We propose that just technology integration in education should lead to full liberation and the promise of a multiracial democracy for all learners. To achieve these aims, just technology should be considered a collective process of crafting and recrafting and using tools to dismantle injustice and rebuild education toward just ends. Just technology always requires an acknowledgment of the existence and impacts of intersectionality and systemic inequality in educational spaces to challenge the system of “imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy” (hooks, n.d.).

The analysis suggests that educational technologies are tools of the oppressor, made by the oppressor, with power baked into their designs. As a result, they propose a clearer definition of “just technology” and suggest four intersecting approaches to move toward justice: turn toward critical approaches (e.g., critical theories); revise standards to make systemic change; wrestle with the role of education and technology in a democracy; and interrogate educational technologies.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Many of the “tried and true” techniques and curriculum in classrooms perpetuate privilege rather than focusing on learning, autonomy, and empowerment.

Some staff members may be vegetarian, lactose-intolerant, or gluten-free. Some may be watching their waistlines. And some will just think that the sandwich is G.R.O.S.S. We all can predict the outcome. Many will leave hungry, frustrated, and needless to say—unappreciated.

As a teacher, I loved the annual PTO teacher appreciation breakfast:

Figure 7.

The fourth category, “analyze,” refers to breaking down, differentiating, and classifying information. For example, learners could compare and contrast different types of legislation.

I think most consumers would think of those as different. Some people may be more comfortable with one rather than the other. Right now, we don’t know which one Facebook does, because all they say is “We use your personal information.”

essentially without explanation

A video from the organization Code.org [New Tab] relays how AI operates and functions in terms of machine learning.

a math teacher with multiple location-tracking apps on her phone had her location recorded more than 8,600 times in four months, including when she was in school, how long she was at her dermatologist’s office, and when she went to a Weight Watchers meeting.

we will explore how educational technology (edtech) tools are constantly collecting, using, and sharing personal information, what this means for you as an educator, and how you can better protect your students.

user experience is all about minimizing frustrations.

Desktop/Laptop Operating Systems and Browser. Although operating systems and browsers are distinct, we describe these separate rubric criteria as one here since they relate to the same underlying question: Can learners effectively use the e-learning tool on a desktop or laptop computer if they have a standard, up-to-date operating system (OS) and/or browser? (We consider mobile OSs later, in the Mobile Design category.)

An e-learning tool should therefore not only be flexible in accommodating various class sizes but also be capable of supporting small-group work. Hence, scale focuses on the tool's affordances to accommodate the size and nature of the classroom environment.

This barrier applies to both visually impaired users and ‘normal’ users. If we take this barrier into consideration, then we will design a solution with large fonts and strong colour contrast.

that disability is a social state and not a medical condition.

Does the tool or app provide user instruction? Is the instruction easy to follow, multimodal, and interactive? Is the interface clear (simple, no distracting information or elements), easy to navigate, and ad free? Can students collaborate and share their work in the tool? For Apps: Does the app have Windows, iOS, and/or Android versions? For Digital Tools: Is the tool website responsive on mobile phones? Can it be used on multiple browsers? Does the tool or app provide free diverse characters/icons? Does it support multiple languages? What is the cost of the tool? Does it require any extra hardware?

What is User Experience?

We have all been there—wrapping up a class feeling frustrated, just like the students, because the technology did not work out as planned. In this case, the problem was the tool did not provide students with a good user experience.

Alongside the blog I have become more engaged with Twitter and found a community of educators there with great ideas to share. Through Twitter I have been able to build connections with educators around the world and each connection further erodes the walls of the black-box.

Diversity - Having a diverse PLN means surrounding yourself with people and spaces that provide you with a variety of different perspectives, including gender, age, religion, nationality, pedagogical approach, discipline, years of teaching experience, school community (e.g., rural, suburban, urban), subject(s), and grade level(s), for example.

Use quotation marks to group words that should be searched together (e.g., “augmented reality math app”). If you have a specific question, write it out in the search bar. Framing a search as a question will often result in finding pages that specifically answer that question (e.g., “How can I teach with augmented reality?”). If you do not see results that match your needs, try using similar terms that could also be used to describe this tool or topic until you find what most authors use to describe it (e.g., different ways to describe a school: “elementary school” or “primary school” or “K-12” or “early grade”). If you want to focus your search on specific sites, or kinds of sites, add “site:” and a portion of a URL (e.g., “site:.gov” searches only government sites, “site:.edu” only searches education sites, and “site:umass.edu” only searches sites hosted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst). If you want to see newer pages, activate the “Tools” feature in the Google search and limit your search by time frame (e.g., setting this tool to “Past Month” for a search on “Yellowstone National Park” will limit results to the most recent posts about the park.) (see Figure 1).

More than two decades ago, Tobin (1998) wrote about the importance of building a "personal learning network," to support continual, everyday, on-the-job learning.

They serve as a means through which people grow in aspects of their professions.