As the maple leaves turn colour and the familiar crispness of October mornings are upon us, I am beginning to settle into the rhythm of school, work and family, and am also feeling more at ease with the technological journey this course is taking me on!
These last few weeks have had us delving deeper into the frameworks for digital literacy and how these can connect to and support our projects in EDER 678. The framework that resonated with me was the ISTE Standards and the roles for educators within this framework. Our group project is focused on finding the most effective ways to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven digital tools into our classrooms to support teaching and learning. The overuse of certain tools such as spellcheck or grammar checkers can hinder language acquisition and writing skills, but the reality is these tools are here to stay, and we must equip our students with the knowledge to see the benefits as well as the limitations of using these tools (Gayed et al., 2022). The ISTE standard 2.5 discusses the instructor’s role as a designer. In this role, incorporating technology should take into consideration the need for personalized learning, independent learning, and learners’ differences and accommodations (ISTE, 2022). For some students the incorporation of technology into the classroom enables them to take part in learning that may not have been possible for them before. Certain tools can also foster learner autonomy and allow students to take charge of their own learning. In these ways, I see the benefit to incorporating different assistive and adaptive digital tools. Through my readings and web searches, I also came across the term “Techquity”, which I absolutely love, and the website of Kristine Napper . Growing up with a disability herself, Kristine’s role as an English Language Development (ELD) instructor has focused on incorporating technology into teaching as a way to bring equitable opportunities to all students and set them up for success, hence Techquity!
I recently worked with a student who had graduated from high school in Canada but required English language upgrading in order to join college level programming. Unfortunately, his reading skills development had slipped through the cracks, and he is now struggling to improve both his reading and writing. I’ve found that incorporating audiobooks into his reading practice, which allows him to both see and hear the text, has helped to build his word recognition and spelling. Kristine Napper also talks about the role of Text to Speech (TTS) and voice dictation tools in providing equitable learning opportunities for dyslexic students. For many students these tools can bridge the gaps in their learning and open up new possibilities for their education. As these tools are introduced, the teacher’s role is pivotal in providing in-person guidance and knowledge about these tools (Gayed et al., 2022). The use of these digital tools, furthermore, ties into the ISTE standard 2.2 for instructors as leaders. By incorporating a variety of tools and keeping Techquity at the forefront, we can empower our students and work to create more inclusive learning communities (ISTE, 2022)!
References
Gayed, J., Carlon, M., Oriola, M., & Cross, J. (2022). Exploring an AI-based writing assistant’s impact on English language learners. Computers and Education. Artificial Intelligence, 3, 100055–.
ISTE. (2022). ISTE Standards for Educators. https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-teachers.
Napper, K. (2018). About Techquity. https://kristinenapper.com/about-techquity.
Comments
3 responses to “Dreaming of Techquity!”
Shanna,
Amazing find on the Ted Talk video. There are so many great speakers on Ted, but this one really hits the mark on our topic of AI in the classroom. The term “techquity” seems like it should actually be a word in the dictionary- and the thought process behind bridging the two words to reflect the action of using technology to bridge learning gaps and create equity- genius!
Reflection: The part that really spoke to me was when Napper suggested that her “visible disability” had an impact on the accessibility and type of support she received, as opposed to her student Jose, who was a minority with dyslexia. Reflecting on the type of support that my students receive, it is exactly that: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. While the EAs should be assisting and working with students who have IPPs and learning disabilities, sometimes, their time and attention are divided, and the students who have more “visible” disabilities such as autism receive more help than my students with reading/writing disabilities. In this way, I can easily see how my actions and our choices are creating a greater gap for my students.
Inquiry: It was interesting when Napper said that if we fear technology will create dependence, then we are using it wrong. Although I felt personally attacked (LOL), I do definitely see her point. My question then is: how do we get to that stage where we ONLY see technology as tools that create equity, rather than a hindrance to learning? Taking our group topic in mind and how tools such as spellcheck or grammar check can hinder language acquisition, how can we overcome our perceptions of the limitations of these tools, which we are clearly seeing in the classroom?
Suggestion and Elevate: It would be so interesting if you were able to find another perspective alongside Napper, but perhaps one that challenges some of her ideas. While I absolutely love the idea of Techquity in the classroom, this is mostly relevant to students who have learning disabilities and require resources to create equitable opportunities. However, what about for students who don’t have any disabilities at all? For typical, grade-level students, whose spelling and grammatical skills are slipping through the cracks due to technology over-reliance or lack of intentional teaching, how might we, as educators juggle the different skill sets as well as technology in the classroom?
Thanks so much for sharing, Shanna!
Shanna, I have been rocked by this. In my current school we have so many kids per class with some sort of learning disability or condition that impedes their learning. We have such a visible need to help these kids and prepare them for their lives. I loved your thoughts on this and sharing the concept of “techquity”. As we teachers are responsible to build the learning opportunities for our students in the classroom, that responsibility should be acted on in the best ways for our students. I can admit that there are activities that I do that I have been doing for years, the question is, how have I, or we as teachers, adapted our ways of teaching to ensure that our students are getting every advantage we can offer? I know there are so many digital literacies that we have been discussing that can be incorporated, but I need to get moving on it.
I think that it would be relevant in our project to have suggest how or what tech we could easily incorporate into our learning context of ELL. It would need to be easy and convenient for our teachers to incorporate to maintain this “Techquity”. I love it.
Shanna – what a great area of focus for your blog! Connecting and expanding on UDL (Universal Design for Learning – covered in future weeks) to your examples will also help develop your ideas that are so relevant and timely! Great examples of practice in connection to what we are reading and doing ! Dr R:)