Bridging the Digital Divide in America’s Rural Schools

Butrymowicz, S. (2012, June 20). Retrieved July 23, 2012, from The Hechinger Report: http://hechingerreport.org/content/bridging-the-digital-divide-in-americas-rural-schools_8826/

Summary: This article is about Edison School located in rural Colorado where about 25-30 percent of the students do not have internet access at home. Yet, the school has enough computers for every student. The school’s goal is to expand the students’ horizons and prepare them for college and the workplace. The article states that rural schools have been leaders in long-distance education so they can offer their students the best education possible. In fact, Edison School has a full online school that enrolls students in the district. The problem rural schools face is the cost of receiving and maintaining technology in the traditional classroom. To help this and avoid a gap between rural and urban schools, many schools have provided statewide initiatives to provide rural schools with technology. The fact that most students in rural areas do not have access to internet at home is another challenge rural schools face. Teachers cannot depend on students to complete online assignments or use the internet for homework. Teachers also need to learn how to use the new technology they receive for their classrooms and use them to improve student learning.

Response: This article was very interesting; I never realized that rural schools were leaders in long-distance education. I agree that they should utilize technology as much as possible, especially for the benefit of the students. I really liked that the school’s main goal for using computers in the classroom was to broaden the students’ horizons. Students definitely need some experience with technology in order for them to be competitive and successful in college and in the workplace. I like that the article recognizes the financial issues rural schools may have and how that can affect the technology available to the students. However, I did not like that this article only focused on one school and that this school has a $10,000 grant available to them to finance their technologies. I wish the article would have looked at other schools especially a school that does not have a lot of money.