| Digital equity is the social–justice goal of ensuring that everyone in our society has equal access to technology tools, computers, and the Internet. ISTE is dedicated to sharing information, expertise, and resources that will allow opportunities for all individuals to acquire knowledge and skills to address critical dimensions and solutions for the digital divide.
International Society for Technology in Education hosted its first annual Digital Equity Summit in San Diego, CA, entitled The Digital Divide: Critical Dimensions and Solutions. Local, state, national, and international leaders in educational equity and technology are invited to attend this unprecedented gathering to:
- Gain a deeper understanding of critical dimensions of the digital divide in education, inequitable student access to hardware, software, connectivity, and academic and culturally responsive digital content and how they affect our underserved students and their families and communities;
- Learn about proven, scalable solutions for dramatically improving underserved students access to these vital learning technology resources;
- Develop action plans by which, individually and together, participants will take realistic steps following the symposium to support widespread adoption of these proven digital equity solutions; and
- Following the summit, be able to participate in moderated online collaboration, sharing resources, challenges and suggestions to support each other’s efforts to fulfill our digital equity commitments.
This marks the first year in which the annual Digital Equity Summit was held, both as an integral feature of ISTE's annual conference, and as the beginning of a long term initiative to bring leaders and policy makers from education, business, philanthropy, human services agencies and government together to share promising and proven digital equity strategies so that more children will realize the educational, economic and personal benefits of learning technology.
After the summit, a report will be published and widely disseminated electronically and in print, highlighting current research on the nature and extent of the digital divide, the scalable digital equity solutions showcased at the summit, and the commitments participants make to tangibly support scaling up these solutions.
Participants made public pledges that, while they might seem modest to the individual (e.g., a professional association leader who agrees to incorporate a stream of information over time about digital equity solutions in the association’s newsletter), will have a significant impact as we work together to make contributions that are within our means.
We hope that you will join us for what promises to be a sobering yet ultimately celebratory and galvanizing event, one that marks a turning point in how we move from awareness and concern to concerted practical action.
The summit is hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and ISTE’s Special Interest Group for Digital Equity (SIGDE).
ISTE Contacts:
Mila Fuller, Director of Strategic Initiatives; mfuller@iste.org
Brenda Aspaas, Sr. Executive Assistant; baspaas@iste.org
202.861.7777 Ext. 122 (phone)
Meet the Steering and Advisory Committee Members
Additional Resources for the Digital Equities Summit
DES Questions (PDF, 138KB)
During the 2006 Digital Equity Summit, the following challenges, issues, and questions were addressed.
ISTE’s Digital Equity Toolkit (PDF, 212KB)
The purpose of the ISTE Digital Equity Toolkit is to provide a succinct compendium of practical resources that educators can use to immediately improve access to technology resources for students and educators.
The toolkit is a free publication provided to all education stakeholders working towards digital equity. This toolkit was developed as a resource for ISTE’s Digital Equity Summit. The toolkit framework includes five categories consisting of Infrastructure, Leadership & Support, Professional Development, Teaching & Learning, and Family & Community Resources. Toolkit resources include Research (Promising/Proven Strategies), Resources (Hardware, Software, & Digital Content), and Grant Opportunities (Partnerships & Foundation Funding.)
This version of the toolkit is a working draft. If you have any suggestions for the final version of the toolkit, please email us at digitalequity@iste.org.
Summit Featured Speakers
Geneva Gay, Ph.D., Professor in Curriculum & Instruction, University of Washington
Milton Chen, Ph.D., Executive Director, George Lucas Educational Foundation
Peggy Kelly, Ph.D., Associate Dean, California State University San Marcos
Lean King, Ph.D., Superintendent, Encinitas Union School District
Lynne Schrum, Ph.D., Professor, George Mason University
Elisabeth Stock, President and Co-Founder of Computers for Youth
Senator Leonard Tsosie, New Mexico District 22
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Dr. Gay is highly respected for her research and teaching of curriculum theory, African-American culture, and multicultural education. In 1994, she received the Ann Baker Award, in honor of her distinctive leadership, scholarship, and service to women. She has published a book entitled, At the Essence of Learning: Multicultural Education (1994), and most recently presented a symposium with colleagues Dr. Ted Kaltsounis and Dr. Walter Parker called, Multicultural Education and Democratic Citizenship Education at the Crossroads,to the National Council for the Social Studies.
Professor Gay has contributed to numerous journals and books in these fields. Among the books to which she has contributed are Teaching Ethnic Studies: Concepts and Strategies, Language and Cultural Diversity in American Education: Curriculum Guidelines for Multicultural Education, and the Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education. She is the co-editor of Expressively Black: The Cultural Basis of Ethnic Identity and author of At the Essence of Learning: Multicultural Education. Her most recent book is Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice (Teachers College Press, 2000).
Education:
Ph.D., University of Texas, 1972
Web page:
http://depts.washington.edu/coe/programs/ci/profiles/gay.html
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