Letter to the editor: Digital tools necessity for education
Iowa State has entered a new enterprise partnership with the company behind Top Hat, eliminating the need for students to pay subscription fees for classes that use the program.
December 5, 2018
To have a successful educational career, the need for digital tools is a necessity. There is tons of research that shows that schools are lacking the tools necessary for students to get the high-quality education they need to succeed in their future.
Is it the classes we have the students taking? Could it be the start/stop times of the school day? Are classes to long or to short?
There are so many questions when it comes to the education of the future leaders of our country. Looking at the digital equity as an issue, you can see by the statistics provided by the Alliance of Excellent Education that high-poverty lack the digital tools.
Three percent of teachers in these areas say they had the digital tools necessary to complete homework, compared to 52 percent in more affluent schools.
That is a large gap that needs to be looked at.
Other schools like AltSchool provides schooling near New York and San Francisco. At these schools children are recorded like data, using technology to find the best way to teach students at their own pace. By using digital tools instead of multiple teachers in classrooms, the classrooms use the teachers as mentors, leaders, or guides.
AltSchool uses content like Facebook or Netflix, to provide the student with the best style of learning, to help them progress and succeed. If a school wants to use AltSchool’s system in would cost $150 to $500 annually per student, which is a cost most schools can not afford.
From these few statistics that I have provided, it should raise everyone’s awareness to the digital gap that there is in our schools. Many groups and individuals are trying to provide an answer to this question, and with the continued advancement in technology, it could be a debate that will last for a while.
I propose looking at the classes we have children take. Yes, the general education classes are important, but once students get to middle school/high school, why not start sending children into a desired field. From art, technology, education, and many other options, start preparing students for their future careers.
