Edtech for the K-12 Classroom: Five ways the Pandemic Improved Equity for Students

    Due to the coronavirus pandemic that occurred in 2020, educators were quick to find out how complex digital equity was. As schools across the globe were shutting down, districts were trying to find a way to continue on educating students. Then online school was introduced, how ever they wanted to ensure that every student had the proper equipment, these are the solutions that districts attempted to solve these concerns. 

  1. Free Wi-Fi:Many internet providers offered Wi-Fi for free or at a discounted price during the pandemic. They wanted to ensure that educators, parents, and others should be able to connect with each others for low-or no-cost for those who unfortunately couldn't afford home internet.

    2. School Bus Fleets: 

        Before schools were shut down schools were offering students lunch during school hours. Many students didn't have the opportunity to eat at home while attending remote classes so schools were making headlines because they were using their school buses to deliver food to students. But they didn't just stop at breakfast and lunch, they were also delivering Wi-Fi hotspots and library books for students. 

    3. Public Television: 

        According to the Ebook, on Article 2, page 26, During the pandemic, network would broadcast educational shows for students. Programming to a specific age group, from grade school to middle school to high school.

4. School Buildings: 

        "Families that had no access to the internet gathered in school parking lots to tap into the district Wi-Fi" during these hard times. The technology team would also work together to jack up the signal more outwards cause the signal would only be 5 mile radius.

5. Old-Fashioned Paper:

        Students that didn't have access to the internet for some reason, would be given a "multilingual learning toolkits" in paper so they can continue learning.

Krueger, N. (2021, November 3). 5 Ways the Pandemic Improved Equity for Students. ISTE. Retrieved from https://iste.org/blog/5-ways-the-pandemic-improved-equity-for-students