Social Justice and Today's Learners

After reading these articles, I feel that the use of technology in the classroom will be a must even if there are outside access issues. For some students, it will be the only place where they get hands on experience and exposure to such technology. However, as in the article on getting to know our students discusses, most students no matter what their economic or home situation is outside of the classroom, a large percentage of them still get access to computers and technology regularly. So it becomes more of an issue of how do we keep all students on the same level or playing field? Do students lacking access suffer a disadvantage? I don't believe so. I feel that as long as they get exposure and experience with it in the classroom we are only bettering their chances for continued growth and success with technology as they progress through their schooling.

I feel strongly that in today's advanced society, if we as educators do not use technology in our classrooms we will be doing our students a great disservice. At the age of 33, I am definitely lacking in my abilities and experience with some of the modern technologies, but I still see the benefit of their use. I also know that most jobs and students today are more proficient with today's technologies right out of the gate and that students will be at a great disadvantage when they enter the real world if they do not have at least a basic understanding of what technologies their future employers are putting to use.

To increase access to students at a disadvantage, I will try to increase student use and exposure during school hours. I also feel it is important for schools themselves to offer up time outside of regular hours for kids to come in and have access to computers and other technologies to gain the proficiency needed to excel in the classroom and beyond.