Digital Divide Among Children

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The Divide among American Children Lonna Breshears INF103 Dr. Thomas Hennefer October 10, 2011 Table of Contents The Divide among American Children 3 Conclusion 9 References 10 The Divide among American Children Digital divide is, “A term that describes the division of the world into two camps, those who have access to the Internet and other advanced information technologies and those who don't,” (Collins English Dictionary). Most of the time when the term digital divide is heard, people automatically think of third world countries, and their lack of computers and internet service. People often forget the digital divide is present in their own communities. Millions of homes in the United States do not have computers, and even higher numbers do not have internet access. It is not uncommon for children to carry laptops or similar devices in their backpacks, but what happens to the children whose families simply cannot afford this luxury, which seems to becoming a necessity. With the advancements in technology, and the growing use of computers in schools, under privileged American children are suffering more and more from the digital divide. “Pencil to paper may soon be a thing of the past for students,” (Canan, 2011). Students across the country are becoming more and more dependent upon computers and the internet to get their school work done. Not too many years ago, it was not uncommon to see children turning in hand written assignments, but in today’s society it seems having computer access both at school and at home is a necessity. Teachers are no longer accepting a handwritten paper as a final draft. In today’s education, most students do not even turn in a hard copy of their final papers. With services such as Turnitin and online classrooms which rely on forums like BlackBoard, many
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