Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

By now the coronavirus, and the resulting fallout, has impacted just about every family in one way or another. Students are out of school, unemployment is rising and social distancing could take a psychological toll. But not everyone is equally affected.

Nearly 30 million low-income students rely on schools for breakfast or lunch, leaving schools scrambling to make new plans. Fourteen percent of households with school-age children do not have internet access, most of which earn less than $50,000 a year. And research indicates that students from low-income backgrounds could fall further behind their peers if learning stops too long and the country sinks into recession.

What is datafication? And how does it affect education? These questions were put to me ahead of conference discussion panel recently. While writing a few notes, it quickly became apparent I needed some categories to sort out my thinking. In simple terms, datafication can be said to refer to ways of seeing, understanding and engaging with the world through digital data. This definition draws attention to how data makes things visible, knowable, and explainable, and thus amenable to some form of action or intervention. However, to be a bit more specific, there are at least ten ways of defining datafication.

Years ago, I was sitting in the computer lab with my best friend and she asked, “Why do you make all of your papers about black people or black issues?” As a college student, newly smitten with the…

In the week when the OECD published their latest report, noting that educational disadvantage starts from the age of 10 (click here to read the story) across many countries, and widens throughout students’ lives, it is clear that many societies still have a lot to do. Whether the disadvantages are down to family circumstance, race, gender (identification), wealth and socio-economic background, or a distinct lack of opportunity and belief in oneself – what can education and educators do to help bridge the divide that allows opportunities for some, more than others?

Learning in a digital environment is potentially a great leveller, enabling people from all backgrounds to access learning and valuable knowledge; technically, all you need to learn online is an internet connection and curiosity about a particular subject or topic area.