The digital divide is a concern in America’s classrooms. Overcoming the digital divide should be a priority for teachers and especially for teachers with high percentages of minority, foreign language speaking, and low-income students. In an article that encourages the elimination of the digital divide, Patricia A. Young suggests that “tech talk” is one of the most beneficial approaches to encouraging students to become active participants in the world of technology. Her article is titled “Empowering Minority Students Through Tech Talk” and gives a well detailed explanation of techniques teachers can incorporate into their classrooms to enhance the technological skills of all students, including minorities.
Young explains that “tech talk is the active use of computer lingo to communicate” (Young, 2002, 46). Young furthers the definition of tech talk when she states that “tech talk is the language of communication used in the technology industry” (Young, 2002, 46). In these two statements Young refers to tech talk as a language (or lingo); tech talk should therefore be taught as a language. Each student will learn this language at different speeds and tech talk needs to be used frequently and thoroughly for all students to fully learn and comprehend it.
Young realizes the importance of tech talk for all students but her article focuses on the importance of minority students’ exposure to extensive tech talk, “using tech talk with all students, but particularly with minority children, is imperative to their acquisition of language and their future in this technologically driven society” (Young, 2002, 46). This statement acknowledges that while all students need to be well versed in tech talk, it points out that minority students, and I would go so far as to say students with a first language other than English, particularly need educated about the jargon of technology. With increased knowledge of tech talk, minority students gain comfort and confidence with both technology and the language that surrounds that technology.
In order to use tech talk in the classroom, teachers need to make sure they are comfortable with this form of language and should remember that “consistent repetition helps you become comfortable with speaking, writing, and teaching about technology. This comfort level enhances your ability to use technology. Students notice your ease of using tech talk, and they become more comfortable” (Young, 2002, 47). Frequent use of tech talk is a way to help students gain confidence in using this new language of technology in the classroom. I would add to Young’s above statement and include that a teacher should also acknowledge his or her own questions about new technology within the classroom, students will then learn it is okay to ask questions about technology. Technology develops and changes quickly and it is important for students to know that “tech talk” is a constantly developing language that students can inquire about without looking foolish or underprivileged. Young suggests that with some conscious effort, “tech talk can become an integral part of the classroom discourse” (Young, 2002, 46). Once tech talk becomes part of the classroom discourse students can feel at ease with learning technology and the digital divide can begin to decrease.
Young encourages teachers to use tech talk and gives real world examples and recommendations for ways to incorporate tech talk into lesson plans; she recommends teachers “provide opportunities where students produce things with technology. For example, students can publish a class newsletter and distribute it throughout the school. They could produce videos as an extension activity to a lesson. Or using hypermedia-authoring programs like KidPix, Hyperstudio, or PowerPoint, students could create presentations, class hypermedia books, or other learning activities. Again, students should be allowed to incorporate things specific to their prior experiences, culture, language, community or ethnic identity” (Young, 2002, 48). I found this lengthy passage insightful because it encourages combining technology and each student’s culture. This allows students to learn the new language of tech talk while connecting to the comforts of their own cultures. The education exercises and activities Young listed can also grow as technology changes and develops over the years. Young emphasizes the importance of teachers staying up to date on new technology and constantly striving to incorporate that technology into their classrooms. Incorporating technology into the classroom and pairing it with extensive tech talk in order to enhance the technological skills of students is one means of decreasing the problematic digital divide.
I have discussed earlier in this blog that students with a second language other than English are particularly hindered in the realm of the digital divide; this article gives some ideas and suggestions about ways to help those students with limited technology access. As students learn how to talk about RAM, short-term storage, java scripts, htmls, gigabytes, AJAXs, operating systems, PC’s, Macs, etc. they gain confidence with technology and are viewed as technologically literate citizens qualified and prepared for a work-force firmly grounded in technology.
Reference:
Young, P. (2002). Empowering minority students through tech talk. TechTrends, 46(2), 46-49. Retrieved from ERIC database (EJ654206).
A Clip of the ultimate tech talk master...
courtesy of Saturday Night Live and Hulu
(While Nick Burns might not be the most the most reliable source, this clip does show that computer lingo is its own language and it's a language that is important in the work force and must therefore be taught in our schools.)
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