Cycle 5: Exploration Tech Tools

"The metaverse has existed for at least 19 years (About Linden Lab, 2022). Jeremy Kemp and Daniel Livingstone (2006), and Chris Collins (2008) were among the first of many educators to write about its potentials. Lisa Nakamura (2009) was among the first to caution about its reproduction of physical world racism. Why is it that in 2022 we are “raising the alarm” anew, and not yet able to dedicate our combined energies to creating solutions?" -- Roberta Kilkenny

"Traditionally, minority groups have not had access to many resources that the majority group had. Technology has contributed to the widening divide as many people from minority groups in the United States do not have access to tech resources such as the internet. Those having access will stay at the front and perform better than those without, primarily those who are poor and the minority. Classroom usage of technology might negatively affect the academic engagement of students who do not have access to the tools. As a result, they will not fully engage in their academics due to their inability to access classroom tech tools at home, resulting in continued oppression due to their academic failure. When faced with the iceberg theory or the theory of omission, as others say, Marie's comment makes a lot of sense as the resultant opportunities, which are the benefits of the technology, are highlighted at the tip of the iceberg. At the same time, the harms are invisible at the bottom of the iceberg. I think it's high time we bring the iceberg out in the sun and let it melt to bring everything to the light. The opportunities, harms, power, oppression, access, and tech savviness must get explored before technology gets adopted in our classrooms. Only then will every student fully benefit from a learning experience that involves technology usage." -- Mirriam Banda

"...When we think of technology in the classroom, we often think of technology to help students learn. This example though can have a major impact on the job of a teacher. When a math teacher has completed notes for example, they can upload them easily and it takes the guesswork out of having to catch students up or print out lots of copies...." -- Zoe Peritz

"Technological advancements are often spoken about in histrionic terms; the dawning of a new age that is only either a glorious new beginning or the end of the world as we know it. But typically, it trickles down. Reading an article about an exciting new tech advancement may seem exciting at first, but most people understand that it will take years or decades to reach the point of regular use and likely even longer to be able to afford it. Looking over the past twenty years, we can observe the advancements of smartphones, for example, from a novelty item, to cultural scapegoat, to assumed necessity. Yet, it took a slow evolution and adoption of the tech for it to become a consensual staple, many people to this day (often older) choose to use a primitive form of the technology or not at all, and some societies around the world have yet to normalize them." -- Savannah Breen