Chandell Asuncion

Mr. William Sullivan is a 5th grade teacher at Kamehameha Schools Hawai`i, who is writing a paper for his masters course titled: “What is Kamehameha Schools doing to close up the gap in the Digital Divide?” This got me thinking about my son who has fantastic design ideas. Ideas that could add to the functionality of products making them better for consumers. My son who is 14 years old, has grown up with computers. He knows how to do research on the internet, can communicate using email, and is part of an online social network. Yet, his ideas are still in the wrong hands (his own). He has computer skills and is hedging towards 21st century skills; however he is not there yet. When his skills allow him to be a productive part of his community, participate in an international arena, and compete in a global economy then he will have acquired the 21st century skills he needs to prosper.

I can personally remember having ideas when I was a child, and wondering what to do with them… who do I call, where do I write, and who can I share this with? Not knowing who to contact, I wasn’t able to share my ideas with anyone. Many of us, at one time or another, has had an idea that others would benefit from, but had no one to tell the idea to. No one that is that could take that idea and put it into production. This is one of the areas that business are seeing as a gap between themselves and their community that can be “closed up” with the use of modern technology and 21st century skills.

We can take a look at our local news stations, or at a national news station like CNN, who ask the community to become on-the-spot reporters, photographers and videographers, capturing the news as it happens.

Encyclopedia Britannica is also looking at “closing the gap” on information literacy, by asking experts and individuals in the community to become a part of their knowledge base. In the School Library Journal released on June 11, 2008 Encyclopedia Britannica announced the launch of their new Britannica site which is about to go the Wikipedia route with personalized modifications that allow experts and the public to create, document and share knowledge on its site.

“The main thrust of this initiative is to promote greater participation by both our expert contributors and readers,” says Britannica. The hope is that the new Britannica site will create an online community that will engage thousands of scholars and experts, as well as regular users.¹

Hardware and Software companies have been piloting this model for years, as they roll out “beta” versions of their software and ask a select group of volunteers to use their product and provide feedback. They receive feedback on what is not working and what they would like to have in future versions. Beta testers are valuable to these developers because each of the users have different computer hardware, use different platforms and versions, and can offer a wide range of testing.

The internet has allowed for a myriad of social networks to form and collaborate. Today each of us are able to become a digital citizen, build meaningful mentor, student relationships, and provide a community service, at our convenience, using online productivity tools. We are able to become part of a community and improve the conditions of that community with our participation.

The “digital divide” comes into play if we don’t know how to participate. The same problems I experienced as a child, exist today for those who do not have 21st century skills. Many people are isolated and do not have access to computers, the internet, and proper training. What are schools doing? What are teachers doing? What are families doing? What are districts doing? What is our country doing? What are you doing to help close the gap that is being created by the “digital divide”?

Do you have 21st century skills? Are you are part of a social network? Do you contribute to the knowledge base of a community with your skills? Are you a mentor for someone who is new in your field? Are you a student who is looking to gain knowledge from a social network? Are you using the internet to collaborate world-wide? Are you using internet productivity tools to participate in or manage a project or a team? These are just a few of the skills we will need to close the gap on the digital divide in the 21st century.

For the first time in our history, big cities and small rural communities are on level playing fields. Will the United States be the for-runners of the global economy a year from now?

____________________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes:

1. By Debra Lau Whelan — School Library Journal, 6/11/2008 2:00:00 PM http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6569492 (062708)

If you are not already receiving Technology and Learning Magazine and Online Newsletter Subscription, you can get a preview of what they have to offer at their website. See their comprehensive eBook Library.

Here is just a sample of some of the titles you will find:

1. Web 2.0: from Curious to Competent
2. Do Our Students Measure Up? How to Define and Assess Student Technology Proficiency
3. Taking One-to-One Computing to the Next Level– Laptop Learning Lightens Up Simple Storage Solutions
4. Professional Development Through Just-in-Time Learning
5. New students, new tools, new possibilities — Creating digital learning environments
6. Guide to Classroom Presentations — Harnessing the Potential of Interactive Technologies, Media Savvy for Today’s Students and Teachers
7. The Why and How of Interactive Whiteboards — Making a Difference, Tips and Tutorials for Purchase and Use
8. Keeping Students Safe Online — Securing the Learning Environment, Addressing the Challenges of Internet-Assisted Learning
9. PC Management in the Classroom: Kids, Computers, and Control
10. 1:1 Computing Guidebook
11. Digital Media in the Classroom — The Art of Digital Storytelling

And Much more…..

Point of Reference
Photographers often need a flexible zoom lens when photographing special events. Sometimes they want to capture a wide angle shot (macro view) that gives you a sense of what is happening, what things look like, how the area is decorated, how many people are involved, and what the theme is. Then there are moments when the photographer wants to zoom in tight (micro view) and eliminate as much as possible from the picture to capture a moment that may not be seen in a wide angle shot. In education, we are facing the same opportunities and the same challenges as the photographer.

Zoom In and Out
Consider a learning environment that focuses in and out on a subject and extends beyond the group of students you have in one period or in a one teacher classroom (macro view) yet, still meets in manageable classroom size groups (micro view). Christina Lambard, a middle school teacher at Broward County Schools in Parkland, Florida, is doing just that.

Lambard uses a team wiki where more than 110 students contribute to a large scale discussion about literature, including chapter summaries, character descriptions and elements of symbolism. “Most students I’ve encountered use online resources, such as SparkNotes or PinkMonkey, to ‘supplement’ their reading,” describes Lambard. “My motivation behind the wiki was for them to create their own online resource, which would hopefully encourage them to read more of the book themselves.” ¹

What are the benefits?
Using wikis, students share their learning with real audiences, affect change, take positions, naturally engage in debates and persuasive arguments, practice social ethics and respect the opinions of others.
In addition, students become productive citizens and partners when paired in groups, when they can access their group content from any computer with internet access.

This combination of blogs, wikis and a class Web page has been tremendously rewarding for Lambard, her students and their parents. “The overall benefit [of using Web 2.0] is two-fold: it engages the students more than traditional ‘paper/pencil’ work,” explains Lambard, “plus it also provides the students and parents with a greater connectivity to the teacher and school.” ¹

Get a Wiki Account for Your Classroom
If you are a Kamehameha Schools Hawaii educator and are interested in using Wikis in your classroom, call or email me, so that I can establish a KS wiki account for you and your students.

In the meantime here are some resources:

1. Ebook: Web 2.0: From Curious to Competent
2. Tutorial: Atomic Learning: http://movies.atomiclearning/k12/pbwiki
3. YOU: Add comments, ideas, request, or additional exemplars for us to peruse.

____________________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes:

1. E book: Web 2.0: From Curious to Competent, Tech & Learning, June 12, 2008. Tech & Learning and Atomic Learning (06/22/08). Posted in Learning, Productivity, Resources, Teaching, Web 2.0, Wikis | 1 Comment »