Blog post - Week 3 - 1/29 Seeking Equity
1. The majority of the time I was reading through the piece by Craig Froehle, I kept thinking back to a unit from ED678 about appropriation and stealing Navajo designs.  It sounds like Craig Froehle didn’t mind and even seemed pleased that some artists such as Angus Maguire picked up his idea and improved the artistry or reworked the idea.  There were however, some exceptions and he did seem to mind when others added boxes, indicating that resources were increased but there was no mention of how that occurred.  In regards to equity, it is important for educators to be aware of cultural differences.  “We have a responsibility to listen to people of marginalized cultures, understand as much as possible the blatant and subtle ways in which their cultures have been appropriated and exploited, and educate ourselves enough to make informed choices when it comes to engaging with people of other cultures.”
The Difference Between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation
Also, in the Reich and Ito article “From Good Intentions to Real Outcomes”, the authors state that, “Lack of awareness of learner’s specific social and cultural contexts can lead to unanticipated outcomes”  and so there is a need to increase awareness.
2. Here is a great article to get started with the topic of equity in education!
3. The Educon panel discussion indicated that it is important for students to have experiences like that of the real world.  Educators should try to “[connect]...the world of work and the future of careers...break down this barrier between school and the rest of the world. (1:43:34)   The following excerpt from the New York Times indicates the importance and value of working within a group.  The article continues to discuss the investigation into why some groups are more successful than others and provides meaningful insight into the conditions for successful groups.
What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team
“In Silicon Valley, software engineers are encouraged to work together, in part because studies show that groups tend to innovate faster, see mistakes more quickly and find better solutions to problems. Studies also show that people working in teams tend to achieve better results and report higher job satisfaction. In a 2015 study, executives said that profitability increases when workers are persuaded to collaborate more. Within companies and conglomerates, as well as in government agencies and schools, teams are now the fundamental unit of organization. If a company wants to outstrip its competitors, it needs to influence not only how people work but also how they work together.”
4. Also during the Educon panel discussion, the term “gamer-gate” came up (1:37:17) and as I was unfamiliar with this, I wanted to investigate further. While I am not much of a gamer at this point in time, I have some experience with coding and am very much an advocate for increasing female participation in typically male dominant areas such as coding and chess club. Â
Here is the wikipedia entry on the topic
There is much controversy surrounding gamergate and without getting into too much detail, one of the lead advocates, Anita Sarkeesian is a highly polarizing figure. I was considering posting her interview with Stephen Colbert, but decided not to. Â If you choose to look into this issue, I would encourage you to do so with a critical eye and suggest looking for a variety of perspectives. Â After spending a bit of time looking into this, I will admit that I am more unsettled than when I began.
5. I was highly intrigued by a section of Reich and Ito’s “From Good Intentions to Real Outcomes” which sited a 1990’s study by Harold Wenglinsky which found that, “ low-income, nonwhite children more often used technology in math class for drill and practice, while affluent, white children were more likely to use technology for graphing, problem solving and other higher-order exercises” (Pages 6 and 7). Teaching teachers how to effectively utilize technology is an important component in the quest for equity. Â
I have access to a set of TI Nspire calculators which I am familiar with, however I know they are capable of much more than I know how to do. Â I have looked up a few things here and there over the past four years, however I would really like to spend more time learning how they can be leveraged to a higher degree in all of my classes. Â The following youtube channels are great resources.
6. Desmos! I have always loved Desmos for graphing and so to see it listed in Reich and Ito’s “From Good Intentions to Real Outcomes” (Page 15) brought me much joy.  Desmos offers a four function calculator, a scientific calculator, a graphing calculator and much more!  They also offer classroom activities and you can even save files for demonstrations within your own lessons!  They even have animations illustrating concepts such as how to graph the sine function from the unit circle which I use in my PreCalculus course.Â
I created two very different scenarios for #The4thBox. Â First is a positive spin where the three people sit down together and build a community through conversation. Â The boxes allow the people a place to sit and discuss equity and equality. Â The second depiction is of the tallest person taking all of the resources and greedily taking advantage of the situation. Â Rather than caring for the other two hopeful spectators, this person has wielded their physical power to exclude the others. Â This situation does occur in the real world. Â Perhaps only the tallest/strongest person was able to lift the heavy boxes and so felt that they alone deserve to use them. Â Perhaps only they had the financial means to purchase the boxes and for this reason decided to maintain full control without giving either of the other two hopeful spectators an opportunity to make a purchase. Â Regardless of the reason, it certainly does not seem fair to me. Â Â
