Audio Script

There is an expectation that all students will use digital technology in the classroom. Students currently in school in 2019 have been born into a world of digital technology. Teachers have not however and need to develop a digital pedagogy (Howell, 2012) to keep up with the changing curriculum.

The digital divide is wide. It is not a divide of student and teacher knowledge that is most concerning however. Although all children are born into the digital world, there are great differences to the technology available to them and the knowledge they bring to the classroom (Howell, 2012). Age, geography, education and income play a huge role in the inequality of digital access (Ketchell, 2018).

Socio economic factors are not the only reasons for the divide, although they do play a significant role. Older technology, a lack of reliable internet access, regional and remote locations as well as cultural background are all major players (Thomas, et. al. 2018). Nationally, The Australian Capital Territory has the highest number of participants of digital technology at 66.4%, with New South Wales’ participation rate 60.4%. Tasmania’s participation rate of digital technology in 2018 was lowest 58.1% (Thomas, et. al. 2018

While most students are digitally fluent with technology they have access to at home, they are markedly less fluent within the educational context (Howell, 2012). Schools are expected to bridge the gap between technology available to a student outside of school and the technology they are expected to be fluent in to become “digitally expectant employees” (Howell, 2012). The need for teaching digital technologies at times is overlooked. There is an assumption that students already have an understanding of technology and teaching is often focussed on other key learning areas. Our world is evolving at a rapid rate. We need to prepare students for it. The way to do this is teachers updating their skills to keep up with the demands of employees, the government, parents, students and the community (Howell, 2012). Together we can close the gap.