EdTech for equity: tools for the anti-racist classroom
Institutional racism is destructive and pervasive. At the school level, it can show up in a number of troubling ways. Be it between peers, discriminatory top-down administrative policies or problematic digital divides, students of colour often get the short end of the ruler.
Fortunately, racism can (and should) be unlearned. Ahead are some real world ways EdTech is taking classroom discrimination head-on.
Breaking down global borders
Pen pals used to be the norm for students looking to connect with their international peers. But kids are impatient, and waiting weeks or months for a piece of snail mail doesn't always hold their interest. Today, they have EdTech options that allow them to make contact in real-time.
Technology has made global learning possible, allowing students to connect, create presentations together and even master other languages using emails, photos, audio recorded messages, virtual classrooms and video conferencing.
Using virtual reality (VR) systems, learners can now experience what life is like for their peers in other parts of the world.
Many classes also use project-based curriculum as part of their global learning resources. As demand for these resources continues to increase, international not for profits like the Asia Society’s Centre for Global Education are promoting digital tools that promote equal opportunity and connect international communities.
Promoting cultural appreciation
Cultural exposure is a great way to encourage understanding and empathy among students. Using virtual reality (VR) systems, learners can now experience what life is like for their peers in other parts of the world.
Through VR, pupils can gain a deeper understanding of family dynamics in other cultures, the games they play, their cuisine and what they enjoy learning at school.
Students can also see first-hand how global issues like climate change have impacted a country’s food supply or even the aftermath of a war-torn region’s latest political conflicts.
It’s especially helpful for students who live in smaller towns and communities that may not inherently have a lot of diversity. Some have never interacted with a person who didn’t speak the same language or who had a religious, socioeconomic or racial background that differs from their own.
Heather Singmaster, an associate director at the Asia Society said “When students are doing meaningful work together, they understand that people from other countries aren’t that different from them. Students may look different, but they’re really dealing with the same issues; they have the same feelings. They’re more alike than different.”
Online resources can offer that experience. Platforms like Write the World, designed for 13-18 year olds, allow students around the world to collaborate online and engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas that could help expand their worldview and their ability to relate to people from different cultures.
With more respect and appreciation for the culture of others, students are more likely to grow up primed for positive relationships within the increasingly international workforce and act as positive stewards of society.
Addressing racism with online resources
Racism can be a tough subject to broach. However, the temporary discomfort is necessary to collectively move us forward. That means being explicit when discussing race, discrimination and inequality.
Educators who want to encourage kids or parents to listen better, examine their own inherent biases or analyse uncomfortable aspects of our shared history don’t have to do it alone.
Online resources like Time for Kids and Flocabulary’s Thhe Week In Rap provide an age-appropriate breakdown of international current events for children in grades 3-12.
It may also be useful for children to use English resources developed by other countries to provide them with a more diverse and multicultural perspective in their learning. Let’s Read, StoryWeaver and AkooBooks Audio give children access to a digital library of stories developed in other parts of the world, thereby providing an opportunity for deeper understanding of other cultures.
In their Truth to Power series, the Asia Society hosts online lessons for adults, too. They follow a global competence model, fostering discussions that, “look at the root causes of systemic racism in public education, identify exactly what it looks like and empower parents and educators to do something about it.”
Personalising learning with intentional AI
This was the year of personalised learning. Using AI to individuate instruction has unlocked student potential across the board. When exercised intentionally, it’s been shown to increase educational access, make more accurate assessments of students’ skill levels and diversify the learning experience.
However, for AI to reduce racial biases instead of cement them, it must be both used and built with intention.
The Hechinger Report, a not for profit covering inequality and innovation in education, explains, “Kids from black and Latino communities — who are often already on the wrong side of the digital divide — will face greater inequalities if we go too far toward digitising education without considering how to check the inherent biases of the (mostly white) developers who create AI systems. AI is only as good as the information and values of the programmers who design it, and their biases can ultimately lead both to flaws in the technology and to amplified biases in the real world.
At a minimum, that means working closely with educators and people of colour at each phase of AI development and hiring a more diverse developer workforce.
The most effective AI promises to help technologists understand and counteract learned racism, providing early intervention.
The truth is, equal access to education isn’t equal – at least not yet. But technology has the potential to close educational opportunity gaps for students of colour. That is, so long as it's utilised and created with care.
