The lack of technological resources is hindering the educational success of a large number of students in less-fortunate districts across Illinois. We aim to fix this prevalent issue by improving the education of technology for students, teachers, and parents; increasing accessibility to internet at homes and schools; and reaching the optimal level of restriction for school firewalls.

The lack of knowledge possessed by teachers to efficiently utulize the resources provided by technology.

"All too often, when schools mandate the use of a specific technology, teachers are left without the tools (and often skills) to effectively integrate the new capabilities into their teaching methods," according to the report. "The results are that the new investments are underutilized, not used at all, or used in a way that mimics an old process rather than innovating new processes that may be more engaging for students."

Nagel, David. “6 Technology Challenges Facing Education.” THE Journal, thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing-education.aspx.

The inability for students to access their given electronic devices outside of the classroom.

"Approximately 70% of teachers assign homework requiring access to broadband. In addition, about 65% of students used the Internet at home to complete their homework, which could include submitting assignments, connecting with teachers and other students through group discussion boards, working on shared documents as part of a group project and doing online research for a school paper. Parents rely on the Internet as well to be fully-informed on their child’s academic performance, with many schools turning to online grading systems."

“The Homework Gap: The 'Cruelest Part of the Digital Divide'.” NEA Today, 3 Feb. 2017, neatoday.org/2016/04/20/the-homework-gap/.

The failure to use technology to deliver effective formative assessments.

"Assessment is an important driver for educational practice and change, and over the last years we have seen a welcome rise in the use of formative assessment in educational practice. However, there is still an assessment gap in how changes in curricula and new skill demands are implemented in education; schools do not always make necessary adjustments in assessment practices as a consequence of these changes. Simple applications of digital media tools, like webcams that allow non-disruptive peer observation, offer considerable promise in giving teachers timely feedback they can use."

Nagel, David. “6 Technology Challenges Facing Education.” THE Journal, thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing-education.aspx.

Although many schools and teachers are utulizing online resources, many of them do not have a strong understanding of how to effectively use them. Furthermore, most students face significant restrictions when using their given devices, and some do not even have access to operate them at home. By educating school districts on how to optimize technological resources to their fullest extent, teachers, students, and parents will be able to fully take advantage of the opportunities that technology provides.