Diversity, Cultural Understanding, and Global Awareness Using Inclusive Technology Practices

Research and studies in education show that using technology in the classroom to promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness increases creativity, problem solving, innovation and communication skills. Technology addresses issues in the classroom concerning access and equity for learners. Technology allows educators to better assess and refine lessons to be inclusive of multiple diverse learners, cultures, and learning styles. Technology allows teachers to push past traditional boundaries and create a classroom environment where students from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds can learn together. Technology facilitates acceptance, encourages cooperative learning and can bridge communication boundaries, creating more opportunities for students to learn effectively in a diverse classroom.

"In regular face-to-face classrooms, it's very difficult to create an individual experience for each student unless you can make the learning independent but also interactive," (Davis, 2011). Technology allows teachers to create customized learning experiences that cannot be achieved in a traditional classroom with 30 students at 30 different levels in 50 minutes. As an art teacher, there are many technological tools I can use to promote diversity, global awareness and cultural understanding. One of the tools I use is Google Arts and Culture. Using this web-based app, I can give my students virtual tours of museums all over the world. Google Arts and Culture is a massive network of museums and galleries, and it also includes many articles about culture, art, and global awareness.

Here is a video I created that explains how I will use Google Arts and Culture to support cultural understanding, diversity, and global awareness:


Another way I will incorporate diversity is with the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA's)."The internet-enables devices listen to what users say, send audio recordings to the cloud, translate that information to commands, and respond accordingly - providing users with a personal digital voice assistant such as Amazon's Alexa, which teachers are now using to help with everything from setting a classroom timer to leading a group of third graders through a spelling test," (Herold, 2018). I would use PDA's for students in my classroom who don't speak English or are unfamiliar with the language. This would allow many different students to participate in group discussions about Art History or the qualities of different pieces of artwork from many different perspectives. 

Another way to incorporate diversity, global awareness, and cultural understanding is to teach with a desire to promote diversity, global awareness, and cultural understanding using technology resources. One example is a website called Study.com, where you can create videos, add quizzes and courses. Here is an example:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-technology-affects-global-local-cultures.html

Using technology to promote these ideas is very easy, with so many different ways to express cultural diversity, global awareness, and cultural understanding anyone can find a program, app, or ways to gives lessons using an endless variety of resources. Technology can create a local and global cultures where students can learn together - even from across the world. 

References:
How Technology Affects Global and Local Cultures. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-technology-affects-global-local-cultures.html

Herold, Benjamin. (July 2018.) Classroom Digital Assistants: Teacher's Aides or Privacy Threats? Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/07/18/classroom-digital-assistants-teachers-aides-or-privacy.html

Davis, Michelle R. (March 2011.) Schools Use Digital Tools to Customize Education. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/17/25overview.h30.html

Hollenbeck, James. Hollenbeck, Darina. (May 2009.) Using Technology to Bridge Cultures Together in the Multi-Cultural Classroom. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED519991.pdf

Buckleitner, Warren. (2019.) Teaching with Technology: Tech That Explores Diversity. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/teaching-technology-tech-explores-diversity/






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