What Tech in School Really Looks Like

This article explains that "...the distribution of technology in our classrooms remains radically uneven. It differs by school and grade level. It differs by region. It differs in the make, model, and operating systems of various computers. It differs in usage." It also differs based on social and economic status of families. She goes on to explain that even some of the schools that do have computers, some have bad internet connections or none at all.  However, children and teens that don't own a computer at home are more likely to have a cell phone.
  "Teens Smartphones and Texting" study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project 
However some schools are reluctant to allow children and teens use them in class.  Others think that it is a great way for children to communicate and learn about world. However allowing children to bring their own technology into school poses some problems. "...that by encouraging students to bring computers from home, institutions will offload the cost of buying technology on parents rather than insisting that the public school should shoulder it. As the demand for and cost of technology increases, it’s certainly a tempting option for many school districts." Allowing children to bring their own technology to school can also lead to other problems. Is all technology appropriate for school? Is it fair that some children and teens have better access to technology at school than others? On the other hand it is hard for school to keep up to date on the newest technology and maintain them. 
It think this article sheds some light on a few issues discussed in some of our readings. It deals with media literacy as well as issues of allowing students to have technology in classrooms. Library School Journal also has several other articles on these issues.
What Tech in School Really Looks Like by Audrey Watters

Watters, A. (2012, April 30). What Tech in Schools Really Looks Like. The Digital Shift Library School Journal. Retrieved  from http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/04/digital-divide/what-tech-in-schools-really-looks-like/