In today's society most people have access to the Internet in their homes. The Internet can be a great help to students in many ways. They can do tutorials, play games, look up information and much more. Some students are at a disadvantage because they do not have Internet access at their homes. There are man things that a teacher can do to help these students so that they do not fall behind.
The first things that I would do as a teacher is talk to the parent and see why they do not have a computer at home. If the family does not have a computer because the adult does not know how to operate one I would suggest that they get a computer so they all can learn the benefits of technology. Most of these families will not have one because of financial recourses. There are many public places where students can go outside of school so that they can work on the Internet. I would tell the parents these different places. The public library has Internet access that the students can take advantage of. Many of these libraries have computers for children that have safety protection to keep students on proper web sites. Another idea is to have the students work on a friends, neighbor or family members computer.
If a student does not have a computer at home I would also allow that student a little extra time in the classroom to use the Internet. This way the student can have time to get familiar with a computer.
A good way to see that the student has extra time is to have them
be the ones to look up topics for the class. This way they are getting
additional practice during the school day.
Since the time that students work on computers is limited during
the school day I may bookmark some important pages that I want the children
to explore. This will give them more time to do the work and gain
the information with out having to take up a lot of time searching for
the web sites.
There are often times recourses that the school has to lend to
families. Check to see if your school or community has a computer
to donate to the families. Many times businesses are happy to donate
these kinds of things if they are asked. Look into the resources around
the community to benefit these children.