Digital Tools and Social Justice

Digital tools and social justice
The inclusion of digital tools such as digital stories, blogs, or wikis within teaching is important because, as Ortega (2017) says, the integration of digital literacy in the lives of our students is a matter of social justice. It becomes a way of reducing the gap between those who have (the haves), with broad access to technology, and those who have not (the haves-not), with more restricted access to it. As educators, Ortega continues, it is our responsibility to develop “know-how skills” (p. 301) and competencies to help our L2 students from all ranges of cultural and economic backgrounds to engage in socially empowering uses of technology. That is, it is not enough for students to know how to use technology for recreational activities but also for activities that are related to people's economic success. Therefore, the fact that students know how to create a digital story or a podcast goes beyond the learning objectives in the classroom since, as already pointed out by Lomicka and Lord (2011), it is helping them to become active members of an increasingly technological society.
Now let's think of your practice in your language class. What are the disparities in technology accessibility and use in your own country/state/city(MD, Ellicott City)? How much access do students have to technology (e.g., computers, internet) in their daily life for recreational activities and professional use? Considering that our students come from different cultural and economic backgrounds, what can language instructors do to enhance their digital knowledge and competency to engage them in socially empowering uses of technology? What are the skills and knowledge that help reduce the gap between the “haves” and the “haves-not”?
Make use of the readings from readings that you find of interest. Use also Ortega’s (2017) article to answer this question.
For each blog:
Choose a photograph (copyright-free) as a featured image.
Define the topic/concept to be written about.
Write at least 400 words in your post. You can add more images if they help you illustrate your topic.
Look for three references, at least, to help you delve into the subject (Wikipedia is not valid). Also, add references for your copyright-free images.
Include the appropriate category or categories. Attention, it is possible that your entry may have more than one category.