Digital divide: a passe notion? (notebook).

Digital divide: a passe notion? (notebook). Most of the recent political talk about inequities in education has focused on the gap between high achieving schools and those that fail to meet education standards. What happened to the government's concern about the digital divide? That's the question That's the Question is an American quiz game show on GSN, hosted by game show veteran and former Entertainment Tonight reporter, Bob Goen, which premiered in October 2006. several critics are asking in light of President Bush's proposed 2003 $56.5 billion education budget. They say the education spending in this proposal does not adequately address the gap between the haves and have nots. Some education industry observers claim the digital divide is widening and are lobbying the Bush Administration to pay more attention. At the heart of the debate are the Community Technology Centers Program and the Technology Opportunities Program, which are slated to be eliminated. Also at issue is the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology Program, which is slated to receive less funds. In 2001, funding for the community centers program was at an all-time all-timeadj.Exceeding all others up to the present time: an all-time speed skating record.all-timeAdjectiveInformal high, at $65 million. TOP was funded at $15 million in 2002. The Benton Foundation The Benton Foundation is a nonprofit organization set up by former U.S. Senator, William Benton and his wife, Helen Hemingway Benton. Its present chairman and CEO is their son, Charles Benton. , a non-profit that studies this issue, claims Bush is sending a "clear message that the digital divide is no longer a concern for the government--the problem will somehow resolve itself." Only one in four of America's poorest households were online by the end of 2001, compared to eight in 10 homes with incomes of $75,000 or more. Online access for Hispanics (at 31.8 percent) and blacks (39.8 percent) lags behind whites (59.9 percent), according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. statistics released by the Benton Foundation. Of course, more than 90 percent of K-12 schools across America America[for Amerigo Vespucci], the lands of the Western Hemisphere—North America, Central (or Middle) America, and South America. The world map published in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller is the first known cartographic use of the name. are wired, but observers say that access at home is important in supporting technical literacy. John Bailey John Bailey may refer to one of the following people: John Bailey (actor), British actor John Bailey (cinematographer), American cinematographer John Bailey (footballer) born 1950, British footballer John Bailey (footballer born 1969), British footballer , director of the Department of Education's Office for Educational Technology, counters that the Bush Administration is not ignorant of the digital divide, it has just set new policy in hopes that a new approach will help. The money for technology is built into the 2003 budget, only through a new series of block grants--totaling $700 million--that will be doled out Adj. 1. doled out - given out in portionsapportioned, dealt out, meted out, parceled outdistributed - spread out or scattered about or divided up to the states. A coalition of 80 educational associations, including the International Society for Technology in Education and the Consortium for School Networking, has sent a formal request to Senate education policy makers to maintain the level of funding for CTC CTC - Cornell Theory Center and TOP as a way to bring "technology's benefits to under-served communities." Jee Hang Lee, an ISTE ISTE International Society for Technology in EducationISTE Indian Society for Technical EducationISTE International Society for Tropical EcologyISTE Integrated Services Terminal Equipment policy adviser, is also critical of the new emphasis on state block grants. The $700 million that the states will soon have to spend on education technology may never be used to support local technology programs, he says. "It is unlikely that school districts will provide benefits to adults and seniors in their areas." Bailey advocates patience with the new approach. He has taken innovative steps to make sure all 50 state education technology directors know the details of the new state grant program and the funding application process. He has initiated a series of face-to-face seminars and conference calls to further support the program and to stress Bush's education policies. "We are trying to bridge a digital divide, but the goal is much bigger," says Bailey. "Looming looming:see mirage. over us is a much larger concern--who can read and who can't. "His perspective explains why the 2003 education budget places far more emphasis on reading, testing and scholastic achievement. www.bentonfoundation.org www.iste.org www.ed.gov