Social Action

You work in a school where only half of your students have high speed access and computers at home.
What could you do to bridge this digital divide? How might you use social media to change this situation
and get kids and their families decent computers and high-speed access?

This is a very difficult situation. The gap in this case is substantial and would present a MAJOR barrier to effective learning, teaching and communication to everyone involved. Getting more computers in the schools could be accomplished through partnerships and deals with corporations and businesses who receive a certain amount of money to give to a charitable cause every year, if the school didn't have enough money to purchase computers.

However, bridging the digital divide entails more than just computer access at school. It involves, as the question points out, making sure that kids AND their families have access in their homes as well. All of these technologies and social media tools are useless if you don't have access to them. I think, first of all, we must reach a consensus as a community and a society that access is important. We must educate on what the digital divide is, agree that it exists and that it is a hindrance to our educational progression, and brainstorm ideas on how to deal with it.

I think it would be a great idea if teachers/schools/school administrators started utilizing text messaging to increase the sense of community amongst students and their families. More people have cell phones than computers, including most students, and text message updates on everything from upcoming events, to student progress could be a great tool bridging the social divide (which perpetuates the digital divide).