The Digital Divide

In the article “Ensuring Equality of Educational Opportunity in the Digital Age,” Timothy E. Morse presents inequalities when it comes to the use of technology. The use of computer technology in our society is becoming more prevalent, but not all students have the access required to gain essential knowledge and skills. As Morse states: “The reason every student must develop basic technology literacy skills is that the use of computer technology is becoming increasingly commonplace in every fact of society.” Everywhere you turn, technology is being used. Students must have access to technology, but many of our schools do not provide student’s with that necessary access. In his article, Morse presents statistics regarding technology and access to technology at home. At the time that the survey was taken by the U.S. Department of Commerce, only a little over half the population had computers in their home. Morse broke this down into ethnicities, income, and single parent households and the percentages of homes with computers dropped greatly. Not only are our schools not providing a sufficient amount of computers for students to use, but when based on ethnicity and income, computers may not be provided in the home either. If students are required to know how to use a computer, shouldn’t computers be provided to students? The digital divide focuses greatly on the inequalities between social and economical groups. Confronting the issue requires that school districts step in and make computer technology available to all students. Not only will this solution increase students’ skills when it comes to technology, it will also help students improve academically.