Digital+Access

Digital Access Voicethread by Lene Benoit, Gabrielle Coffman and Brandi Giles

Digital Access is the element of digital citizenship that concerns the level of access each citizen has to technology. In order to have “full electronic participation in society” (Ribble & Bailey 2007) people need the opportunity to manipulate digital products on a regular basis. In schools, research projects and other teacher assignments require that students have access to computers outside of school, but for many students this is not an option. According to recent statistics, only 28% of U.S. households have high speed internet access (U.S. Government Accountability Office 2006). In rural areas this number is even lower. What these numbers show is that though our world is more technologically saavy; many citizens still lack the means to fully participate in a digital society. Libraries could be the solution, but due to the high volume of patrons wanting to use library computers, many facilities have restricted computer time to as low as 30 mins (PBS 2010). Teachers who ignore this problem by assigning computer work outside of school without accommodating students who lack digital access, are contributing to their students lack of digital competency. Some ways to avoid this include allowing time in class for students to complete computer work, extending school lab hours, partnering with a one-to-one computer program where students are given laptops for the school year and simply asking students whether they have computers at home and coming up with a solution together if they do not.

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