Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Technology Alone Does Not Have the Power to Increase the Academic Success of Low-Income and Minority Students.

Minority students in Mississippi use new iPads in class. (Source)
Differences in the education and academic success of minority and low-income students compared to students of higher socioeconomic students has become a concerning topic of educational issues in recent years. Research and statistics show that minority and low-income students are simply not performing on the same level as other students of the same age that are not minority races or come from higher-income homes. Many people believe that a solution to help put an end to these inconsistent successes within different groups is to increase the amount of technology within schools.

With technology enhancing and spreading so quickly, there is no doubt that there can be benefits to education through technology. However, research done in this study proved that increasing the amount of technology in classroom alone will not by itself narrow the divide between low-income and minority students and students of a higher socioeconomic status. This is due to the many other factors that are involved with technology use and students performance.


This graph from this data source shows the percentage of students who are considered below-average academically by their race. It is obvious that more Black and Hispanic students are below-average academically than compared to white students. 

I spoke with Jessica Haddaway, a former elementary school teacher who taught majority low-income and minority students in Baltimore City Public Schools. Her school consisted of 98 to 99 percent of students who are eligible for free and reduced meals. She discussed with me her experiences with technology while teaching students in an urban elementary school.



Lack of access to a computer at home is one of the main issues technology does not have the power to improve low-income and minority education. 


Studies have shown that having access to a computer at home has a big impact on a student's use of technology at schools. Using a computer or other piece of technology at home leads to more confidence in a student's ability to use these technologies. If students lack access to a computer that they can frequently use at home, they may be unfamiliar with how to effectively use the technologies they are using on computers at school and lag behind other students who do have home access. This may even widen the divide between low-SES and minority students and high-SES students, even if there is sufficient technology offered within the school.

Adding technology to schools won't guarantee that students are working with these technologies at home to enhance their learning or ability to practice and use them successfully. It is known that students who have access to technology at home are much more likely to take advanced computer classes at the high-school level that are beneficial not only to their education but for skills related to college and careers later in life. This shows how access to technology has become an issue of social equality in today's society.


The graph created from this source clearly shows that income-level plays a big role in access to computers. Upper-class and middle-class people have the greatest access to computers at home. There is very-little to no access at all to computers at home by lower-class and severely poor people. By this data is is clear that technology has become a social stratification. 







The graph created from this source clearly shows that race also plays a factor in computer access. Whites and Asians have the greatest access to computers as well as use them the most. Blacks and Hispanics have far less computer access and use them less than the other races as well.  







Financial issues are another main reason that low-income families are unable to provide access to a computer to their children at home. 


Hispanic high school student, Emiliano, and his mother
get discounted internet access at home. (Source)
It's often difficult for families of low socioeconomic status to be able to afford a computer or other related technological device. In addition to the costs of technology itself, there are also additional costs for internet and other related services, as well as the costs of damages or repairs that simply may not be in the family's budget. While not having computers in a family's home may be one issue, people often see using computers in a public library as solution to this issue. However, this may be easier said than done. Getting to a library may require driving, with the added cost of gas, or the cost of public transportation. Parents of low-income families may often be working long hours to provide for their families are are simply unable to find the time to bring a young child to a library for computer access, or older students may not have the time to get there themselves if they are working their own jobs in order to help provide for their families.


Haddaway discusses some of the other issues with a lack of home access to computers. One of which deals with literacy. Often times minority and low-income students are illiterate or English Language Learners still struggling with reading and writing. Even if granted full access to computers and technology, Haddaway discusses how these disadvantaged students may still struggle with technology use. 


The lack of access to technology at home can effect a student's attitude towards technology, often causing negative feelings toward it's use in schools.


Children who come from homes without a computer or other technological device for them to get frequent access often develop negative attitudes towards technology. This is because without frequently getting exposure to these devices, students may not be skilled at using them and become frustrated when using them in schools. Without a technology-friendly environment established at home, a student with lack of access at home may feel overwhelmed by the constant changes to technology which may be seen in schools.

If a student is frustrated with or cannot keep up with rapidly-changing technology, he or she may have an overall negative attitude towards it and make no effort to use the technology to try to enhance their learning. The student may feel indifferent towards or not see any power within technology to help them succeed. Without student interest and intent, there is no purpose of adding more technologies to schools if it will not help increase academic success.

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The process or way in which technology is implemented in schools is the most effective way to use technology to enhance student's academic success. 


Students in Memphis schools use new tablets
with their teacher's assistance during class time. Source
In addition to home access to computers, there are other factors that can influence technology's ability to help low-income and minority students. The process or way in which technology is implemented into a classroom is a main factor in how successful it is in enhancing academic success. In terms of narrowing the divide between minority and low-income students and those of higher socioeconomic status, it is not the technology itself that will help disadvantaged students.

The way in which in which teachers and other faculty members use technology in their classrooms is what makes the real impact. This includes ways such as the teacher's instruction, direction, and curriculum that is used along with the technology. In addition the chosen programs, apps, or other specific ways the technology is integrated into the classroom by the teacher are what's going to be influential based on how the class or individual student is directed to use them. If a minority student has difficulty reading, using a program that has a lot of long complete sentences and is not user-paced would not likely be helpful to this student's learning.

Students of higher-SES often receive better instruction with technology than minority and low-income students. These students also commonly use computers for more intellectually-challenging activities rather than just rote, skill-practicing and less research-based learning. These less intellectually-challenging forms of technology use are often used with minority and low-income students, which is often seem as problematic.

Haddaway discusses how it is not a matter of adding more technological devices to a classroom, but the way that it is used that will help students perform better academically.



A teacher's experience is also a main factor in technology's ability to enhance learning, calling for a need to increase professional development with technology. 

Teachers knowledge of technology can greatly impact
 their students understanding. (Source)

A teacher's familiarity, knowledge, and ability to use an certain type of technology will also impact his or her student's use. If the teacher doesn't work well with a specific computer program, it is likely that he or she will be unable to present it to students and have them use it effectively to enhance their learning. Poor instruction often leads to unsuccessful technology-oriented programs and classroom lessons. Increased access to computers and technology is only successful when teachers have a complete grasp on the role and use of computers, specific to their student's individual needs. For this reason, Haddaway argues for the need of more professional development with technology and showing teachers how to better use technology within their classrooms is an effective way to get the best use of these devices and programs...




Increasing the amount of technology in schools alone is not enough to greatly increase the academic success of minority and low-income students. There are other factors in lowering the divide between students of opposing socioeconomic statuses such as having access to a home computer, the way school's implement technology, and a teacher's knowledge on the technology they're using in the classroom.  These factors when combined with increased technology may have the ability to enhance the academic success of minority and low-income students. 

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