Equal Access to the Digital World

Today, the internet has become a part of life for most people.  We use it to: keep in touch with others, at work, for pleasure, to reserve library books, pay bills, shop, etc. In order to be successful in the 21st century, one needs to have digital literacy.  Thus, it is critical that the education system provide digital literacy to all students.

Universal Design for Learning (U.D.L) is a framework for educators to follow to ensure that all students are having their educational needs met.  Utilizing U.D.L will produce a classroom that is student centered.  In practice, the teacher considers every students' needs and plans in order to structure an environment and lesson plans in which each student can best reach their full potential.

As digital literacy has become an important goal in education, it is prudent that educators align digital access within the U.D.L framework.  Doing so will create a classroom in which students of all abilities can achieve digital literacy.  There are a multitude of tools available in order to achieve equal access.  One of my sons has severe visual impairment.  Due to technological innovations, he has not needed a classroom aide for years.  An attachment to a laptop magnifies anything he needs, including what the teacher is working on in the front of the classroom.  Other innovations include: touchscreens, writing aides, and text to speech to name just a few.

With the advancement of technology, there are software and hardware available to make equal access to the digital world easily achievable for every student.

Educational Value of Social Media

Social media can play an important role in education today.  They can be used in a multitude of ways including, notifying parents and students about snow days, to utilization in enhancing instruction.  Even the National School Board Association agrees. Koterwas (2007) shares, "The National School Boards Association (NSBA) finds that safety concerns over online social networking are overblown, and recommends schools become more comfortable with social networks and seek educational uses for online social networking" (p. 1).

Indeed, the NSBA made their determinations based on a study conducted by Grunwald And Associates, LLC, and funded by Microsoft, News Corporation and Verizon.  The NSBA have recommended that districts reflect on the following:

• Explore social networking sites
• Consider Using Social Networking for staff communications and professional development
• Find ways to harness the educational value of social networks
• Ensure equitable access
• Pay attention to the non-conformists
• Re-examine social networking policies
• Encourage social networking companies to increase educational value

While social networking is appropriate for middle and high school students, I still feel it has value at the elementary level.  Thus, I have decided to create a facebook page for my classroom.  This page is to be used by parents with their children in order to access information about classroom events, as well as information and photos of projects. 

In four weeks our class will begin a project in which students will play the role of museum curators. They will be assigned a tribe and will embark on a WebQuest in order to create a poster museum about a Native American Tribe.  When these posters are completed, I will take photos and post them on the class facebook page in order that students can take their parents on a "tour" of their museum.  This will add enthusiasm for the project as well as make it meaningful to the students. Most importantly, the best way to learn about something is to teach it. By connecting to our class facebook page with your child, you will enhance your child's understanding of Native American tribes by allowing them to teach you via the poster museums.  

I urge you to please "like" our classroom page if you are a facebook user. In doing so you will be alerted when the photos are added to the page. In addition, I will be using the page to notify you of important events that we have planned in our classroom.  Overall, my goal for this page is to more closely connect parents with our classroom. After all, parents are and should be a part of the classroom community. 

Permission slips allowing student work to be shown on the page will be sent home.  Please know that student work will not be identified by name, nor will student specific information be shared.  Most importantly, this is not a public page.  I authorize subscription requests, and only classroom parents will be granted access to the page.  To "like" the page please click here (you will need to log-in to facebook).

Thank-you in advance for your participation and support in making our classroom community more connected!

References

 

Koterwas, T. (2007, August 9). National School Boards Association Research and Guidelines on Online   Social Networking — WDIL.org. Web Designs for Interactive Learning — WDIL.org. Retrieved November 10, 2012, from http://www.wdil.org/resources/national-school-boards-association-research-and-guidelines-on-online-social-networking