Greetings,
My name is Bradley Barker, and I have been an elementary art specialist for 16 years. I have taught 12 years with Lincoln Public School in Lincoln, Nebraska. I am currently employed with DODEA serving military connected students in the military community in South Korea. I feel privileged to work with students from all over the world. My job is unique because it differs from the public school I used to work stateside. My hobbies are travelling, art, playing guitar, and working out.
Define your community for us. Are you going to apply what you learn in this course to a school where you work? A community organization or non-profit? Who will your Call to Action serve?
My definition of a community is having a sense of belonging. It’s a place where whoever in the community networks together in a shared space. Being a part of a school community, I will make contributions and impact students positively with what I will learn from this course. Sharing my knowledge and applying what I learn from this course will allow me to make myself available as a contributing community member for my school. I believe this course will give me tools and resources that I need to become skilled and build knowledge and understand more on the digital divide.
As an educator, my call to action is to serve each and every child, providing them with digital access and finding solutions to reduce the digital barriers. What I most worry about is the usage of artificial intelligence (AI). AI can be problematic as it may pose some risks. I am not a fan of AI and educating people about AI awareness is not always a good thing to depend on.
Provide some basic demographic data about the community you are focusing on. Who is served? What are the economic, political, historical, and social realities of the community?
The DODEA organization I am affiliated with, works mostly with military children whose parents are active duty service members. The demographic of the school community I currently serve a diverse group of 800 plus students ranging from K-4th grade. Most students come from parents who are affiliated with the US military. The digital divide affects everyone regardless of age and gender. I believe it all starts with educating our community first about the digital divide and the complexities it presents.
From the article on digital divide: Impact of Access, it mentioned the benefits of accessing which includes physical, skills and usage. Van Dijk (2017) asserted that “while there may be computer anxiety or technophobia presenting barriers particularly affecting the female population, elderly or low level education, there are support services and opportunities available.”
Student access to digital learning resources outside of the classroom reveals that “94% of children ages 3 to 18 had a computer at home but only 61% of children ages 3 to 18 had internet access at home in 2015.” (KewalRamani et al., 2018) This revelation is true with the DODEA organization that all the students have access to computers at home with internet access. The infrastructure and network is extremely accessible, fast and modern here, unlike the United States.
References
KewalRamani, A., Zhang, J., Wang, X., Rathbun, A., Corcoran, L., Diliberti, M., & Zhang, J. (2018). Student Access to Digital Learning Resources outside of the Classroom. NCES 2017-098. National Center for Education Statistics.
Van Dijk, J. A. (2017). Digital divide: Impact of access. The international encyclopedia of media effects, 1-11.
Bradley, I appreciate your candid thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in your unique teaching environment. It's incredible how you've embraced the opportunity to make a global impact through education. Your Call to Action to address the digital divide resonates deeply, especially as you focus on education as the foundation for change.
ReplyDeleteBradley it was nice to read about how the digital divide is present in your community. I agree that people first need to know about the digital divide before change can happen. The first step is educating. I also found it interesting how all of your students have access to computers and reliable internet. Maybe we can learn something about how we can make that true for the United States.
ReplyDeleteHi Bradley, I enjoyed learning about your unique teaching context with DODEA in South Korea. It’s interesting to see how you’re leveraging your experience as an art specialist to serve such a diverse group of students. Your definition of community as a sense of belonging rings so true; especially in the context of a military-connected school where students come from all over the world.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your viewpoint on addressing the digital divide and your commitment to providing every child with digital access. The concerns about AI are totally valid. I agree that while AI has potential, it’s important to approach it critically and educate students about its risks and limitations.
The demographic data to highlight the realities of your school community was insightful. It’s great to see that DODEA provides strong infrastructure and network access for students!
Looking forward to seeing how your ideas develop throughout the course!
PS: BTW, where are you located in Korea? Camp Humphreys.. Osan.. ?