Teaching New Century Students

Many of today’s New Century students are at risk of being socially excluded in educational settings (Hardaker, Dockery & Sabki, 2010). Therefore, to realize equality in pedagogy, educators should strive for a middle ground by making learning relevant. Moreover, learning should be inclusive and not discriminate against socio-cultural contexts. Expanding upon Hardaker et al. (2010) concept of equity in pedagogy, Ryoo, Margolis, Lee, Sandoval, & Goode (2013) address equity specifically regarding Computer Science (CS) curriculum. Ryoo et al. (2013) argue that engaging students is primary. To engage students, curriculum needs to be relevant and build upon students’ interests. In a similar vein, Prensky (2010) calls upon teachers always to be real, not just relevant, by teaching to students’ passions and helping them to make real-world connections. What students’ know and are interested in should be valued as a classroom resource. Further, Ladson-Billings (2013) discusses the digital divide that has ensued from an educational debt to our nation’s minorities. This digital divide is a result of historical, economic, socio-political, and moral elements of inequality that have shaped the history of our country and left minority students behind. Ladson-Billings (2013) argues that this educational debt is a shared responsibility that we must all take on and offer pragmatic solutions to overcome. All too often, the opposite is true by addressing inequality with superficial, Band-Aid solutions. Johnson (2011) addresses the digital divide by providing practical digital tools for teaching New Century students.

New Century students comprise a diversity of learners. To support this diversity in our student population, pedagogy needs to be fair, culturally responsive, equitable, and relevant. Further, learning tools for New Century learners are rapidly changing. Johnson (2010) explains this transformation in his introduction as traditional chalkboards becoming interactive, pens and pencils giving way to computers and mobile technology, news and information now coming from internet sites and blogs. Furthermore, publishing is something that is done online, and anyone can do. Today, most New Century learners own mobile devices. They are heavily engaged with digital tools, learning both inside and outside of the classroom walls, and eager to innovate and create. New Century students are preparing themselves for jobs that are not yet created. That being said, digital tools provide personalized, relevant instruction that helps learners make sense of the information-rich world they live in.

Discussion boards are an example of an equitable learning environment. Ryoo et al. (2013) also discuss that pedagogy should be culturally relevant and equity-oriented. They further state that to ensure equitable, culturally relevant pedagogy, teachers should value what students already know as a classroom resource. This involves taking into account students’ diversity of life stories, cultural backgrounds and native languages. Discussion boards are a technology that values what students know and are a resource for other students. Moreover, Ladson-Billings (2013) suggests that we need to understand and share the responsibility for the causes of inequity and offer pragmatic solutions to these problems. Discussion boards fit well towards this end as both teachers and students learn from each other. The teacher can facilitate student discussions to share their unique perspectives on inequity and come up with practical solutions and understanding of root causes of issues.

Yet, while technology is held up as the “way” of teaching New Century students, in actuality it is not living up to its promise. The problem remains that what exists in this country is a digital divide. Technology is not available for all. However, Prensky (2010) argues that unequal access is OK given that all students have access to a minimum. The minimum is for each student to have a networked personal computer plus a cell phone. If this does not exist today, it will exist tomorrow. By preparing for the future, teachers need always to think in terms of what if their students had access to the minimum level of technology.

Also included in the digital divide is a ‘homework gap.’ Low-income students are at a disadvantage due to lack of online access to do their homework. Horrigan (2015) found that most homes with school-aged children (29 million) in the U.S. have broadband access. However, five million households with school-aged children do not have high-speed internet service. That equates to roughly 1/3 of K-12 students who do not have internet access at home. These five million homes are disproportionately made up of Black, Hispanic, and Native American families (Horrigan, 2015).

Therefore, technology is a paradox. While digital tools have helped teachers teach better, it also poses challenges for both teachers and students regarding the essential ingredient needed to use technology: high-speed internet. Further, technology is divisive. The role of technology in school districts is divided between wealthy school districts and poor school districts, among teachers who are comfortable with technology and those who are not, rural and urban communities, low-achieving and high-achieving students, and students who have broadband at home and those that do not. These disparities impair student learning (Purcell et al., 2013).

While Prensky (2010) makes a compelling argument for not holding back in regards to technology, the matter is that the digital divide is very real and is holding back many New Century students. What I see lacking in Prensky’s (2010) framework is that students may have the minimum level of technology (laptops and mobile phones), but lack access to high-speed internet. I see this in my online classroom. While the university I teach for provides laptops to all of their students, Wi-Fi access is a continual problem. Many students have to do their classwork in libraries, coffee houses, and fast food restaurants due to no internet or limited bandwidth at home. Using technology outside of the home is difficult to coordinate with full-time work schedules and taking care of families, in which many are single-family households.

Thus, the digital divide is troubling. As all of the authors in Unit 1 and Unit 2 readings advocate, teachers need to take full advantage of all available technology and not hold back due to unequal access. This means that teachers are assigning homework that requires the use of Internet resources. In fact, today 7 in 10 teachers assign homework that requires Internet access (Horrigan, 2015). New Century students may be connected to the web in the classroom, but when they go home at night, completing their homework is difficult (Horrigan, 2015).

The digital divide has prompted action by the U.S. government. The F.C.C. has extended its phone subsidy program, entitled ‘Lifeline,’ to include subsidies for internet services in low-income homes.  The expanded program is called ConnectED. This initiative plans to connect 99% of U.S. students to high-speed internet in their classrooms by 2018. ConnectED is one effort that will help to bridge the digital divide by helping our low-income students look for jobs and do their homework. While this initiative is progress, there is still a long way to go to bridge the divide in our nation’s poorest neighborhoods and most rural communities (Council of Economic Advisers Issues Brief, 2015).

Broadband internet is no longer considered a luxury. Broadband is a necessity to find a job and get an education. While most students today have cell phones with data plans, using the internet on their mobile phones to complete their homework eats up their data. In considering socio-cultural and social responsibility factors of the digital divide, we have to be pragmatic and tackle the matter of equality in access to broadband. The gap is widening between the haves and have-nots among New Century students, and as Ladson-Billings (2013) calls for, we must take social responsibility for this digital divide and come up with pragmatic solutions so that all students, teachers, communities, and school districts become equal. Applying more Band-Aid solutions will only widen the digital divide and hurt the future of our nation, as we will fail to prepare the next generation of our workforce.

References
Council of Economic Advisers. (2015, July). Mapping the digital divide (Issue Brief). Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_issue_brief.pdf

Hardaker, G., Dockery, R., & Sabki, A. A. (2010). Cognitive learning styles and digital equity: Searching for the middle way. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14, 777–794. doi: 10.1080/13603110802680786

Horrigan, J. B. (2015). The numbers behind the broadband ‘homework gap.’ Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/

Johnson, S. (2011). Digital tools for teaching: 30 e-tools for collaborating, creating, and publishing across the curriculum. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House Pub.

Lecture-colloquium, T. C. H. T., & Ladson-Billings, G. (2013). “Stakes is high”: Educating new century students. The Journal of Negro Education, 82(2), 105–110.

Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching digital natives: Partnering for real learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Purcell, K., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., & Friedrich, L. (2013). How teachers are using technology at home and in their classrooms. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www. pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/how-teachers-are-using-technology-at-home-and-in-their-classrooms/

Ryoo, J. J., Margolis, J., Lee, C. H., Sandoval, C. D. M., & Goode, J. (2013). Democratizing computer science knowledge: Transforming the face of computer science through public high school education. Learning, Media and Technology, 38(2), 161–181. doi: 10.1080/ 17439884.2013.756514