Recommendations?

• don't assume equal access to resources
• provide resources
• non-technological options are important for teachers and students
• open and encourage a dialogue of effective use
• get teachers and students involved in the dialogue of equity and technology, often both are taught separately, but help bridge the knowledge gap between the two
• Schools of education play an important role; new teachers are not neccesarily ready for computers in the classroom; new teachers are more likely to assume universal access; make the connection between equity and technology within B.Ed. programs, same issues here... the two are often taught separately.
• talk about how access to technology can be a disadvantage; add a critical voice to the discussion.

Other thoughts discussed...

I didn't get a chance to post these yesterday... but some important discussion points are in here.

Regarding home access - is it school boards' responsibility to do more at the policy level to support home access, especially if home access is essential for educational success? One participant mentioned the school computer recycling program, where last years computers are donated to low-income families. A question of open source software was asked... perhaps providing low income families and schools with programs like "open office". A participant noted that Star Office (an open source Office program) is available for free and was widely distributed, however, he noted that people have, what he called "office envy" where parents, students and teachers, have largely rejected the use of this program and prefer to have the "Microsoft" version of the office suite...

It's not only about equal access. It's about the perceptions and attitudes of the teachers and students. One participant noted that a school website is not seen as part of the "Internet" per se by students who access it. Perhaps if the students were allowed to take ownership of the websites and make it their own, it could foster that sense of virtual community surrounding the school that is seen in other virtual community settings.

Using technology in educational settings requires supportive environments and supportive teaching and learning. There is tension between the personalized nature and characteristics of ICT and the systemic characteristics of the education system. One participant noted that the Internet represented chaos into the classroom where the main goal is to create order.

Success stories... What's worked?

• Using the Internet for career and educational counselling and planning
• Teaching music by using specialized software to score music based on the specific instruments in the band
• Parent portals which allows parents to keep dibs on goings-on in the school (homework, newsletters etc)... although issues surrounding the updating of those sites remains problematic... and what about the parents who don't have access?
• Assistive technology for those with physical and mental disabilities, using technology to assist in communication and physical barriers.

There is a presumption that technology will "fix" larger educational issues... but in many ways teachers may feel overwhelmed by it.

There is not enough attention paid to sustaining the technological infrastructure or the processes that sustain them.

The difference between classroom uses and integration of technology comes down to the individual teacher that is really enthusiastic about technology... How can we transform that energy into something more systemically.

There is a sincere effort by teachers to engage kids with technology...

Breakout groups - Socio-Economic Status

There are fundamental assumptions of equal access; these assumptions may hurt equity rather than enhance it. CAP sites are not enough to bridge access gaps. The human issues are often forgotten when we get wrapped up in the hype of technology.

The education system is "requiring" technological access outside the home (for example; typed assignments, class registration), which will inevitably create larger gaps in equity.

Breakout Groups - Rural-Urban

Rural students are spending a lot of time on computers when they go home and use their computers, they go on the Internet when they get home from school and are logging upwards of 60-100 hours on MSN, Facebook, Second Life, etc... How can we use these strengths and interests to engage them in curriculum?

Web resources are powerful tools, but it is difficult to discern what are of value.

Current policies do not allow for software subscriptions to be paid for by budgets. ***

****Comment from anonymous... To correct the comment about subscriptions,that only applies to use of funds in the Credit Allocation for Authorized Learning Resources which are mostly acquired through the Nova Scotia School Book Bureau. One concern is that on-going subscriptions could consume much of the funding allocation while displacing planned purchases of textbooks, software and other learning resources in future years.Schools, School Boards and the Department of Education use other funds to acquire annual subscriptions to a variety of print and electronic resources. *****

More Professional development is needed and Internet-based PD, may be a way to assist rural teachers in remote areas who struggle with issues of substitutes for workshops.

The Iniutq website is an example of how geographic and cultural areas may use the Internet to bridge existing divides.

Breakout group - Culture and Race

The issues of culture and race are multifaceted, they often overlap with other issues of rural/urban and socio-economic students.

• The Internet is predominantly "white" and ethnocentric
• In general, most websites follow the same models, what would an afrocentric website look like?
• There have been many ICT resources poured into "at risk" schools, however, not necessarily the training and staff to effectively implement the technology... particularly when there are underlying cultural/racial issues that need to be addressed
• It is important to remember that there are cultural issues.... "sub-cultural" or "counter-cultural" issues that go beyond racial issues

Breakout group - Gender

• Issues of transgendered difficult to approach because many online resources are negative or too sexual in content
• Need to expose females to real-world role models working with IT
• Initiatives like electronic yearbook production, film and video, mulitmedia may draw more female into certain aspects of IT
• Possible multi-media/computer courses for girls only, which build on female strengths and interests around design and communication
• Since boys are more integrated with technology overall... how can we use technology to assist in their learning process.