Journal #6

“Social Justice: Choice or Necessity” by Colleen Swain and David Edyburn

The article starts by talking about how today’s students must be technologically fluent and able to use technology to solve problems with various sources of information, create new representations of their knowledge, and enhance their learning through the diverse strategies afforded by technology. In 1992, the U.S. Department of Labor’s SCANS report noted that at least 80% of all jobs in the next two decades would require workers to be technologically fluent. The Digital Equity Portal Toolkit is one of the most powerful resources with more than 150 strategies for addressing key aspects of the digital divide. An important aspect of adopting a framework of social justice when using technology in the classroom is for the educator to be reflective about how it is used in the classroom. Keeping a journal or making careful notes in lesson plans on the ways instructional technologies were used is a way to help examine the use in your classroom.

1. When do we believe that technology is equitably implemented? When it is available, used routinely, used in ways that reflect real-world applications of interest, complexity and power, used to enhance learning opportunities for all students, and used to monitor teacher/students progress over time.

2. How can I as a teacher help to gain more access to computers into the classrooms? I can look for computer refurbishment websites where schools can obtain computers and also ways to get deeply discounted computers. Also, I should search for ways to make instructional technologies accessible in the class and a normal part of the learning process, since there is a growing collection of free or open source software available.