STRATEGY FOR NARROWING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE GAP

STRATEGY FOR NARROWING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE GAP 

Digital divide gap is a social issue among people who have access to technology and who don't have access to technology. Financial problem is one of the major issues among others issues that result to this unfortunate gap. 
One of the strategy for  narrowing the digital divide gap is getting computers in the home for poor families. There are families who live check by check and sometimes don't know where their next meal would be, and their children suffer in the process because technology is not going to slow down to accommodate them. In this case the schools should try and raise money to purchase a computer for them, in some cases other people could donate computers that they no longer use. The government could also help by buying computers for students to use at home for example in Trinidad and Tobago the government bought computers for all form one students to use in school an at home, so that no child would be left behind.
 Another strategy is, in some cases where there are no space for technology or the teacher may not have the skill or willingness to incorporate technology in the classroom (which leaves the children in these schools at a great disadvantage). These schools should take it upon themselves to build a computer room so that the students could go in at a specific time and make use of the technology. Teachers should also take it upon themselves to learn how to use and teach this technology in the classroom.
 Another solution for parents is some stores are willing to gave parents a great deal on purchasing technology for educational purposes which is very efficient for parents with financial problems. There is also a site called "open office.org" that gives free software to download for students with parents who have financial trouble.
Another critical reason for digital divide gap is the rural and urban areas. In urban ares there are easy access and necessary equipment put in place for individuals to have an easy access in technology such as phone lines, cable lines etc. However in the rural areas there is a lack of necessary equipment for the use of these technologies. For example I live in a rural area and my family used the phone line for internet access but it was really slow so my parents decided to get the blink broad band and it did not work because the area does not have the necessary equipment for it to work. So this could be a great disadvantage to students and the solution is simple just set up the necessary equipment in the area.
Referencehttp://www.internetworldstats.com/links10.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6715965