Professor Laura Czerniewicz on digital equity and education for the greater good

 Today, two presentations by Professor Laura Czerniewicz from the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT), University of Cape Town, South Africa at the University of Canterbury's Digital Education Futures Lab.

The first is on the topic of Digital inequality in Higher Education -"Problemising digital inequality"

Worked on the topic for many years but the challenge still remains.

Began by asking  ‘what does the digital divide make you think of?

Saw the book - Inequality – A NZ crisis and wondered why, compared to South Africa the issue of inequality is challenging many countries including ones perceived to be egalitarian.

Digital equality is not simple. Access to electricity is not availed to all the world’s people. Connectivity is ubiquitous in urban areas but not so in rural areas. There is a 30,000% difference between the cheapest data and the most expensive. The affordability gap and value-for-money gap is large.

Therefore, digital inequalities are inseparable from social inequalities, technology and inequality are multifaceted, intersects with postdigital datified society and is fluid and emergent.

Summarised the shift from analogue to digital, networked digital and SMART (self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology).

In general level one digital divide is access to digital devices, then to digital skills and then level 3 whereby the ways lack of access accentuates when 1 and 2 are unavailable.

There are always aspects and challenges of use, participation, benefit, sovereignty, agency and transparency. For many, there is no choice and poor access to information on what platforms / tools they are required to engage with. The pandemic exposed many social inequalities in education and the digital divide. The risks are playing out unevenly and deepen the divides.

Summarised what can educators do to address digital inequalities, through formal/informal and/or individual/group activities. Research is one way to find out what can be done.

Introduced a toolkit to help study digital inequality.

-          For access – Resource Appropriation Theory

-          Theory of practice – Bourdieu – forms of capital

-          Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)

        Critical pedagogy and digital liberation

2) Her second presentation in the evening was more academic covering the genesis, direction, and overview of a book she is currently working on titled ' Higher Education for Good'.

Set the scene with a check in on how people have experienced the last few years. A variety of responses reinforced her view of the pandemic as ‘the same storm’ but with countries and individuals being on ‘different boats’.

Overall, many in the world have the perspective of a world being in crisis and these are leading to austerity, deepening inequalities, surveillance capitalism, rising authorianism, war, ongoing stability, and multiple challenges and uncertainty within HE.

Shared the need to be more optimistic and to use the opportunities presented. Worked through and wrote the book edited by Catherine Cronin and herself.

Five sections in the book – finding fortitude and hope; making sense of the unknown and emergent; considering alternatives; making change through teaching, assessments and learning design; and remaking HE. Chapters across various genres with critical reflections, poems, conceptual essays, visual/audio dialogue, graphics and artwork. 

While working on the book, also discussed ‘a manifesto for HE for good’ consisting of the following principles:

-          Name and analyse the troubles – need to understand the negatives so as to work toward solutions. Naming and understanding provides power and agency to address them. Check work of Achille Mbembe. Discussed how datafication and surveillance capitalism in HE is often invisible from users. Leading to datafication as a form of coloniality, whereby profit is made, natural resources are exploited, all made on a promise of progress and improvement. 

-          Challenge assumptions and resist hegemonies – reiterated the need to recentre by bringing voices and views from the margins; crossing the borders (geographical, disciplinary, status, genre)[; and challenge the dominant perspectives and views. Encouraged puriversal knowledge in practice by ensuring citations which are diverse and inclusive, otherwise we miss valuable perspectives.

-          Make claims for just, humane, and globally sustainable HE – need to claim and grow theory for good. What is public, social, common good? We need to make claims for regulatory frameworks which support for the good of all. Where does the data collected, for example by various learning platforms going? Who is gleaning the data and what is it being used for!!

-          Courage to imagine and sharing – “Imagination is about remaining human” – Ursula le Guin. We need to imagine a more egalitarian, less extractive world which is supportive of all. Recommended reading some speculative fiction – Ursula le Guin’s the left had of darkness; Tade Thompson’s Rosewater and Kim Stanley Robinson’s The ministry for the future. Also to explore the work on socio-techno-eco futures.

-     - Imagine alternative HE futures – Used Keri Facer’s black elephant (what is being ignored?); the pink swan (outlandish and invisible); and the rainbow jellyfish (everyday and potentially transformative) as a way to envisage and make positive changes here and now. Changes can occur as a ‘shock’ or in small steps leading to a ’slide’. Encouraged us to be ‘streams that become rivers’ 😊

Referenced ‘Utopia for Realists’ by Rutger Bregman on – ‘how we can build the ideal world’ and the need to be ready for change. Stressed the need for communality and coalitions as a way forward.

 A thought provoking presentation followed by interesting Q & A.

Ulearn2020 - Keynote #3 - Distinguished Professor Pedro Noguera on - equity, empowerment and deeper learning.

 

This morning , the third keynote from Distinguished Professor Pedro Nogeura on equity, empowerment and deeper learning.

Proposed for education to leverage off the pandemic, as an opportunity to change. The pandemic is a form of ‘disturbance’ and we should use this, as a way to relook at what schooling is about and create an educational system for the future.

Questioned the current system – does it meet the needs of the children currently? Which children are not served and have unmet academic and social needs? Do these children belong at your schools? What barriers might be getting in the way of change?

How can our school, education and child-development systems, more individually responsive to the needs of our students? Why not construct a system that meets children where they are and gives them what they need inside and outside of school, to enable their success?

Rationalised the need to change. Schools NEED to change as they are a product of history and reflect the inequalities present in society. There are deep disparities in achievement based on socio-economic status and race. Challenged the audience to find out how deeply engaged children are at their school? How are children of colour treated?

To create the schools we need, we need to shift the paradigms. Not only changes in systems but a shift in beliefs about what is possible and needed. From measuring and sorting to developing talent. From pressure and competition to encouraging collaboration. From assessment OF to FOR learning. Content teaching to cultivation of the love of learning. Parents from consumers to stakeholders.

To pursue excellence through equity, need to understand, child development, neuroscience and context. Holistic approach to provide differentiated education. Understand the plasiticity inherent in the brain, encouraging learning when learners are engaged.

Explained the concept of the effect of race on the achievement gap as not useful. This encourages racialisation, reinforcing stereotypes and preventing the development of effective solutions.

To advance equity, educators need to find the balance between technical and adaptive work. Technical work focuses on managing operations and systems, ensuring procedures are working and employees and students comply with policy. Adaptive work indicates a focus on the dynamic and complex nature of work, work that is guided by a long-term vision and an awareness that ongoing work  required to achieve goals in a constantly changing environment.

Unfortunately, technical and logistical changes dominate the conversations, for example about how to keep schools open through the pandemic.

In the current pandemic context, key adaptive questions include how to better support student mental health? How can gaps in learning, unmotivated students, frightened adults? Are teachers prepared to address the heightened awareness about racial prejudice? How will the sense of community be build? How do we better support students as they learn from home?

Five essentials ingredients for school improvement include coherent instructional guidance system; ongoing professional development for teachers; strong parent-community-school ties; a student centred learning environment; and shared leadership to drive change (Bryke et al., 2010).

Provided guidelines to help make schools ‘race neutral’ as aligned to the above five essentials.

Encouraged the need to reflection on what occurred across pandemic on ‘school opening’. Evaluate and build school community first before moving forward.

Shared the visual definitions of equality, equity and how they are perceived. Eliminating barriers is a key. Barriers include complacency, racial bias, teaching and learning as disconnected, punitive mindset, unequal access to external support and ignoring the need to compensate for the effects of inequality outside of school.

Need to shift, post pandemic, to better ways of support all learners.