The Disconnect: Policymakers & Educators
Recently, my education courses have inadvertently highlighted a significant discrepancy between how digital literacy is being implemented and what students actually need to learn. In the past week, I was assigned to read an article from The Atlantic, entitled: “Digital Natives, Yet Strangers to the Web, which can be viewed below:
This article offers compelling insight into the fact that the fears of adults have largely driven what students have been learning in terms of digital learning. This article poses both an intriguing and engaging question in regards to whether or not our school system is adequately teaching students how to integrate technology into their lives in a meaningful way.
This skepticism can also be validated with substantial research that has been conducted by Digital Learning now, an initiative with the ExcelInEd Foundation. Digital Learning now has 10 different metrics in terms of how to measure how a state manages digital literacy/digital learning, some of these metrics include, but are not limited to: Quality content, instruction, eligibility, and accessibility. As of the 2014-2015 school year, out of the 50 states within America, 24 states have received the grades of a D or an F. In other words, this means 48% of students in America are receiving below normal, or even abysmal services in regards to digital learning, which is not only incredibly disadvantageous to our students, but it is a complete disservice to any other stakeholder in the education system (for more information, please visit: http://www.digitallearningnow.com/report-card/).
The Elephant in the Room: Students
Stakeholders have been working diligently to resolve the daunting issues pertaining to the technological boom, and how students can learn effectively with technology and instruction of technology, yet nearly every policymaker has completely and utterly disregarded the elephant in the room. In fact, this elephant happens to be, by far the largest stakeholder in education, the students. Why haven’t we engaged our students in the discussion of technology? Why aren’t we tapping into the first generation of students that have been born in the age of the internet or the computer? Why aren’t we asking what they think is the quintessential aspect of digital learning? The boards of education are silent in this country, and so is the state legislatures when it concerns the inclusion of students in the conversation, and that is the greatest disservice of all within this potential educational crisis. That being said, there are some state agencies, such as Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education that have a student serve on a Digital Learning Council, but a sporadic instance of a couple of students serving one some agencies is not enough to engage the 14.8 million high school students within these United States. Let’s change the conversation and ensure that all stakeholders are being engaged and invited to policy discussions. This can be accomplished through existing student advisory councils across the country creating a digital learning task force that reports to their respective Departments of Education.
Very interesting post, Dan. I am wondering if you and your colleagues might want to do some research on the topic.
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