June 1996 — Features
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Achieving Technological Equity and Equal Access to the Learning Tools of the 21st Century
We need to remind ourselves, too, that there's more to technology tools than computers. Video tools are smaller and more powerful. New camcorders are hand-held and with editing features formerly found only on more expensive equipment. We find technology permeating new areas, enriching music, art and industrial/vocational education. But, it's not just the number of tools we make available, the number of new features makes a difference, too.Newer technologies are functionally different than a decade ago. We see far more powerful tools, which let us move from thinking to doing, to modifying, to creating. Knowledge and information are made more accessible to both learners and teachers.
Special needs students are also major beneficiaries of these new tools. For the first time, technology makes learning accessible to many challenged students. While a convenience for some learners, technology can be an absolute necessity for others. Instead of adapting our needs to technology, these new tools are better able to adapt to us and our unique learning needs.
Equity Issues
A recent search disclosed few current articles on the topic of equity and technology. However, Neuman's 1991 article[1] was helpful in clarifying who are the technology "have-nots." Not surprisingly, we find they are most often female, handicapped, minority, disadvantaged and urban. They are the less academically able, more kinesthetic learners, the often "at-risk" students.
Even when we find schools with adequate, up-to-date technology, it is often in the hands of more adept learners. The less able and special needs students are often consigned to less frequent access, to the older equipment, to the redundant, simple software applications.
An amazing statistic we have noted is that over 95% of homes in America have a VCR, but only 82% currently have a telephone. Why the disparity? Videotapes can be fun and entertaining; the phone may be a nuisance to a poor family. Entertainment often wins the battle for scarce discretionary dollars. Still, computers are entering the home at an amazing rate. Nearly one-third of American families are estimated to have computers, and many have CD-ROM-enriched software and modems for access to the Internet. While computer games may be fun, it costs a lot to play. Poor families cannot afford the thousand dollar plus price tags; VCRs and TVs still cost far less.
The New "Highways"
We have all heard government leaders declare the need for equal access to the new "Information Highways." When a new technology is first produced, it d'esn't mean everyone wants to use it. When the teletype was first hooked up from Maine to California, Mark Twain was said to remark, "What makes you think anyone in Maine wants to talk with anyone in California?" It turned out, of course, that ultimately many did, but broad access still is often an issue of economics.
