Google Gears Up as a Digital Equity Strategy

Every once in a while the universe throws you into a situation that challenges you to take a closer look at how well you understand the reality of those you advocate for. As an advocate for digital equity, I pride myself in promoting strategies that help bridge the digital divide. So there was a certain degree of irony to the fact that I have found myself in a situation with no Internet access for the summer.

Living in rural Vermont, where many communities have no high speed Internet access or cell service, I've always been sensitive to the challenges of students and teachers whose only Internet access is dial-up and even more sensitive to those for whom a computer or the monthly fees of having Internet access are cost prohibitive. Yet I was still surprised at the adjustments I needed to make at my new summer place at a campground without Internet access. A friend from my Personal Learning Network recently gasp at the fact that my last Twitter update was 18 days ago, and suggest that I change my username from 'techsavvygirl” to “she formerly known as techsavvygirl”. I'm grateful that he agreed to make an exception to his personal Twitter rule -- “drop followers who fail to update after two days.”

Ah, but alas, the “Internet withdrawal” symptoms made me sit up and take notice of one of Google's newest additions – Google Docs Offline made possible by Google Gears. Google Gears is an open source browser extension that allows you you to view and edit your Google documents offline, without an Internet connection. Well, maybe not 'all' of them. It allows you to view and edit word processing documents and to view (not edit) spreadsheets and presentations offline using Google Docs. Google Gears is now part of my summer 'survival' kit and has earned a place in my list of digital equity strategies.

Since our school has adopted the use of Google documents as a digital equity strategy and implemented Google Apps for your Domain (Educational Projects), many students have been able to continue working on their assignments outside the school day. There is a big equity gap between students who type 80 wpm and those who type 15 wpm when giving kids computer lab time to complete an assignment. Unfortunately the latter, is also usually the student who does not have a computer and high speed access at home. Our students who needed more thinking time or typing time were now able to finish the assignment offsite. Even those without Internet access at home, claimed that Google docs helped them access their schoolwork at the library or a friend's house.

But suddenly some of our teachers were finding themselves in the midst of their own digital divide problem. Students started eagerly sharing their documents with teachers or submitting them electronically using the Share feature of Google Docs. This proved challenging for teachers with only dial-up access available. I wasn't sure I could do more than empathize, until I discovered Google Gears.

Now I show them how to access their Google Docs offline. Clicking on the “Offline” link on Google Docs toolbar will result in a prompt to install Google Gears and give it access to your computer. (Make sure you don't do this on a 'shared” computer.) Then the next time you log into your Google Docs account, check out the "work off line" tab. You will be prompted to allow Google Gears to work with Google Docs off line. The documents will be stored and made available to you on your computer, even when it cannot access the Internet by typing http://docs.google.com into your browser or by clicking on the desktop shortcut that is downloaded during the installation process.

I not only used Google Gears to work with my Google Docs, but also synced it to work with my Google Reader. Getting ready to spend the weekend without Internet, I did some preliminary research for a project I was working on by adding the sites to my Google Reader, then made sure to sync my computer with Google Gears before I left. For the rest of the weekend, I was able to access information that would not have been available to me otherwise! Even though Google Gears didn't provide me with “full text” or ability to follow hyperlinks, it certainly gave me access to more digital resources than I would have had otherwise.

Although the list of applications that work with Google Gears is fairly short, those of us with limited access now have a new strategy in our digital equity toolbox. And as much as we would like to believe PC World's prediction “that it won't be that long until we're always online.”, we are thankful to those Web 2.0 products that understand that ubiquitous online access is not everyone's reality.

Promoting Digital Equity with Web 2.0 and Open Source

Open Source and Web 2.0 - a two prong approach to digital equity!

Last January, I made a resolution to continue my focus on digital equity. As a person who sees opportunity everywhere I turn, I also try to pay attention to those who don't have access to the the same opportunity.

Although providing access to cool digital tools “at school” is one step to bridging the digital divide; teaching students how to access digital tools when they are OUTSIDE of school is yet another digital equity strategy. One way to do this is to teach them to use Web 2.0 tools that they will be able to access on a public computers and let them know which libraries, community centers, or other organizations provide high speed Internet access to them outside of school. To learn more about using Web 2.0 tools, check out past Infinite Thinking post, or Web 2.0 directories. Consider joining Wendy Drexler and Anna Baralt's TechWeb2 project and contribute to Web 2.0 evaluations by teachers for classroom use.


Web 2.0 not only brings us access to a wealth of learning materials including audio, images, video and other interactive media (often for free) through services like I-Tunes, Flicker, YouTube, and Voice Thread, it also brings us access to tools for increasing productivity, encouraging collaboration, and expressing creativity by offering Software as Service over the Web. Instead of having to choose which piece of software they can afford to purchase with their limited financial resources--

• productivity software for word processing, spreadsheets, or presentations OR
  
• an image manipulation program OR
  
• visual organizer,
  
  students and teachers can now access a variety of tools over the Web (often for free) . Using Google Docs or Zoho as a productivity suite, Flauntr or Picnik as an image editor, Mindomo or Gliffy as a graphic organizer increases access to a rich variety of free digital tools. Using these tools in schools contributes to digital equity by introducing students to tools that they can also access from home or from a public computer. Photo Credit

But let's face it --some of our students live in areas where high speed Internet is not available; others live in households where it is cost prohibitive.

Another way to promote digital equity is to introduce students to free or open source software they can install on their home computer (even if they don't have high speed Internet). While it may be possible for a students to gain access to a donated or low cost computer for their home; the cost of commercial software or high speed Internet is often still out of reach. By including free and open source software in your school's digital toolbox, you promote digital equity in two ways. Not only can you burn a copy of the software on a CD for students to take home, but you also provide them with the skills to use that software when they get home. One day last year, I occurred to me that offering a student "free software" to take home, while we only used commercial products at school, sent a message that the software I gave them was substandard and might contribute to their own feeling of worth. When I started modeling use of opensource software by building assignments around it, I added value to the 'free disk" I sent home. The students felt it was worthy to be used and they KNEW how to use it.

Download the Free Software for Schools catalog at National Center for Open Source in Education or check out sites like http://www.opensourcewindows.org/ for Windows specific versions of open source software.

	Commercial Product	Web based	Open Source or Free
Benefits to Promoting Digital Equity	Lots of other folks have it, so more support is available from other users and company Compatible file types to more people.	Uually Free . Students can access the tool anywhere they can access a computer (libraries, teen centers, home) No software to install	Usually FREE You can download a free copy or someone can give you a free copy of the software if you don't have Internet
Challenges to Digital Equity	Might be cost prohibitive. File type might not be compatible and require others to purchase same software.	Might not have high speed Intenet Access Might require a logon or have age restrictions. Might be filtered in public spaces; Might have advertisements. Sometimes free version does not contain all features.	You have to “install it” on your computer and this might feel intimidating. Some files might not be compatible or might require advanced learning to understand file compatibility.

I'm not advocating that we stop using commercial products such as Microsoft Office, Inspiration, or Photoshop when they are the right tool for the job. But I'm advocating that we include a diverse set of tools in our student's digital toolbox (both the tools and the know how to use these tools). Not only does this approach expand their toolset and access to digital tools outside of school, but it also takes away the stigma of feeling that a free tool is less worthy (therefore they are less worthy). It also has the added benefit of providing the much needed 21st century skill of “transferring” the understanding of a concept from one medium to another! Knowing which icon to click to double space is not as valuable a skill as knowing how to use HELP to accomplish a tasks.

Lately, I have found myself noticing situations where we stand behind a word phrase like “equity and excellence for all” as long as we don't have to give up anything. I was guilty of it, too; even after I had installed Open Office on my compuer, I found myself using Microsoft Office because it's always been on my computer; I knew it better; and it came with clipart and templates. It wasn't until I made a vow to click on Open Office first that I discovered solutions like the 20,000 image “WPCLIPART Library available for Open Office or became proficient at changing my SAVE as Preference to always save in compatible file format.

How do we start an awareness of these tools or a commitment to promoting digital equity in our schools? St. Albans City School has given this job to its junior high students. “Student Ambassadors for Free Software” work towards promoting digital equity by coming up with strategies to promote free software solution to the community; to their peers; and to their teachers. Activities range from training sessions; demonstrations at community events, testing and reviewing free software, creating and distributing free software CD's, and even helping teachers modify their lessons to use free software. The student team has also turned donated computers from industry into learning stations by adding free software or changing the operating system to Edubuntu where appropriate. They have started to create a Digital ToolBox Charts that can promote digital equity. Perhaps you can add your own recommendations.

Application	Commercial Product	Web based	Open Source or Free
Productivity suite	Microsoft Office	Google Docs Zoho	Open Office plus free Clip Art
Learn to Keyboard	Type to Learn	Learn2type.com and more	Type Faster
Editing Digital Images	Photoshop Elements	Flauntr or Picnik	Gimp, Picassa, Paint.Net
Graphic Organizer	Inspiration	Mindomo or Gliffy	Free Mind CMAP

What would it take to create a culture that promotes digital equity at your school? Perhaps providing a diverse toolbox for learning with technology that includes commercial products, web based tools and open source software where everyone has access to digital tools (whether be at school, home or a public computer).

As we move forward in the digital age, let's not lose sight of those that might be getting left behind. The memory of what “lack of access” to a resource feels like fades quickly once you join the ranks of those with full access.

Inclusion via Skype

We are living in a remarkably dynamic and interesting era of learning. Our present age bridges the "read-only" educational paradigm of the 19th and 20th centuries and the "new read-only and read-write" paradigms of the 21st. The entire concept of user created content published for a global audience was completely outside the lexicon of educators in the previous two centuries. Today, however, learners of all ages are discovering the amazing power of publishing formats like blogs, podcasts, wikis, and digital social networking environments.



The ability to "publish at will" your thoughts, reflections, ideas and opinions for a global audience is an amazingly powerful but also highly disruptive skill. The potential effect of these technologies in empowering citizen journalists is tremendous. Those who create content for others also bear some responsibility for the ideas and the effects of those ideas when they are shared with others, however. Websites like Stopcyberbullying.org (especially in its introductory Flash video) are replete with examples of POOR CHOICES when it comes to the use of digital technologies to communicate and share ideas. Issues of digital ethics and digital citizenship are vital to not only discuss but also PRACTICE with learners of all ages. That is why conversations about "safe digital social networking" and the ways educators as well as parents are helping young people (and each other) learn about the safe, appropriate and fun uses of digital technologies is and will be an enduring need now and in the years ahead.

Desktop videoconferencing technologies like Skype, which permit ad-hoc videoconferences between people using internet-connected computers, webcams and microphones, are aptly characterized by some as "disruptive technologies" which many organizational IT departments fear and resist. The value and power of connecting people both synchronously and asynchronously through voice as well as videoconferencing technologies can be amazing, however. Why do we have all these Internet connections and technology devices in our schools after all, if not to use them to connect learners to valuable content and also TO EACH OTHER?

This latter ideal is exemplified well through the work of Brian Crosby and his 4th grade students in at Agnes Risley Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada. The Washoe School District is the second largest in Nevada. After learning of a new, homebound 4th grade student in his class who has leukemia, Mr. Crosby found the resources to connect the student to her classroom from home using Internet connected computers, webcams, and Skype. The five minute video his 4th grade students created about this innovative "Inclusion" strategy is precious. Take some time to watch the video and then leave a comment on the blog page for the students!

In his February 7th update about this project, Mr. Crosby writes:

Videoconferencing works really well for certain types of lessons – brainstorming for writing (which was our first activity on the first day) works well for example – and Celest seems to be able to follow along pretty well in math - I use several web sites to have students practice multiplication facts and she is able to be just one of the students in class when we do that also. Other types of lessons we will have to work out how best to include her. I really want to try involving her in group discussions for example – and I think we can get her in music class too – the music room might be close enough to one of our wireless hubs that I can carry the laptop and web cam in so she can sing along – the music teacher is game, so we will give it a try.

What a great example of a teacher using creativity and available resources to open doors of learning not only for the homebound student, but also for every other learner in the classroom, that wouldn't have been open otherwise! Kudos to the 4th grade learners and producers of the film (including the homebound student) and Mr. Crosby for fantastic work. "Inclusion via Skype." It wouldn't have been possible even a few years ago. But today it is.

I wonder if we'll see any parents requesting "Skype connections to the classroom" on their child's IEP?! Carol Anne McGuire, who teaches children with visual impariments, already has some parents requesting podcasting on their child's IEP. Used effectively, Skype might join the list of assistive and enabling technologies that can open doors of learning possibilities for every child with special needs (because every child IS special and unique) in the years ahead.

You, too -- girls!

For nearly 10 years, the computer programming class met in the lab next door. Only once during those ten years, did I see a girl walk into that classroom. A little bit of research revealed that young women were notably absent from computer programming classrooms across the country. According to the New York Times article “Where The Girls Aren’t” “more than 19,000 boys took the Advanced Placement computer science examination in 2001, compared with just over 2,400 girls”. Thirty years ago, it was not unusual to see 2 or 3 girls in a Calculus class; today nearly 50% of the students taking the AP Calculus are female. Reversing this trend took a sustained investment in strategies focused on increasing the success of women in mathematics.

With the increase use of computers in today’s classrooms, work places, and living rooms, it is easy to assume that we no longer have a gender gap in high-tech courses and careers.

But the reality is that the participation of women in these areas have actually decreased over the past two decades. Whenever I lead activities that raise awareness about male/female ratios in tech related careers and courses, participants are always surprised at the gender gap. As a teacher there are many ways you can implement gender equity strategies in your classroom. Tech Integration across the curriculum is one of the top strategies. If girls are not flocking to computer classes, let’s make sure the computers come to “them”. Along with making technology part of everyday learning, creating opportunities where girls can gain skills and confidence with technology can help address the “experience gap”. One of the biggest challenges young women face when considering a high-tech class or career is not “aptitude”, but experience.

Maya, the only girl in her Java programming class, quickly noticed that
most of the boys in the class seemed to already know a lot about programming
from their experience with robotic toys, or from having built pieces of their
own computers. They seemed to already have a rapport with the
programming teacher comparing notes about their favorite video games strategies during class. Her programming class quickly turned to a very frustrating and lonely experience. When asked by she enrolled in this class, she
answered, “one of my teachers noticed that I was smart with computers and
learned HTML code quickly and invited me to participate in a Tech Savvy Girls
summer camp.” There I spent a whole week learning cool new technologies
with all girls. I even took a mini-workshop in programming. It was
fun. I felt smart. I didn’t have “less experience”. My junior year I found I had an open timeslot in my schedule. I looked at the available classes that block. If it had not been for Tech Savvy Girls, I wouldn’t have noticed programming, but some of the women role models I met in Tech Savvy Girls activities often mentioned programming as a class they took when they were in school.

Year after year, I listen to girls tell their stories during our Tech Savvy Girls activities and over and over again, I hear tales of teachers who provided awareness, inspiration, and experience opportunities to young women. “ My teacher often gave me extra computer tasks to do; my teacher recommended me for a computer camp; my teacher asked for my help with the computer; my teacher believed in me; my teacher recommended this course for when I get older;”

Look for information and opportunities to create activities such as “The Creative Side of Engineering” that send a strong message to girls that the world needs more than girls who “use” technology, the world needs their input into design and innovation.

Resolution 2007 - Promoting Digital Equity

As you move forward in the digital age, take the time to notice who we might be leaving behind. How about adding digital equity to your 2007 resolution. Consider expanding the definition of No Child Left Behind to include “no child left behind in a digital age”. My 2007 resolution is to renew my commitment to digital equity and provide increased resources to teachers for bridging the digital divide in their schools.

1. I resolve to update my collection of keyboarding resources and promote keyboarding skills in ALL students.
   
   Ignore those who tell you that we don’t need to teach this skill anymore because of the voice recognition technology or because today’s kids are on the computers so much they pick it up naturally. Those who use effective keyboarding techniques will build skills and gain increased productivity, while those who don’t will get further and further behind in their schoolwork. Don’t forget to include assistive technology options for students with disabilities.
   



2. I resolve to know which students lack access to digital tools at home.
   
   Informally inquire about students access, so that you can provide solutions that help these students and their families. I make old keyboards available with keyboarding practice sheets AND teach students how to practice on a keyboard alone. I was surprised at the number of 3rd and 4th grade students who took me up on this offer (some of them have computers, but complain that other family members horde all the computer time). I know of at least one Vermont school that refurbishes old machines with Linux and open source software and makes them available to families in their district. Making parents aware of public library access to computers, or creating public hours for your own computer lab can increase access.
   
   
3. I resolve to promote sensitivivity to lack of or slow Internet Access.
   
   Many communities still have only DIAL UP access. If you post documents online for parents, make sure that the families without Internet are aware of how they can also access these documents. Break the documents down for quicker download for dial-up users. For example , if your school’s program of studies is online, consider posting it as separate “chapters” or text only format for dial-up users. Using a free PDF maker can ensure that your documents are posted in a format accessible to all users. Consider differentiated assignments and resources to accommodate students with limited or no access.
   



4. I resolve to revive the TechSavy Girls program and create new opportunities for girls to build skills and confidence in their use of technology.
   
   While it appears that most middle school girls have confidence and skills equal to their male counterparts when it comes to technology use, interest and participation levels decrease significantly during high school and college years. The ratio of girls to boys in high level computer classes has actually decreased during the past decade and hover around the 12% rate.
   



5. I resolve to make Web-based and Open Source Software available to students to increase home access to digital tool.
   
   Our regional technology users group is exploring the use of more Web-based and Open Source resouces in our schools. In a series of parent workshops, we distribute “FREE” open-source software for parents who attend. One of our teachers is adding OpenSource platform productivity tools to his lab to increase students familiarity with these tools. This is also a great way to promote greater understanding of tech “concepts” and skills transfer.