With so many incredible people that are a part of the past and present of digital learning environments and educational technology, with so many big ideas, critical perspectives, fascinating coding and creative abilities, trying to choose ONE to write about this week was a challenging and interesting task…
Nasma Ahmed is the founding Director of the Digital Justice Lab (DJL) in Toronto. She is a technologist and educator, working within the intersections of social justice, technology, and policy. She developed the DJL in Toronto in 2018, to work with youth to generate conversations about digital privacy, security, and what the digital future could look like for her participants who are often made up of members of marginalized communities based on age, socio-economic, gender, and/or race factors. Ahmed and her team at DJL connect with local students, educators, and community members to prompt discussions, provide resources, and run workshops to increase digital literacy amongst diverse groups in Toronto.
A central aspect of Ahmed’s work surrounds building accessible and inclusive technology for diverse communities. She advocates for digital justice based on the four principles articulated by the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition (2010) as access, participation, common ownership, and healthy communities. Ahmed leads youths in Toronto and audiences in North America to consider how they can be more critical of the role of companies who create digital technologies, leading to a more collective understanding of data-collection and the automation of processes. She also motivates people, particularly marginalized youth, to build a digital future that works for them!
In an earlier post on this blog, Dr. Royce Kimmons (2019) articulated the rift between EdTech as a market, versus EdTech as a vehicle for social change. Ahmed has effectively positioned her work at the very crossroads, or deepest part of this rift. She recognizes the accessibility challenges for marginalized communities that stem from EdTech as a market and is actively promoting collective awareness and tools to enable youth to engage with EdTech as a vehicle for social change. Digital literacy is central to Ahmed’s focus on digital justice for marginalized communities. In her fight for justice, Nasma Ahmed is one of my new superheroes.
References
Ahmed, N. (March 16, 2018). Public Policy Forum. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqhxHily0ms
CYHYouthGlobalEdNet. (May 6, 2019). Nasma Ahmed speaks at Youth Take Action: Digital Citizenship Day. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrhdTty2V3k
Detroit Digital Justice Coalition. (2019). Retrieved from http://detroitdjc.org/about/story/
Institute for Gender and the Economy. (December 3, 2018). Nowhere to Hide: The impact of technology-facilitated violence, abuse, and harassment #16Days. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdxEKDa6Iyg
Kimmons (2019, September 10). Re: The History of Educational Technology (in 300 words!!!) [Blog comment]. Retrieved from https://malat-webspace.royalroads.ca/rru0125/activity-2-the-history-of-educational-technology-in-300-words/#comment-18
Attribution
Image created by Leigh McCarthy
September 15, 2019 at 2:17 pm
The Digital Justice Lab is interesting – they’re holding upcoming workshops on the development of ‘zines and understanding the role of data in today’s media environment, along with an overall mission of improving the justice and equity future within Canada. I really enjoyed discovering this organization, and specifically Nasma Ahmed’s pivotal role in the creation of this great organization. Voices that demand equity within the overall environment of Ed Tech are needed. Great post.
September 17, 2019 at 7:36 pm
Glad you found the Digital Justice Lab interesting, Earl. I am interested in trying to get to one of their workshops (I sent Nasma an email…). Will let you know how it goes.
September 15, 2019 at 7:12 pm
Hi Leigh – Thank you for the introduction to Nasma Ahmed. This is my first time hearing about her work and the Digital Justice Lab. Reading about the organization and her mission, I am excited to see this vital work being done. I have been reflecting a great deal on the intersections between edtech and equity – technology certainly can be an excellent tool in education but also can contribute to further marginalization with the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. I also live in Toronto, and I am excited to be introduced to this organization to further explore my own passion and interests. I believe greatly in Nasma’s perspective – as we further enhance technology in the classroom, we have to ensure that these technologies are available to all learners, and not only persons with access to the most privilege. As well, when I was researching for this assignment, I wished to see more education technology leaders talking about the intersections between edtech and race, class, ability, etc. Thanks for profiling Nasma – certainly, we need to shine more light on racialized women of colour doing amazing work in this field.