Volume 4, No. 10
17 December, 2004
[To view this newsletter on line:
http://www.emck.net/eline/04_12_17.htm] |
|
 As
we spend time with family these next weeks,
The E-Line has
placed a wider date gap between our last edition and the
two following it. We will resume our normal schedule
mid-January. A happy holidays, and a wonderful Winter
Break, from our house to yours! - Jeff and Dee
Jones, The E-Line. |
|
The Kentucky Kids '04 video contest
deadline is past. The website has all K-12
video entries on display, and winners are
projected to be announced the beginning of
next month. Join the KK '04 video forum! See
it all at the
http://www.kentuckykids.net website! |
[Traditionally,
The E-Line
has used the between-semester editions to supply
readings, rather than our usual collection of lesson
plans and other classroom resources. This edition
continues that tradition.]
The Digital Divide
The Internet is quickly being viewed as
the "New Knowledge." It is often cited as the
battleground for a revolution in personal education,
with implications for public and private schools and
universities.
Whether you believe the hype or not, it is quite true that
access to the Internet is serving to re-define
the divisions between socio-economic and educational
classes. There are many who view access to information
technology, e-communications, and the Internet as the single most important tool in the fight for
social mobility. With a society that
increasingly defines itself in terms of its
technologies, and an economy that is moving inexorably
from a production to a service base, access to online
resources can no longer be ignored by those who hope to
make a difference in the lives of all students.
This edition of
The E-Line
takes a closer look at two issues at the heart of the
Digital Divide. First is access to information
technologies for the disadvantaged and minority
populations. The other relates to accessibility of
online sources to a variety of challenges, including
visual and motor impairment. It is likely that few of
the cited resources apply directly to the classroom, but
the issues will become increasingly important, as
access to information for students, parents, and other
interested parties increasingly go online.
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Bridging the
Divide |
 The
Digital Divide Network
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/
Andy Carvin's (moderator
of WWWEDU discussion
list) Digital Divide Network serves as a primary
source of readings, news,
initiatives, and e-communications
discussion of issues associated
with the Digital Divide. The site
is decidedly international, with
stories of Internet access
initiatives and programs coming
from all corners of the globe. Be
sure to also examine DDN's
partnership with OneWorld.Net, the
Digital Opportunity Channel (http://www.digitalopportunity.org/),
which includes listings of funding
and grant resources on this issue.
 Digital
Divide Resources from the U.S.
Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv_resources.html
The education arm
of Washington provides this simple
list of links to a variety of
resources on the subject of the
Digital Divide. Some are out of
date, but here is a quick list of
some of the better resources found
there...
-
The Center for
Children and Technology -
http://www2.edc.org/cct/ -
This site is sponsored the
Education Development Center (Andy
Carvin now works there), and has a
variety of readings on the subject
of access to online information
and capability.
-
Computers
for Learning -
http://www.computers.fed.gov/Public/home.asp
- The U.S. General Services
Administration coordinates this
program which places computers
formerly used in government
offices in schools, with
preferential status given to
schools with demonstrated need.
You must register on the site to
participate.
-
Club Tech -
http://www.bgca.org/programs/specialized.asp
- The Boys and Girls Clubs of
America inherited PowerUp when it
ended, and now provides access to
technology through its clubs,
financed largely by Microsoft.
 Dell
TechKnow
www.dell.com/k12/techknow
 This
national initiative has found
support in Lexington, KY from the
Tubby Smith Foundation, which uses
its community centers and Fayette
County schoolteachers to implement
the program goals. Students
rebuild, configure, and learn to
use computers, with parts supplied
by Dell. When the computers are
finished, they go home with the
student, along with printers and
other hardware, and a one-year
free AOL contract. Although small,
this program is attempting to
directly address the gap in
Internet access in the home. The
deadline for application for fall,
2006, participation in this
program is February 1st. |
|
Accessibility -
the Internet and Human Challenges |
 Section
508 and Your District
http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm
Section 508 of the
American Disabilities Act is a
Federal standard for accessibility
to electronic and information
technologies. Why should you care?
Because your students, their
parents, and other interested
parties might be excluded if you
use Internet delivery for
assignments, grades, or
 classroom
information! (Oddly, STI, the
Kentucky standard for student
performance and grades access
through the Internet, is not
508 compliant, though the
Kentucky Department of Education
intends to add this to their
contract with that company.) How do you know if your
school, classroom, or
team/club/activity website is
compliant? One way is through
Bobby - Developed in conjunction
with the Center for Applied
Special Technology (CAST - see our
November 22, 2002 edition for
a review), and available through
WatchFire (http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/).
Also...
 Kentucky
Assistive Technology Service
http://www.katsnet.org/
KATS is our Section 508
compliance support and assessment
body, based in Louisville, and supported through
four regional agencies: The
Bluegrass
Technology Center in Lexington,
Enabling Technologies (enTECH) in
Louisville, Western Kentucky
Assistive Technology Consortium (WKATC)
in Murray, and Redwood Assistive
Technology Center in Ft. Mitchell.
KATS has provided this checklist
for computer and IT accessibility:
http://www.katsnet.org/technical-standards-checklists.html
- which is under revision until
the end of this year.
 Partners
Online
https://pol.pyd.org/
We've included one
example of a project aimed
specifically at the issue of
online accessibility, gleaned from
the pages of The Digital Divide
Network. Partners Online is an initiative of
Massachusetts'
Partners for Youth with
Disabilities, providing mentor/mentee
contacts between adults and young
people with challenges from the age of 14.
The interaction takes place
primarily through
an online forum housed on the site. The forum system
is fully compliant with
accessibility standards, and is
quite active - both between
mentors and their charges, and
between parents and mentors
discussing issues related to
disabilities. |
|
Software Resources |
 Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Rob Davis of Minneapolis was
so impressed with the speed, layout, and
much improved security of the free/open
source Mozilla's FireFox browser that he
spearheaded a campaign to help advertise it.
His efforts, and the efforts of thousands of
other supporters, produced enough donations
to pay for huge ads in the New York Times -
ads that haven't run yet (as of 12/17/04)
due to format changes reflecting the
campaign's incredible success. FireFox
offers a slew of great features - tabbed
management of open windows, instant
importing of "Favorites" and cookie settings
from Internet Explorer and other browsers,
pop-up suppression, and a free web page production environment.
The software was written by open source
participants and is completely free of cost,
ads, or other commercial ties. |
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