With the 21st Century Skills (NCREL, n.d.-b) invigorating today's curricula, new emphasis falls on student skills development: digital-age literacy, inventive thinking, effective communication, and high productivity. With these skills, students are equipped to do science and mathematics as field scientists and mathematicians do. Such modeling after true professionals in real life requires skillful use of modern technologies.
The pressures of the Digital Age raise expectations of all students to become technologically savvy and develop literacy in the language and functionality of the science and mathematics technologies. Technological literacy, spearheaded by the International Society for Technology in Education, can be defined as competency in the use of computers, networks, and applications that allows students not only to become competent in the use of technology and associated applications, but also to be able to apply their skills to practical situations (NCREL, n.d.-d). To reach digital equity, schools need to reexamine their technology vision and ask the question, "Do resources and strategies address the digital divide by ensuring that all students are engaging in an educational program aligned to the vision?" and gauge the progress by indicators of gender, race, socioeconomics, special needs, and systemwide equity (NCREL, n.d.-c).
Technological literacy is an essential and dynamic skill one must possess to be marketable because "the complexity of authentic applications necessitates the use of technology" (Roy, 2000, p. 40). Schools need to ensure that the use of technology and access to computers is equitable for all students given the demands of today's world (Murphy, 1996). To achieve technological literacy, students in the classroom need to be exposed to a variety of educational technology devices, such as calculators, computers (including handhelds), and educational and communication software (Roy, 2000). They also need to have access to technology at home. Statistics indicate that only 15 percent of African-American families, for example, have access to computers at home, as compared to 36 percent of white families (Floyd, 1996). Looking at the number of computers possessed at home, a 2000–01 survey, conducted at 15 school districts nationwide by MSAN (2002), showed that only 20 percent of Hispanic students and 27 percent of African-American students have more than one computer at home, as compared to 42 percent of Asians and 57 percent of white students. Because of limited access to technology at home, schools should ensure that linkages among technology, education, and opportunities for students are made explicit for parents and are addressed at school conferences, events, and programs (Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, 2002).
In mathematics and science learning, technology can facilitate visualization of ideas, organization and analysis of data, and computational efficiency and accuracy (Sutton & Krueger, 2002). Technology allows classrooms to be more student-centered as it creates learning communities where students share ideas, search for solutions, engage in hands-on learning, and create lasting knowledge (Sutton & Krueger, 2002). It also provides students with instruments and techniques to aid in observation, inquiry, and data analysis (Krueger & Sutton, 2001).
Return to "Remembering the Child: On Equity and Inclusion in Mathematics and Science Classrooms."
