Cons

Some cons of using technology in low income schools:

1. Lack of resources in the school. Most low income school districts likely cannot afford to have a large amount of technology installed in each classroom so taking advantage of smart boards and allowing students to use computers on a very regular basis are probably out of the question. Furthermore, even the amount of technology available in the whole building may be limited. Such schools may not have the multiple computer labs or plentiful traveling laptop carts that are present in more affluent schools and this could lead to serious competition between teachers over the technology that is available. Reserving time in the computer lab for your class could be a hassle.

2. Lack of internet access at home. Unlike in a more affluent area, a teacher cannot assume that the large majority of students in a low income school will be able to access the internet on a computer at home. Although the percentage of those with access will still be pretty high, there will likely be enough students whose families simply cannot afford to buy a computer or pay the bills for reliable internet access. This makes it nearly impossible to give students assignments to work on at home based around wikis, blogging, digital storytelling, or any other web-based resource. Furthermore, this means that us, as the teachers, have to find a way to guarantee that our students will have enough time in class to complete any online assignments or have to accept incomplete work from students who are not able to finish in school. This is another challenge for incorporating technology into low income schools.

3. Testing pressures. Many low income schools are under pressure from state and federal governments to improve test scores in order to meet Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind. Similarly to many other creative, engaging lessons, lessons that use technology to allow students to make their own creative products that express something they have learned may be looked down upon by administrators as a waste of instructional time that could be used on lessons that might have a greater impact on students' readiness for standardized tests. From this perspective, why give students multiple days to work on a digital presentation when they really need to improve their reading level?