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C&I 336 Readings

C&I 336 Readings. March 3, 2004. Problem of Technology Gap Starts With Shortage of Skilled Teachers by Gary Chapman. Narrowing the “digital divide” Clinton proposed $2.25 billion in federal programs and tax breaks to expand technology access and skills in low-income communities.

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C&I 336 Readings

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  1. C&I 336 Readings March 3, 2004

  2. Problem of Technology Gap Starts With Shortage of Skilled Teachersby Gary Chapman • Narrowing the “digital divide” • Clinton proposed $2.25 billion in federal programs and tax breaks to expand technology access and skills in low-income communities. • High-tech companies pledged an additional $200 million in programs aimed at employing more minorities, women and disabled workers.

  3. Problems as seen by Chapman • Before we can start to turn out more skilled technology workers, we need more people who can train those workers. • When teachers acquire advanced technology training, they often leave teaching for higher-paying jobs in the industry itself . • "seed corn" problem • If we eat our seed corn -- meaning the people who will train the future generation of technologists -- we may stifle economic growth altogether.

  4. The most fundamental obstacle is that most schools and universities simply can't pay salaries competitive with the private sector. • Teachers unions have opposed salary differentials for teachers in public schools. • The technology industry campaigns to keep the Internet a tax-free zone, which causes public revenues to decline.

  5. Tech workers must: have specific technical skills and experience. know technical acronyms and jargon. be largely self-taught. innovate, tinker, and think "outside the box." Schools Teach: generic skills. no link to real-world problems. efficiency, credits, and serving lots of students at once. standardized tests that promote uniformity. Discrepancy between Educationand Real-World Needs

  6. “Young computer experts even complain that school programs get in the way of what they need and want to know."

  7. Calculators may be the wrong answer as a 'Digital Divide' widens in schoolsby Daniel Golden • There is widespread concern about a lack of computers for poor minority students and a widening racial gap in math achievement. • Low-income and minority elementary school students are more likely to use calculators than their higher-income, white counterparts.

  8. Cheaper than computers $5 each from TI Motivational tools Boost self-esteem Stir curiosity Substitute for practice Do not help students to understand arithmetic Lower test scores? Calculators

  9. Statistics

  10. Chicago Fiasco • Teachers didn't receive adequate training • Calculators remained in their boxes • Calculators stolen by the hundreds • Texas Instruments • makes 80% of the calculators used in U.S. schools • supplies games and exercises to classrooms • donates large amounts of money to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics • NCTM had said it found “no evidence to suggest that the availability of calculators makes students dependent on them”

  11. Sob Stories: Invited to multiply nine times six the old-fashioned way, Steven Coleman shakes his head. "I can't do it mentally," the 11 year-old says.

  12. Calculator-Free Classes • Emphasize mental math • Concentrate on strategies for memorization

  13. Response by Lee Stiff • Golden focuses on select, small populations for comparisons • Many unaccounted variables • quality of instruction • Proper integration • NCTM developed its Standards in 1989 completely independent of private or governmental support, prior to any discussion of a possible sponsorship.

  14. Big Racial Disparity Persists in Internet UseBy David E. Sanger • Study found blacks and Hispanics are less than half as likely as whites to explore the net from home, work or school. • Among families earning $15,000 to $35,000 per year, whites are 17% more likely to own a computer. • Children in single-parent households have far less access to computers and the Internet than those in two-parent households • The highest penetration of computers in households in the United States can be found in largely rural, cold-weather states

  15. Government programs • Clinton toured impoverished corners of the United States • private-sector initiatives to make computers more available to the poor, particularly in inner cities • "E-rate" -- reduces the cost of internet access for schools and libraries in low-income areas

  16. States with many computers: California Utah Alaska Texas Massachusetts States with few computers: Mississippi West Virginia Arkansas State Statistics:

  17. Possible Factors: • Cultural differences • Income • Proximity to high-tech centers • Parents’ level of education • Climate

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