Teachers can effectively build relationships and promote student learning by encouraging safe communication and interactions online by using technology that has been proven safe and that follows privacy guidelines (Garrett Dickers, A., 2018). To help create purposeful online learning environments teachers need to be purposeful in design, utilize a team when looking to implicate a new online learning platform, and make sure to incorporate activities designed for interaction between students, the teacher, and the content. One thing that I believe is very important when implementing a new program into your classroom (online or in-person) is the presence of a team or group of teachers or researchers who have used the program before or that have researched it before. By having this group before you implement a program you as a teacher are best able to evaluate whether it is a program that you and the students enjoy using, as well as a platform that students will learn from.
After examining the readings I have found one topic that I would like to discuss in this blog post, student tracking and discrimination (Regan, P. & Jesse, J., 2019). Student tracking and discrimination have been around for a long time. The debate about tracking began in the late 1800s and has evolved over time and is still around today even if we may not notice it as much. In the 1900s tracking was often used in the form of where students were going after high school. There were various paths that students would follow based on their prior achievements, such as going to college or getting vocational training. These paths were found to be discriminatory, as students of colour were often kept from the same long-term achievements than those of white students (ie. a white male would go to college whereas a male of colour may go get general training).
The use of technology has helped discrimination in the classroom decrease but also has some negative effects. By having technology to use in the classroom teachers are able to utilize differential instruction in a way that students are able to be easily assessed all at once, but with varying levels of difficulty. When certain programs are used for this however, the student’s age, gender, grade, etc. are all included in the database and analyzed. By having these factors analyzed discriminatory actions could be taking place. When a profile is created using the student’s demographic or interests then they are automatically grouped with others of the same data, regardless of who they are as a person. When a student is grouped based on demographics or test scores there are many things that are not taken into consideration such as maybe that student had a bad test day due to home problems or that they can comprehend material but have poor writing skills which would lead to a poor score on a written test. These programs may prove to be more efficient or easier to use than if a teacher were to evaluate each student on their own, but by using these programs teachers are subjecting their students to discrimination that they may not even notice. Overall, more research needs to be put into the effects of educational technology on student learning and the discriminatory and privacy concerns that may arise.
References:
Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522 ). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.
Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2