One of the largest disparities students face today is the digital divide.  Now more than ever, the future success of students depends on their exposure to technology in the classroom.  Eighteenth century education reformer Horace Mann once said, “Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer…”  These words have had a significant impact on our society.  At the time they were issued, Mann was promoting the concept of free and public education for all.  In today’s educational landscape, having public education is no longer the issue.  Now, educators and reformers seek to address other issues of inequity.  


Former National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel repeated Mann’s words and refined them for the 21st century, saying, ““Education is the great equalizer…we must be committed to providing education equity and resources all students need to succeed. It is unacceptable to allow inadequate and inequitable distribution of resources to many predominately minority schools. The lack of resources fuels the disparities” (2010).  The most glaring lack of resources Van Roekel refers to are technological in nature.  The use of technology in schools is a powerful tool for change, particularly in schools that serve minority populations.  The Public Policy Institute of California (2013)  indicates that Internet access among Latino subgroups still lags behind the access rates of other ethnic groups. This means that the digital divide affects most of the students where I teach, and many teachers believe that that the fewer opportunities students have to utilize technology, the less likely they are to enter computer-related fields (Roblyer, 2016).  


The goal of educational technology is to level the playing field among students so that they may become productive members of society.  Ensuring access not only to the technology itself, but also to skilled technology instruction, can transform the future of a generation. Through access and instruction, we build agency.  The more students feel empowered to learn, share, and create, the more they are able to achieve. 


Perhaps the foremost reason for the equitable integration of technology is the desire for students to become creators of original content.  At its heart, the integration of educational technology is a tool for social constructivism. Rather than passively consuming content that is published to the web via YouTube or social media, students must be given the opportunity to share their own voices.  Through writing, producing, and publishing digital artifacts of their learning, students are able to connect with others across the globe.  This can broaden their perspectives and provide an authentic audience for learning.  
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By integrating technology into the curriculum, teachers can also give students the opportunity to develop information literacy skills.  Being able to discern between credible sources and unreliable ones can have a major impact on how individuals access information.  Living in the age of Google means that students must become equipped to deal with the massive amounts of information (and misinformation) available to them at the click of a browser tab.  In addition, students must build an understanding of digital citizenship.  Knowing how to be safe and productive in an online environment is crucial.  The purposeful integration of technology across the curriculum is the key to ensuring the future success of our students. 
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In teacher preparation programs, there is a lot of talk about various theories of learning.  Different schools of thought are discussed, papers are written, conversations are had, and then we enter the real world, where theory plays a much smaller role that we originally perceived it would.  This is because the plate of a teacher is very full - full of things like benchmarks, wiping noses, reteaching concepts, calling parents, attending professional development to learn new tools, entering grades, making last minute trips to WalMart for more art supplies, substituting for classes that couldn't get coverage, and dreaming up incentive programs.  Sometimes, the pedagogy and the theory behind it just gets shoved to the side in favor of the next Big Thing that needs to be handled.  The reality is, unless we make time for reflection, there is very little actual reflection that occurs. 

Now that I'm back in school, pursuing a master's degree in Educational Technology through Boise State University, I'm making more time for reflection and I'm revisiting theories that I've only peripherally thought about during the past twelve years.  Well, that's not true.  I've thought about constructivism a lot, because that is how I've modeled my classroom.  However, it's been a while since I really considered other theories and thought about whether or not they are present in my practice.  

I decided to take this opportunity to create an infographic to share my thoughts and practice:

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My experiences in EDTECH 531 and 532 at Boise State University have shown me how much gaming can impact my own learning. By participating in gamified graduate courses and spending hours playing games that can be leveraged in the classroom, I have found that I retain content better and I have developed increased confidence in my own problem-solving abilities. This begs the question, what can gaming in the classroom do for our students?

Almost every student I have spoken to has some type of gaming experience. Once I began posting Minecraft machinima projects on YouTube, many different kiddos began showing up on the doorstep of Room 208. They are eager to talk to me about what they like to build in Minecraft, other games they like to play, and strategies for success. Their capacity for self-direction and intrinsic motivation astounds me, because some of these same children are not able to be successful in the traditional school environment.

Some of the challenges facing gaming in education are less theoretical and more practical in nature.  Working with the ETIS department can be time consuming, because there are few technical employees and many teachers and school sites that need attention.  Also, there are many different regulations in place to protect student privacy and ensure Internet safety. Dealing with all of those literal and figurative firewalls can be frustrating.  There is also the question of reaching critical mass with technology. For example, I am eager and ready to utilize Minecraft Education Edition with my students, but I am unable to begin because there are no devices available on campus that fit the required specifications.

These questions remain: What is the practical potential for gaming in the classroom? How can challenges be overcome in an infrastructure that is geared toward educating the people of the Industrial Revolution?  How do we move our practice into the 21st century?

I love this infographic from OnlineSchools: