Computers Affected By High School Students Related To The Digital Divide

There are many instances that I recall from high school that are related to the digital divide. Throughout high school there were many computers located in numerous classrooms, however, there were few instances that we used them. During the occasions that we did use the computers, it was usually for basic tasks that seemed like busy work instead of work that imposed critical thinking. However, there were some required classes that taught digital literacy.

The high school that I attended was one that I consider as low poverty, but there seemed to be little use of technology. Mark Warschauer mentions in a comment in his article, “Whither the Digital Divide?”, that appears to be in contrast with my high school. He mentions that “high-SES students more frequently use technology in school for tasks that promote higher-order thinking, such as simulations and project-work, whereas low-SES students more frequently use technology for remedial drills” (Warschauer, 2008, p.145). In most cases, even though my school was high-SES, the teachers rarely used the technology they were given to promote higher

This was done by requiring students take at least one computer class per semester to teach them the fundamentals of technology. By doing this it allowed students to use technology in a way that gives them long term application which improves their learning ability. This is supported by Warschauer (2008) because he mentions a solution to the digital divide is to foster the ‘long-term nurturing of behaviors intrinsically motivated energy with such technologies’” (p. 148). By gradually implementing this through a drawn-out process it allowed students to be more comfortable with technology and it helps them exercise higher learning in other areas. They were able to use the computers to their advantage during the few occasions that computers were