As noted by Kelsie Anderson in her 2019 article for Digital Promise titled, How Access to Technology Can Create Equity in Schools, “when used effectively, technology can…remove barriers to learning materials, support students where they are across varied learning contexts and needs, and give educators more insight into the learning environments they’re creating”. Anderson goes on to note that there are three ways that technology can help increase equity in schools: 1) Students can access learning materials outside of school; 2) Students and educators have more tools to create a learning environment that fosters personalized learning; and 3) Educators and district leaders can use data to make informed decisions.
But what is an equitable, safe, and supportive school? Learning happens in a variety of ways, through a variety of environments, and through a variety of people. The U.S. Department of Education has outlined three categorical areas for schools to be supportive and safe: environment, safety, and engagement. According to the U.S. Department of Education, as outlined in Building Equitable, Safe and Supportive Schools, “trauma-informed and culturally sensitive practices involve assessing the intent of behaviors, promoting a culture of comfort, recognizing triggers, avoiding re-traumatization, training, transforming language, and seeking opportunities to promote healing. A critical component is addressing social emotional health and learning”.
We know that technology can enrich learning, but how can school administrators partner with educators to provide culturally relevant, digital learning content for students with ACEs, in which an equitable classroom is truly a trauma-sensitive classroom? A team of six researchers wrote a brief for Old Dominion University titled, Building Equitable, Safe and Supportive Schools. Headed by Dr. David Osher, these researchers note that “teachers should be able to provide immersive, well-scaffolded culturally responsive instruction that builds metacognitive skills and accounts for students’ prior knowledge and experiences, learning, deeper learning, and creativity”. Osher goes on to note that “trauma-sensitive environments help ensure safe and supportive schools in several ways. Trauma-sensitive decisions about physical spaces are safe and supportive environments that are conscientious of physical, social, emotional, and other needs and abilities…Schools can promote a positive school climate for students and staff by fostering connectedness through meaningful relationships, creating a sense of safety and freedom from violence, and providing an environment that is tailored to the needs of the student”.
School administrators can partner with educators to provide a positive school climate that is culturally relevant by implementing digital learning content through digital equity plans in three phases. Phase 1: Assess and Evaluate. In this phase, school administrators partner with educators to determine who will be affected and involved in the creation of culturally relevant digital learning content, and what their role will be in the process related to engagement, decision making, implementation and data collection. Phase 2: Engagement and Education. School administrators and educators partner together to create opportunities for education, digital training, and engagement based on trauma-sensitive, culturally responsive education and communities. Phase 3: Decision Making and Implementation. According to the Office of Education Technology (OET) through the U.S. Department of Education, “school administrators and educators can partner together to incorporate differentiation in instruction and school activities using assessment, data, and evidence-based practices to inform decisions and implementation. Digital equity plans can account for these three phases by:
- Developing and earning public trust through partnerships;
- Learning from those impacted by inequitable access and providing opportunities for feedback;
- Co-developing clear goals and strategies with communities to craft comprehensive digital equity plans;
- Raising public awareness and providing ongoing support for low- or no-cost broadband programs; and
- Providing digital literacy training and professional learning opportunities
OET goes on to note that “while some progress has been made toward digital equity in recent years, further efforts are necessary to ensure learners of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences have access to reliable, high-speed broadband and technology tools for learning. Numerous barriers currently limit this access. However, through a focused attention to availability, affordability, and adoption, communities can continue to develop promising strategies to overcome barriers and work toward digital equity”.
The web links for these resource are:
Anderson, Kelsie. How Access to Technology Can Create Equity in Schools. https://digitalpromise.org/2019/04/29/equity-in-schools-access-technology/
Osher, D.; Kanter. E.; LaHayne, S.; Moroney, D.; Money, J.; Nolan, E. Building Equitable, Safe and Supportive Schools. https://ww1.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/col-dept/education/docs/building-equitable-safe-supportive-schools.pdf
Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education. (2022). Advancing Digital Equity for All. https://tech.ed.gov/advancing-digital-equity-for-all/
