Some Key Term Takeaways

• Remote/online learning spaces are incredible progress toward access, inclusion and equity but they cannot completely replace the benefits of synchronous in-person learning, such as social cues, social connection, focus/immersion, and the work/discussion/collaboration that occurs outside what’s defined/controlled by instructors. This is an important consideration as I start to explore the impacts of flexible learning spaces and schedules in K-12 schools in the US.
• The only way to disrupt the probable future (what’s likely to happen without intervention) and steer ourselves toward a preferable (equitable/inclusive) future is to be able to break our minds out of the confines of present realities and perceptions through some form of creative process.
• We’ve gotten ourselves into a messy situation with data, privacy and ethics and we’ve given an incredible amount of power to a few. I’m struggling to balance use and resistance both personally and professionally. My heart wants to stuff the genie right back in the bottle, but my brain understands my only choice is to be clever about my wishes. Wish 1: the many ways that we humans will leverage and wield data/tech as warriors for equity and inclusion will outweigh the many ways we will wield it for greed.
• Participation is critical to the process of inclusion and future design, but like “love” in English the word “participation” is used to describe a gamut of activities that are unrelated and incomparable in impact. Practical takeaway, large surveys don’t count participation – not really.
• If the leaves are unhealthy, the root might be fine but if the root isn’t healthy, the plant will die. Make sure to look below the surface.

Course Reflections

• Equality & Inclusion: Somehow I just didn’t get as much from this course as first term. I think it just came out of the gate too fast and ran past me. I did get a benefit from the process of researching and creating my assessment artifact, deepening my engagement with my assigned topic of Participation.
• Data Civics: I was not able to get much from this course and it seems it’s still in development as to what it’s meant to be and how to teach it. I do take away from it expanded ideas around data collection and generation.
• Building Near Futures: By far and surprisingly the best course of the term, despite the few meetings we had. The process and product of the group project was very effective in demonstrating the principles and techniques of the course, which I’ve already applied.
• Ethical Data Futures: this course was not enjoyable and the main group interaction was not successful but the materials very clearly outlined the many ethics issues and practical guides/frameworks for assessing ethics and shaping ethics. I feel more prepared on this topic.

Application

Over the past two weeks, I have prepared a platform to run for a non-partisan elected position with my local school board of directors. This is something I would not have considered or been qualified for prior to just one year in this program. It’s validating to use program concepts to discuss inequality and exclusion with other professionally and furthermore to specify priorities and strategies for change (pulling from multiple courses). It’s working people, IT’S WORKING!!!

Good Term, Despite the Labor Action Spanner / Knowledge Integration and Project Planning: Data, Inequality and Society (2022-2023) by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0