Students Demand the Right to Use Technology in School!

There is a wonderful and very well written article on NPR's Mind/Shift concerning students' needs around using technology in their learning (and they are NOT talking about a PowerPoint lecture!). Students from 5 low-income California area schools came together to fight for the right to use technology in schools, in order to have a chance at being competitive with students who come from more privileged backgrounds. BRAVO to these student entrepreneurs who have the forethought and understanding that digital literacies are part of the future global economy and those skills are vital for competition and learning. We know that the majority of jobs in our future come from STEM, in particular the "Technology" piece of stem. All students need to be digitally literate and if the school system is not providing every opportunity, the students should do everything they can to make those opportunities happen (sometimes in the form of the students' own technologies). Below is a quote from the article about the student's demands...

In their own words, they described their frustration with their schools’ prohibitive policies on using technology and the dismal condition of the schools’ tech equipment. “We don’t have the basic needs that students at Beverly Hills High have,” said Myquesha Moore from Crenshaw High. “Why should l have to go to a library outside my school to have access to computers that are available, but limited? Yes, we’re learning to type on our T-Mobile Sidekicks, because we’re taking our own initiative. But we’re crucified by a process that’s making us a permanent underclass. We are forced to stay at the bottom, and this lack of technology will not allow us to develop skills for the job market. Budget cuts can no longer be a reason why me and my peers are tech-illiterate. We’ve had this problem since before the economic crisis.”

“I demand that my peers and inner city school kids have a fair chance at life, furthering their education like privileged communities,” she continued. “Give us the resources we need. Because there are children like me who give a damn about our future.”