Hi everyone! My name is Claire Molony and I teach high school science in rural Eastern Iowa. I teach chemistry, biology, forensics, and wildlife management. This is my 6th year teaching and my third year in my current role. Along with teaching I coach basketball and golf. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and recently got back into reading. This is my second to last class before completing the program in May!
My community is a small rural community in Eastern Iowa. My students and colleagues are who are going to be impacted by what I learn in this class. I teach students in grades 9-12 in both required classes and electives. Our school is a 6-12 building with around 250 students in grades 9-12. Around 27% of our students are economically disadvantaged, 9% are minorities, and our graduation rate is 98% (
“Cascade Junior-Senior High School”). The readings from the week made me realize the digital divide is not just about physical access such as having technology or internet but also about the skills and competencies needed for access (Van Dijk, 2017). Teaching people how to use a certain technology has the purpose or end goal of them people independent in use and increasing knowledge and communication. Most of my students have grown up with internet access and cellphones since they were children. However, this makes it very difficult for students who have not had the same access. This is something I will look at as the class continues. Another interesting thing to me is the use of technology in regards to science education and how I can use it to give students real life experiences or the same opportunities as students in larger schools. This focus would be on the "skills access" as Van Dijk refers. My students have access to a lot of physical technology; however, do they have the skills necessary to command the technology and begin creating and use it how they need to (Van Dijk, 2017). Cascade High School serves many small towns; however, most of our students come from Cascade with a population of 2,386 with 2,273 identifying as white and median age of 30. The other large ethnic group in Cascade is Hispanic accounting for the five percent of the population. The median household income is $70,000 and the average household income is $96,000 with a poverty rate of 15.8% (States).
References
“Cascade Junior-Senior High School.” Usnews.com, 2024, www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/iowa/districts/western-dubuque-community-school-district/cascade-junior-senior-high-school-7847. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
States, United. “Explore Census Data.” Census.gov, 2025, data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2023.S0101?q=cascade%20iowa. Accessed 13 Jan. 2025.
Van Dijk, J. A. (2017). Digital divide: Impact of access. The international encyclopedia of media effects, 1-11.
Hello Claire!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how your approach to the digital divide is a bit different from most of the other's I have read through. I think far too often we take advantage of the fact that our students should know how to use technology and we don't properly teach them. As an elementary educator and the technology coach in my building, far too often I see and hear of teachers complaining about how the students aren't using their iPads correctly for what is suppose to be done. Teachers, however, are very guilty of handing over these devices and not giving clear expectations and guidance on what should be done with them and how they should be properly utilized as educational tools. I look forward to hearing how you develop a plan to help students become more familiar with the technology available in your district.
Hi Claire! Thank you for sharing a b it about yourself and your community! I feel as as though I can relate to your circumstances being both a teacher and coach. I enjoyed reading your discussion about the difference between physically having access to technology versus having the skills to utilize the technological tools in front of you. You highlight something that many communities struggle to realize. Just because a town library has public access iMac computers, for example, does not mean they are being used! Todays generation has seamlessly grown alongside technology, but what about those individuals who are still being on the techno-lingo? What are communities doing to support those who did not grow alongside technological advancements? Now I'm on a tangent! Anyway, I look forward to seeing how your Call to Action will emerge from this course!
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