Phase 3
Diverse Needs
A large majority of the students are from low income and poverty level households. These students do not have the luxury of computers in the home. The digital divide, a term that has long been used to describe the gulf between those who have access to the Internet and those who don’t, still exists. A recent study conducted at the University of Maryland confirms this. (Martin & Robinson, 2007) The researchers found that low income not only leads to low access to the Internet, but can also lead to lower income in a mutually reinforcing pattern of economic isolation. (2007) The study went on to say that income was the one variable that most directly correlated with barriers to Internet use. (2007) Although there isn’t any research to confirm, I expect that if students do not have access to a computer at home, they might be more likely to use class time to engage in computer social activities that their higher income peers can do at home. A teacher who is aware of this issue can inform the students of the locations of computers outside the classroom. (e.g. the library), where they can engage in this social networking activities.
In the classroom for this project, there aren’t any students who are disabled. There are two computers equipped with Dragon Naturally Speaking that allows students with sight impairment to say and hear computer screens. This software can also aid auditory learners who have difficulty with a visual style of learning. Unfortunately, SynchronEyes does not have this feature; therefore, the teacher would need to start these applications at the individual computer stations.