What does it mean to "provide equal access to the digital world"?

     Equal access is inherently unequal. No two students in today's classroom are the same and that includes access to the digital world. With today's classrooms getting more and more technologically advanced, we sometimes forget that some of our students do not have the same computer or internet capabilities at home. We need to be mindful when assigning tasks for students to complete on computers when they are not in our classes. We need to be able to allow students, no matter their background, to have equal opportunity to succeed.
     This could be done through many ways. For the students who have a computer at home with an internet connection, we can have students complete their work with Web 2.0 tools online so that they can access them online at home and at school.  For those students, who do not have internet access at home, we need to be able to provide them the same opportunity to do the same assignment which could mean reserving laptops or computers from the school library so that a student can complete the assignment during his or her lunch or study hall.
     Other options are for students to work as teams so that they are always paired up with someone who has technological capabilities when they are at home and the two of them can divide the work so that one can work from home and the other can work while in the classroom. The important thing is that students, no matter their background, have an equal opportunity to complete a technological assignment to their fullest ability.
     Many schools, when they face the problem of providing equal access, utilize their school library and their librarians. The librarians are highly trained in the technology being used in our classrooms and are an excellent resources for our students who may be having difficulty finishing an assignment or who are not able to finish in the normal time period due to learning disabilities. In order for us to provide equal access, we must be able to ensure everyone has a reasonable amount of time to complete all assigned works.
     Equal access will never be fully accomplished but we as educators must find creative and unique ways for our students to learn the necessary technology before they graduate in order to provide them with an adequate education.