Red Group

OK, I'm going to get on my soapbox here. I do not think it's fair for us as educators to assume that all children have access to the technology that we as college students are privileged to have mostly handed to us. I can say from personal example that i only received a cell phone out of necessity and not till i was 14. My iPod and other luxury devices I purchased myself with money I had earned on my own.

Especially in today's economically harsh world, will all parents have the ability to provide these luxury items (cell phones, iPods, computers, internet) to their children?  Or is it the responsibility of the public school system to provide these technological advantages for all it's students. The same school systems that sometimes struggle to provide enough books for its students. It's just not practical in today's society. There will always be a divide between the have's and have not's.

As an educator, I wouldn't like to see this technology made mandatory in my lesson plans. By taking that aspect away, children who don't have that particular technology aren't singled out. I'm going to rely on personal experience again. At one point, my sister, due to health related circumstances could not attend regular school. Instead she attended online courses through a program called Home & Hospital which brought instruction to students through chat rooms. Unfortunately these were not her regular teachers. These lessons ensured she was up to par with her peers when she returned the following term. Instead of severing ties with a student, I would record my lessons and upload them as Podcasts on a class website. This way students who might be out of the class for extended periods of time can stay caught up and some students can use it as a study aid if they don't take accurate notes. The rest of the site could contain downloadable worksheets, and possibly a class forum where students can ask each other for help.