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The digital divide comes in many forms and is discriminatory (OECD, 2015), and this is evident in educational media’s dominant design that is centred in western philosophy. Neglecting the rest of non-mainstream views in the learning design and strategies has dire consequences. If left ignored, it could perpetuate this black hole of injustice and inequity wherein there is no way out, and this has been a persistent wicked problem of our society. A wicked problem is “hard to define and whose nature remains ambiguous and elusive” (Conway, Masters, & Thorold, 2017). My post seems ominous, but I am an optimist in nature; hence, I see this as an opportunity to take advantage of the technology that is afforded to us, and we are the privileged ones that can make an impact. So, here is the good stuff.
Our cohort’s exploration of critical inquiry into the issues in education technology has made us engaged in a variety of discourses. For example, indigenization of MOOCs, digital equity, open versus proprietary content, reflective learning strategies, learning activities anchored in a social-constructivist framework, and the list goes on. The passion we all have for each of our individual and team critical inquiry activities demonstrates our unresolved commitment that education technology can be an ally to the wicked problems we face in the educational settings. However, I learned through readings and reflecting on this issue that I need to be acutely cognizant not to fall to the shiny promise of the techno-solutionism ideology.
There is hope to cultural inclusivity in educational media, and evidence has shown that this can be done. Incorporating other cultural views and values in the learning design can increase learners’ engagement as they can relate to the content through their own socio-cultural context (Farmer, 2012; Lauzon, 2000; McLoughlin & Oliver, 2000; Nelson & Parchoma, 2018). As I progress in exploring this critical issue, I think investigating how other countries utilized educational media and adapted it to make it their own is quite impressive. Now that is the capacity of educational technology at its best!
References
Conway, R., Masters, J., & Thorold, J. (2017). From design thinking to systems change: How to invest in innovation for social impact. Royal Society of Arts, Action and Research Centre. Retrieved from https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_from-design-thinking-to-system-change-report.pdf
Farmer L.S.J. (2012) Culturally Sensitive Learning Practices. In: Orey M., Jones S., Branch R. (eds) Educational Media and Technology Yearbook. Educational Media and Technology Yearbook, vol 36. Springer, New York, NY. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.1007/978-1-4614-1305-9_14
Lauzon, A. C. (2000). Distance education and diversity: Are they compatible? American Journal of Distance Education, 14(2), 61–70. https://doi-org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.1080/08923640009527055
McLoughlin, C., & Oliver, R. (2000). Designing learning environments for cultural inclusivity: A case study of the indigenous online learning at tertiary level. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 16(1), 58–72. Retrieved from https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/article/10.1007/s11528-018-0272-y#citeas
Nelson, D., & Parchoma, G. (2018). Indigenizing Curriculum Development and Online Course Design: a Caribbean Study. TechTrends, 62, 375–382. https://doi-org.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/10.1007/s11528-018-0272-y
OECD (2015), Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, PISA, OECD Publishing. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1787/19963777
Hi Sharon, you posted this a while ago, but I noticed there aren’t any comments yet so I wanted to share my thoughts 🙂
Your question of culturally inclusive design in educational technology is a complex one. I wonder, in your exploration of this topic, if you found that cultural inclusion was incorporated from the beginning of a project, or if it was often tacked on as an afterthought? I considered this as I was reading your post, because in the world of software development, localization is a part of cultural inclusion. It includes setting up the software not only so that it can be translated into another language, but also so that it reflects local textual characters, time formats, calendar layout (Monday first or Sunday first), and writing direction (left-to-right or right-to-left). These settings all combine to enable a piece of software to reflect the local culture of its users. However, all too often, localization is the last step in a software project, if it’s even localized at all. Wiley, Bliss, and McEwen (2014) discuss this as one of the ongoing challenges in Open Educational Resources as well. They note that simply making a system capable of localization is not enough, since “only a local can localize,” it still takes the time and skills of someone from that culture to make the necessary translations and changes.
In your research, did you also notice the tendency for cultural inclusivity to be an afterthought? I wonder how education technology can address the issue of making cultural inclusivity the goal from the start of a project, rather than something that is all too often an add-on.
Wiley, D. A., Bliss, T. J., & McEwen, M. (2014). Open Educational Resources: A Review of the Literature. Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology: Fourth Edition, 781–789. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5
Sandra, that’s a great thought for all of us: “I wonder how education technology can address the issue of making cultural inclusivity the goal from the start of a project, rather than something that is all too often an add-on.”
It is an interesting hypothesis that cultural inclusivity is more often an afterthought than a primary design consideration from the start. I suspect you are correct, though I have nothing but anecdotal evidence to draw from.
In my experience working for management consulting and research firms, I have noticed a tendency for commercial content to be “reworked” after completion to appeal to organizations who are focused on inclusivity. Often this does involve many labour hours and good intent, to be sure, but I expect there is a price to pay in the effectiveness of the content. After all, I imagine the authors would have approached the design of the content very differently had this been an aim form the start…I know I would.
Thank you Sharon, Sandra, and Irwin – definitely food for thought.