Filling the Technological Gap

The technological gap is a big issue in education. Because we teach people from all stages of life, many of whom are adult learners, we have to be aware of what technological issues our students are facing. If we don't find out where they need help, then we can not adjust their experience so that they can learn the information. 

What does that mean for us educators? It means we have a few changes that we may need to make in our courses.

Where Does the Tech Gap start?

The boom in personal technology has created a disconnect between using devices efficiently and hunting and pecking for an application. More often than not, this is why we have to explain different applications to our parents or help them adjust to new ways of using technology.

Not only are we seeing an older generation have a hard time with technology, but we're also seeing our younger generation have a hard time with technology. The running theory on this is that children, teenagers, and young adults are having a very hard time transitioning to working in an online environment.

This has been a very surprising turn of events. The thought was that the generation after us millennials would be able to use technology far more efficiently than the previous generation. And this has not been the case! Instead, Generation Z is the one that is beginning to utilize technology to excel in both life and their studies.

This is also partly because generation Z and Alpha have been forced to use technology at an early age. Accessing technology at such an early age often leads to a better acclamation to the systems that we use. Is this a good thing? Right now we don't know. We don't know how this is going to affect us all.

So far, each generation has become more and more used to technology in different ways. You can hypothesize all you want about the takeover of machines, you can look at how our world is now surrounded by the panopticon effect, and you can also say that your identity is technically not your own. All of these things are true. But because they are true doesn't mean they are the truth.

How do we address the technological gap?

Before you try to address the technological gap, make sure that you're aware of how to use the systems that you need. This is a situation where the blind shouldn’t be leading the blind.

The best way to solve a technological gap is to make the technology as accessible as possible to your clients and your students. What this means is that you have to be a true expert. You have to know the in's and outs of every aspect of every website, and every program you use. This is not an easy thing to do! You will have to work hard to understand where things can get buggy and figure out how you're going to help students address those bugs.

Another way to help you through the technological gap is to provide them with visual walkthroughs of every and any system you use. This isn't to say that the walkthrough has to be done by you. You are trying to make the information as accessible to your students as you possibly can.  When you do this, you're giving your students a better chance at success than they had before.

Think about it this way. You are literally opening up the door for your students to a world that they never would have had access to before. How incredible is that?

Making walkthroughs can be really time-consuming. Believe me, I've done it before! But just because it's difficult, doesn't mean that we don't do it. We want to make sure that our students have the best experience, and we put in that time and effort to help them succeed.