Riel, M., Schwarz, J. & Hitt, A. (2002). School Change with Technology: Crossing the Digital Divide. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), p147-180.
Abstract
Closing the digital divide requires much more than buying equipment, it requires increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers using the technology, and access to digital tools in the community. In such a larger system of change, technology can serve as a catalyst for increasing teacher and student learning.
The Anaheim City School District (ACSD) tackled the problem of closing the digital divide by creating the Technology Learning Community. This community approach to school change engaged students, teachers, and principals of two schools, researchers from two universities, school and local librarians, and members of the Hispanic community in a process of continual learning centered on the use of technology.
In this article, we explore the process of school change documenting the school and community efforts to close the technical, cultural, and structural dimensions of the digital divide. These changes are evident on test scores but even more so in changes in the way teachers relate to their own learning and to that of their students.