Power, privilege, and prejudice are embedded within technologies. While technologies can be designed and used for democratization and empowerment, they can also be used to undermine the foundations of democracy in a variety of ways. Using a conceptual framework of technologically embedded injustice, the authors engaged in a theoretical analysis of just technology integration in the preparation and professional development of preservice and in-service teachers. They investigated why the field of educational technology has been historically slow to incorporate critical approaches, in general, and in teacher education, in particular. They argue that educational technology’s roots are deeply influenced by US policy prioritizing technology for purposes of defense and capitalism.

We engage in design in many ways at educational institutions: from instructional design, to curricular design, to classroom design, and more. Yet design processes are often obscured or kept private as individuals or groups make decisions—for example, about how they will teach courses or which technologies will be used to support teaching and learning. There are few processes that encourage us to look critically at our designs and design processes. We know that uncritical design approaches—designs that do not intentionally attend to the experiences of marginalized and disenfranchised learners—perpetuate and even exacerbate inequities.3 That is why we should look to embrace design approaches that are attentive to our learners for whom education has not typically been designed. Inclusive design and design justice provide frameworks and practices for doing so.

A UDL Practitioner believes: Variability is the rule, not the exception. Students may need to learn in different ways, using different materials, and share what they have learned in different ways to reach the same goals.All students can work toward the same firm goals and grade-level standards when provided with adequate challenge and support. All students will become expert learners if barriers are removed and they are given opportunities to self-differentiate.

In the previous chapters of this book, you learned how to examine the user experience and accessibility of digital tools and apps to evaluate how the technology impacts the learning experience. In addition to user experience and accessibility, you should critically examine the features and design of digital tools and apps to understand how and why they are created to influence pedagogy and content knowledge.

Social LearningAccording to Vygotsky (1978), learning happens on two planes: (1) between people and (2) in one’s own mind. That is, we learn by observing others’ actions and by interacting with others who offer more knowledge or diverse perspectives and ideas. Then, we internalize these social experiences to reflect upon, develop, or modify our own knowledge.In classroom settings, students learn behaviors by watching other students and adults. They discover new information by reading books and watching videos created by others. They acquire knowledge and skills by communicating with peers, engaging in group activities, and sharing their thoughts and getting feedback. They learn by listening to the teacher, other adults and experts, and their peers. They build their understanding by trying out ideas or behaviors and modifying them based on the responses from their peers.Ultimately, learning and development are social processes that happen all the time, including during formal classroom instruction and informal play time during recess or an after school club.When selecting digital tools and apps, look for ones that support multiple types of social learning (beyond just reading text written by others). There are tools that allow students to collaborate in real-time with peers, engage in conversations with experts across the country or around the world, and share their ideas and get feedback from individuals within and beyond the classroom. In a social studies classroom, students could engage in a debate about free speech using Flipgrid and then invite parents, guardians, and other students in the school to watch and reply to their videos.

It’s meant to explain the so-called privacy trade-off that exists when we use free services that seek to cover their costs by monetizing our data. The classic example is Facebook—a free service that makes money by selling advertisers the ability to customize ads based on our behavior.

Figure 1.1 Various options for assistive technology to direct personalized learning. Created by K. Kerr (2020).

"The tools, offered by a handful of tech companies, can sift through students’ social media posts, follow their digital movements in real-time and scan files on school-issued laptops — from classroom assignments to journal entries — in search of warning signs. Educators say the tools help them identify youth who are struggling and get them the mental health care they need at a time when youth depression and anxiety are spiraling. But the survey suggests an alternate reality: Instead of getting help, many students are being punished for breaking school rules. And in some cases, survey results suggest, students are being subjected to discrimination"

Falling back on steadfast UX advice, solicit feedback from your users – reach out to your learners to better understand how they experience your online course. Do they perceive the online environment to be easy and efficient to engage with? Can you identify trends where navigation or guidance causes frustration? What elements of your course do they like the most? Often, the feedback you hear from users will inform specific, actionable steps to create a more usable, impactful learning experience.

Here, we define accessibility both broadly—as outlined by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles of flexible, adaptable curriculum design to support multiple learning approaches and engagement for all students—and in terms of legislative requirements for meeting the specific accessibility needs of learners with disabilities.

he official UN definition for disability is the following:"The term persons with disabilities is used to apply to all persons with disabilities including those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers, hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others." – UN, Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons FAQ, 2007UN Example of an environmental barrier:"A person in a wheelchair might have difficulties being gainfully employed not because of her condition but because there are environmental barriers such as inaccessible buses or staircases in the workplace which obstruct his or her access." – UN, Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons FAQ, 2007UN Example of an attitudinal barrier:"A child with an intellectual disability might have difficulties going to school due to the attitudes of teachers, school boards and possibly parents who are unable to adapt to students with different learning capacities." – UN, Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons FAQ, 2007

When evaluating the accessibility of a digital tool or app for students with physical disabilities, determine whether it: Can be used if an individual has dexterity issues. Can be controlled by means other than touch, such as voice, head movement, or mouth stick. Is easy to operate (e.g., provides large menu buttons and text input fields)

Interactive, multimodal user instruction that is easy to follow and understand. A simple, easy to navigate user interface. Sharing capabilities and multiple output formats. Accessibility across devices and platforms. Diverse character selection and multilingual interface.

My journey towards a PLN started a few years back but for much of that time it was something I dabbled without any real commitment. A little bit of Twitter, the occasional blog post, articles shared with colleagues by email, some social bookmarking. The trigger was seeing what deliberate, regular engagement could produce.

These spaces might be physical places you go to in person, such as your school or classroom, teachers’ lounge, graduate course classroom, workshop, conference, Edcamp unconference, or district training.

Feedly also allows you to share your personally curated feeds with anyone—friends, classmates, colleagues, your PLN—through the Feedly Teams feature. This is a great way to keep everyone up to date on the latest edtech news.

The tools within a PLN are physical resources (e.g., books, curriculum materials) and digital technologies (e.g., Internet search databases, social bookmarking tools, blogs) that are used to access, curate, construct, and disseminate professional knowledge (Trust et al., 2018).