Journal # 6

"Social Justice – Choice or Necessity?"
By Colleen Swain and David Edyburn

This article details how the partnership between educators and technology can help bridge problems with social justices AND decrease the digital divide. The article discusses the fact that when teachers choose not to integrate technology into their curriculum, the students are the ones being punished. The social justice aspect comes into play when the article discusses how by keeping technology out of the curriculum, the students will not have learned the necessary skills to compete with computer literate students at the college or even high school level. The article also includes that these technology illiterate students without the necessary skills must then resort to “low-paying jobs with limited potential for advancement”. The article also mentions that in present curriculum only students that have mastered basic factual content of a unit are allowed to use technology applications to expand their understanding of the concepts, and even then, the students must share computers and software that isn’t structured for joint work. Finally, the article lists the ways that technology can be properly implemented. First, technology must be available and used routinely with real world applications. Then it must be used to enhance learning opportunities for all students and lastly it must be used to monitor progress of teachers and students alike. \

1.) With admission standards constantly rising at universities, what is the best way to keep up with the ever-changing need for technology fluency?
I believe the best way to address the ever-changing field of technology is to conduct mandatory continued learning seminars for teachers. This way they will remain up to date with present techniques while also providing education for their students and using their new found knowledge in their classroom.

2.) Is technology integration an idealist view for our school system?
To truly integrate technology and create a successful program relating technology and social justice, school districts would have to put aside large chinks of their budget. With a school system that is constantly cutting corners to pay for basic necessities, I wonder if a successful tech. integration program may be an idealist goal. For the future of our students, I hope this is not the case, but only time will tell.

3.) What are some programs that integrate technology for our schools that are also compatible for multi-users with an emphasis on equality?
Websites like http://www.starfall.com provide users with the opportunity to work on various programs at multiple levels of difficulty. Programs like Kidspiration allow for children to create their own project at their level of cognition and difficulty. Both mentioned programs allow for an equal program where children choose what suits their needs within a certain realm of curriculum.