equal access

Teachers are required to provide equal access of technology to all students. What is equal access? Does it mean that a teacher grant the same computer time to every student during the day? What about the children that do not have computers at home, should they be given the same time as their peers who have parents that are computer programmers? Should they be given extra time?
Sometimes technology is the last thing on a teacher's mind. Some elementary school students can barely read. Teachers are more converned about that than computer use. A problem also arises if the school only has a limited amount of computers.
Another important question is the definition of technology and access along with the quality. One teacher may have their students using computers everyday blogging and doing other things while another simply has their students type reports.These students are not really getting equal access. This is definitely a tricky subject. it is something that is hard to regulate and not really fair to demand of teachers.

Evaluating Web Sites

Students are encouraged to use the internet in their research. It is important for teachers to evaluate the websites that are suggested. Anyone can make a website. Many students are unaware and do not know how to tell if something is reliable or valid. Similarly, teachers should evaluate the sites to see if they are acceptable. For example, wikipedia. Kids do not understand why wikipedia is not acceptable by many teachers. It is important to explain to the students the reason for the evaluation and if it is poor, why.