In the CUE address, Learning Beyond Barriers, by Rafranz Davis, she states, “I don’t know how I can care about the equity of what’s plugged in if I am not caring about the equity of what goes in the heart, the mind and the spirit.” Her statement captures for me the opportunity to teach with a focus on equity through the many digital tools so readily available due to distance learning becoming a reality for all. Some of the equity focused resources on the Common Sense Media site include activities for students to create and share about themselves. There are lesson plans from the website Facing History and Ourselves, where students make identity charts where they describe themselves based on family, community, culture, talents, hobbies, etc. Specifically, they suggest a Starburst Identity Chart that could be created digitally and students could choose the app or platform for telling their identity story. Also, in the Common Sense Media resources, is a document titled, Turning Students’ Empathy into Action with Digital Tools. It suggests using the digital citizenship lessons which include SEL components as a way for students to interact and see different perspectives. Using tools like Flipgrid, Padlet, or just creating google slides to share and build on the thinking and perspective of others is a great way to connect with others. Then, it could be taken a step further to creating some kind of action that fills a need or solves a problem that needs fixing.
Another way that to focus on equity through digital literacy instruction is to help students be aware and cautious about what they find online. There was a great article from KQED Mindshift titled, Teach Kids to Be Their Own Filter. The article suggests a list of data points that students can look to as they make decisions about sources and where they come from. Included in the criteria are questions about bias, perspective, and purpose. Along with creating classroom dialogue that recognizes the need for fairness, our upper elementary students could practice looking more deeply at their online sources. Can we trust that an author is an expert? Do we understand their purpose and why they might be writing to a certain audience, etc. This could create more opportunities for conversation about who is telling the story and why. I think creating a community where we feel safe to share our perspectives is a good beginning for combining digital literacy practices and teaching for equity.