A New Inequality in the Classroom

In the article, Ensuring Equality of Educational Opportunity in the Digital Age, author Timothy E. Morse exams a new inequality in schools, called digital divide. The term digital divide refers to the inequalities between various social groups with respect to availability to computers and access to the Internet. If our nation is to uphold its promise to ensure equality of education opportunity for all students, then every student must develop technology literacy skills. Recent data indicated that throughout our society, certain social groups ranked well below the national average for both owning a computer, and those reporting having internet access. Furthermore, these inequalities reach into our schools, revealed by the discrepancies of classrooms having internet access.
Morse offers several solutions to addressing these inequities. First and foremost, if a student is to learn computer technology, he must have access to a computer. Morse offers several suggestions to help bring this access about. Schools could use computers labs that have been set up to maximize students access, they could offer alternative computer classes on non school days or evenings, or they could create student computer technology clubs.
Morse stresses the importance of adequate teacher training. Teachers need to stay up with the advances in an ever changing technology, so that they can make sure that every student use the technology that is available to them. Teachers need to be able to demonstrate how to effectively use the technology, but they also need to incorporate it into their classroom teaching. Teachers need to accept this challenge and help their students develop computer technology skills, to ensure equality of educational opportunities for all their students.