the the digital world.

Having reread the statement, I guess I need to rethink my original answer.

As the teacher I don't have to provide laptops to each student or ensure that everyone has high speed internet at home, but I do need to create an environment where I introduce the technology that I do have access to, and allow all of them to experiment and become proficient.

One way to do this is the incorporate technology into the daily plans. When I was a student, Oregon Trail was one of the programs our Social Science teacher used as a tool to talk about the expansion out West. However, it was for only a select few ~ mostly her favorite.Not everyone got to use the one computer in the room and it was a game, not an opportunity to expand our understanding of technology or strengthen our computer skills. Technology can't be a treat or for just a select . It has to be part of the daily lesson plan. Kids shouldn't be excited to use as a distraction from a lesson, it should just be part of how they do their learning.