Stewart: My goal was to examine the way that modern computing technology influenced marginalized communities. This was a very interesting exercise and even allowed me to explore the relation of my family to this topic. There is a lot to investigate related to this topic that I didn’t get the chance to mention in my blog post, a lot more could be written. I learned a great deal about how important the technology that I use everyday is for having positive change for many people around the world.
In terms of writing the blog, it was a very enjoyable activity. I found myself hearing an idea or reading an article and thinking “can I turn this into a blog post?” Given my enjoyment of doing the blog, I expect it would be an enjoyable activity for my future students. Allowing students to write a blog about a topic that they have an interest is more likely to prompt them to write meaningful posts. The blog is also a public way to allow the students to interact and get feedback from other students and the world about their interests.
Catherine: My intention was to examine the ways in which technology supports existing power structures. While I found that in many ways the tech industry provides the most opportunity for people who are already privileged, there is some hope to be found in Facebook’s TechPrep initiative. It is an imperfect step towards diversification of expertise, but I hope it is the first step in a growing movement to provide tech education and opportunities in marginalized communities. I’d like to share some interesting links I found during my research for this blog that didn’t fit into my posts:
- a video about a tech billionaire who thinks leftist Americans are like Nazis
- an article about the toxic ideal of worker passion
- an article about class dynamics in the tech industry
- a video about the tech industry’s impact on the Tenderloin district in San Francisco
- a video about tech companies offering to freeze female employees’ eggs
Stephanie: There are many important topics related to technology and education to think critically about. I set out in a completely different direction than I ended up in but My posts, I hope, are worthwhile reads none the less. I'd like to think if this was a longer term project, with more posts per person I would have discussed technology-giving organizations a lot more. Overall, it has been a pleasure to engage with this fine group and briefly enter the world of blogging.
Zakaria: In the beginning I was looking to answer some big questions like how the relationships between power, knowledge and technology influence our lives and our future? Will the influence be positive or negative, and what will be the consequences in each case? Who is responsible for the management of this influence? As regular citizens, can we do something if this influence is going in the wrong way?
As I started researching I found out that the answers are more complicated than I was expecting and that it would take me several pages to cover this subject. I have now switched my research to the impact of technology on education.
As future teachers we are concerned about the application and the inclusion of technology in our classrooms, making it an interesting subject to blog about.
We’d like that thank everyone who read and commented. Keep learning, and stay critical!
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