Collaborative Inquiry Project

Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Course Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom

ETEC 532 | Summer, 2018

Group #2
Members Chung (Gigi) Cheung
Lauren Doupe
Sabrina Holat
Nadia Shaikh-Naeem
Jeffrey Tan

Due Date 29 July 2018

Date Submitted 29 July 2018
Word Count 3,675
(excluding cover page, annotated bibliography & references)
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Annotated Bibliography
Brauer, L. (2018). Access to what? English, texts, and social justice
pedagogy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(6), 631-642.
Media education, or media literacy, is both similar and different from traditional
constructions of English Language Arts. Media education defines text more broadly and
includes social and economic questions regarding text production, representations, and
reception. It provides opportunities for students to examine issues of text, power, and
agency. The broad construction of text in media allows a more inclusive approach to
texts and engages students who can bridge their lived experiences as both readers and
writers. Through media education, students may ask questions that locate texts in
relation to economic and social contexts.

Buckingham, D. (2007). Digital media literacies: rethinking media

education in the age of the Internet. Research in Comparative and
International Education, 2(1), 43-55.
Buckingham (2007) considers literacy through its implications on social status and
hierarchy, and notes that literacy in connection with television or newer media is often
associated with lower status. Digital media literacies constitute of two components:
access and understand. Access refers to the skills and competencies required to locate
media content through available technologies and digital resources. Understand refers
to the ability to decode and interpret media through a growing awareness of formal and
generic conventions, design features, and rhetorical devices. Students are encouraged to
not only critique and assess authenticity of media, but also create, produce and
communicate ‘messages’ as a means of self-expression, influence, and/or engagement.

Buckley-Marudas, M. F. (2016a). Literacy learning in a digitally rich

humanities classroom: Embracing multiple, collaborative, and
simultaneous texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(5), 551-
561.
Buckley-Marudas (2016a) posits that one of the most valuable benefits of integrating
technology in the classroom is potential to “support traditional learning in new ways
and to facilitate new kinds of learning” (p.551). In examining a humanities classes (Age
of Exploration) in a digitally sophisticated high school she noted the role of online

Page | 2 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

discussion forums in supporting students make sense of and contribute their thoughts
on a range of texts and engage with their peers. She observed that through these online
interaction students transformed into active, self-directed participants in a
collaborative learning community, and demonstrated criticality in their consumption
and production of information.

Buckley-Marudas, M. F. (2016b). “Truth,” interrupted: Leveraging digital

media for culturally sustaining education. Multicultural Learning and
Teaching, 12(2).
Buckley-Marudas (2016b) examines the potential of new media to support teachers and
students in engaging on issues related to race, language, and culture. Through the
intentional use of digital media, educators can foster a learning environment that is
culturally responsive to multicultural and diverse communities. Buckley-Marudas
argues that using a combination of face-to-face and online interactions (blended
approach) better enables students to understand and appreciate varying perspectives
and ways of thinking. It also empowers students to share their beliefs through the
affordances of digital media, allowing them to express themselves in intimate and low-
risk spaces.

Choi, M. (2016). A concept analysis of digital citizenship for democratic

citizenship education in the internet age. Theory & research in social
education, 44(4), 565-607.
Choi defines the contemporary notion of digital citizenship and its ongoing evolution.
Digital citizenship is conceptualised as a multifaceted, interrelated, critical, and global
notion underpinned by four central categories: digital ethics, media and information
literacy, participation engagement, and critical resistance. Approaches to citizenship
education must also consider the shared elements of social responsibility, being well-
informed on issues, and active engagement. A good digital citizen can successfully
participate in pre-existing communities, create new communities and/or transforming
communities when social injustices are perceived, both in online and offline
interactions. The definition and four categories provide a conceptual framework to
locate technology integration to foster citizenship and social justice.

Page | 3 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Domingue, A. D. (2016). Chapter 11 - Online and blended pedagogy in social

justice education. In Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). Teaching
for diversity and social justice (pp.369-396). Routledge.
Social justice education pedagogical frameworks can successfully be implemented in
online and blended learning formats but holds implications for pedagogy, design, and
facilitation. Building on pragmatic views of opportunities and challenges within
technological formats 6 areas of design considerations are presented: student
demographics, technological platform, learning formats, course structure and delivery,
course activities and accommodations. Selection of technological platform has profound
impact on course delivery, content, and processes, and may perpetuate social injustices.
Facilitation is a crucial element to managing learning experience and outcomes. The
authors favour a blended-approach and provides a sample curriculum design for
university-level students that will be useful as we conceptualise our own classroom
implementation.

Garcia, A., Mirra, N., Morrell, E., Martinez, A., & Scorza, D. (2015). The
council of youth research: Critical literacy and civic agency in the
digital age. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(2), 151-167.
Critical literacy and civic agency in the digital age is rare compared to traditional
definitions of literacy, which reflect high-stakes testing and accountability. In taking a
critical and digital literacies perspective, Garcia et al. (2015) studied a multiyear youth
civic engagement initiative that focused on critical digital literacy as a segue to civic
agency and college access. They observed that communities of colour are socially
structured to demonstrate civic and literate disengagement. A focus on literacy
development provides powerful tools to promote civic consciousness and offer
opportunities for students to express their experiences and vantages that can support
their identification with reading, writing, and civic action.

Gardner, H., and Davis, K. (2013) Chapter Four: Personal Identity in the Age
of the App. In The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate
Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World (60-91).
Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Gardner and Davis (2013) study the effects of apps on the construction of youth
identities. They spoke with educators to understand how young people form online
identities and investigated the resultant benefits and pitfalls. They found the prevalent

Page | 4 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

use of apps amongst the youth creates a “packaged” form of identity that is heavily
focused on appearance and individualism and demonstrate minimal appetite for risk.
While existing and emergent social media technologies can provide opportunities for
the exploration of identity and social connections, the “yoking” of identity too closely to
technology can deprive young people of offline experiences, creating “an impoverished
sense of self” (p.91).

Jonassen D.H. (2013) Transforming Learning with Technology. In: Clough

M.P., Olson J.K., Niederhauser D.S. (eds) The Nature of Technology
(101-110). Rotterdam: SensePublishers.
Jonassen (2013) discusses educational technology as it exists through a postmodern
lens. He examines how youth are disaffected with the goals of institutions they are
subject to, that social media is redefining culture, and how using “technology to [merely]
transmit cultural values more efficiently will no longer affect today’s youth” (p.109). He
sees technology as way students can be supported by educators in becoming reflective
creators of knowledge, but also highlights the importance of considering the power
structures that exist within technology, such as who controls the technology and its
content and the validity of diverse discourses.

Mayhew, M. J., & Fernández, S. D. (2007). Pedagogical practices that

contribute to social justice outcomes. The Review of Higher Education,
31(1), 55-80.
Mayhew and Fernández (2007) investigated pedagogical practices that influence social
justice learning. Their findings confirm that meaningful learning occurs in exposing
individuals to challenging new ways of thinking about themselves and their
societies/communities. The achievement of social justice outcomes was linked to course
content that included societal systemic approaches to understanding contemporary
societal issues. Irrespective of course content, pedagogical practices related to
discussions of diversity and opportunities significantly contributed to the
understanding of issues related to social justice. The discussion around intergroup
dialogue as a social justice approach that focuses on recognition of inequity on
individual, institutional, systemic levels can provide a strong theoretical underpinning
for our CIP topic.

Page | 5 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Morgan, H. (2014). Focus on Technology: Taking Advantage of Web 2.0

Technologies: Classroom Blogging Basics. Childhood Education, 90(5),
379-381.
Morgan’s (2014) article gives a concise view of integrating blogging into a classroom to
enhance motivation, engagement, and collaboration. Morgan covers important notions
such as the benefits of blogging, ideas that use weblogs, blogging safety, descriptors of
different types of blogs, and a well-designed plan to initiate a blogging project. The
blogging safety subtopic incorporates aspects of good digital citizenship. This article
offers functional ideas and tips on how to use blogging as a supplemental tool to
enhance self-expression, communication, and digital skills, all of which can be crafted
into social justice pedagogy at the high school level.

Preston, J., Wiebe, S., Gabriel, M., McAuley, A., Campbell, B., & MacDonald, R.
(2015, May). Benefits and Challenges of Technology in High
Schools: A Voice from Educational Leaders with a Freire Echo.
Interchange 46:169–185.
Preston et al. (2015) sought to determine how high school administration in Prince
Edward Island perceived the use of technology to unpack the aspects of technology that
are considered beneficial and detrimental to the school environment. They studied the
relationship between the shared positives and negatives of technology integration
through a Freirean lens, focusing on social advocacy and the impact of the educators’
perceptions in the effectiveness of the technology use in the school. Educators in the
study saw technology as having negative effects on literacy skill and teacher workload
but saw the importance of technological proficiency for students’ future success.

Price-Dennis, D., & Carrion, S. (2017). Leveraging Digital Literacies for

Equity and Social Justice. Language Arts, 94(3), 190-195.
Price-Dennis and Carrion (2017) argue for the use of digital tools to teach social justice
curriculum to “promote engagement, support differentiation, position students as
producers of content, and create space in the curriculum to nurture their inquiries while
expanding their technological strategies and skills” (p.191). By centralising digital tools
into the pedagogy, the authors present stratified opportunities for learners to evolve
through their multimodal ways of learning. This reading provides recommendations for

Page | 6 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

teachers and informs of multiple Web 2.0 applications and their affordances which can
guide the development of our CIP topic.

Schmier, S. (2014). Popular culture in a digital media studies classroom:

Popular culture in a digital classroom. Literacy, 48(1), 39-46.
Schmier (2014) investigates the impact of online social networking practices and the
appeal of popular culture to engage students in and outside the classroom. She studied a
digital media studies class over the school year, observing students take on the role of
journalist as they combined traditional and modern practices such as interviewing a
new teacher for a podcast that was shared with the school community. With the
combination of social media and popular culture integrated into the instructional
practices, students “[increase] their ability to think and write critically about the media
they produce and consume both in and outside of school” (p.45).

Woolcott, Geoff. (2015). Technology and Human Cultural Accumulation:

The Role of Emotion. In S.Y. Tettegah & M. P. McCreery, Emotions,
Technology, and Learning (pp.243-263). London: Academic Press.
Woolcott (2015) links the relationships of emotion, education, and technology. The
author highlights the importance of educators to understand the biological structure of
information processing and how closely it is tied to the influence of emotion. Woolcott
guides us through a context “that embraces technology as an integral part of this human
accumulation of culture through environmental interaction and learning” (p.244). For
our CIP topic, this chapter will help us better promote student learning from an
empathetic grounding.

Page | 7 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Colluding to Collide Ideas: A Technological

Approach for a BC High School Social Justice Class
In an ever-transforming world, both technology and globalisation have emerged as
significant players in the realm of education. As technology permeates all aspects of
everyday life, and globalisation gives rise to increased considerations of social justice
issues, educators are faced with incorporating fast-evolving aspects of technology and
society into practice. Technologies, in particular newer digital technologies, hold
incredible potential to support educators in teaching technical and digital literacies
within new knowledge spaces, as these literacies are becoming increasingly important
to modern students. Through this collaborative inquiry project, we use the newly-
created BC Social Justice 12 Curriculum (BC Ministry of Education, 2018b) to craft a
practical example of how technology may be implemented in a classroom to explore the
recognition claims of social justice (Fraser, 2009). For this effort we consider
technology beyond its connective and collaborative abilities to incorporate its capacity
as a research resource and design tool in the creation of meaning and knowledge
(Wilhelm, 2014).

Our literature review focuses on the potential role of technology in facilitating relevant,
meaningful, and empathetic linkages between social groups. Our goal is to encourage
high school students to critically consider social identities in relation to systematic
cultural domination, social responsibilities, and digital citizenship. To work around the
minimal attention given to the role and impact of technology on educational diversity
and social justice goals (Sull, 2013), we synthesise our perspectives by funnelling down
from a broader contextual understanding of the role of technology on social justice
education (Boote & Beile, 2005). While we appreciate that social justice can be
integrated into and across different knowledge areas and subjects, this investigation
focuses on a social justice classroom.

This literature review is thematically organised. We briefly present the contemporary

context of the BC classroom, an overview of the role of technology on education, and an
introduction to social justice education. We then proceed to outline implications of
technology on social justice education and its instructional principles. We close our

Page | 8 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

literature review by distilling key technological considerations for nurturing

interpersonal relationships amongst BC high school social justice students.

The New BC Curriculum

The implementation of the new British Columbia (BC) secondary curriculum is centred
on the creation of ‘educated citizens’ capable of meeting the demands of the 21st
century (BC Ministry of Education, 2018a). It embodies the BC Ministry of Education’s
vision of linking specific content with curricular competencies through the re-
examination of core competencies and big ideas in personalised, flexible learning
environments. The revised curriculum places significant emphasis on life skills,
experiences, and critical thinking that prepare students for an unpredictable
technologically-driven future. It aims to instil the ability to learn, think critically, and
communicate information from a broad knowledge-base. It recognises that students need to
be able to use and understand current and emerging technologies not only in their learning,
but in their everyday context.

Social justice education in the BC Curriculum strives to demonstrate social justice

concerns as interconnected and complex constructs with profound individual, local, and
global implications that are influenced by personal and communal perspectives and are
therefore changeable through social action (BC Ministry of Education, 2018b). As
diversity increases within BC schools and communities1, particularly in urban centres,
there is a growing responsibility on schools and educators to engage students on social
justice issues, to promote an appreciation and mindfulness of others’ perspectives and
experiences, and to equip students “to examine the power of various markers of
difference, today and in the past” (Buckley-Marudas, 2016b, p.2).

Technology is expanding and evolving at unprecedented rates; by some estimates,

information accessible throughout the world is doubling every two years (see: Preston
et al., 2015). The new BC curriculum promotes a more inquiry-based approach to
learning and acknowledges the demands on students to sift through and manage large
volumes of available information and extract legitimate knowledge (Darvin, 2018). In

1
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-
pd/prof/details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=59&Geo2=&Code2=&Data=Count&SearchText=British%20Columbia
&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=59

Page | 9 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

this post-truth age, there is a growing need for critical literacies to enable examination
of the mechanisms of power that shape knowledge and social relations, in and out of
digital contexts (Peters, 2017). We undertake this collaborative inquiry project with the
belief that that integration of digital technologies in social justice education provides
opportunities to foster multiple literacies within a social justice education framework,
while also making the learning relevant and meaningful to the technology-centric
context of today’s school-goers.

Technology in Classrooms
The modern technological tides have significant transformational implications for
societies and their educational institutions. Technology within classrooms promise to
amplify “possibilit[ies] for students to access multiple sources, communicate with a
range of people, and engage with various modes and texts”, creating rich, textured
learning environments that encourage the co-production of content and resources
across multiple digital platforms (Buckley-Marudas, 2016a, p.554). Jonassen (2013,
p.106) promotes the idea of a “partnership with technologies” in which students learn
with technologies, rather than from technologies. For instance, students in an English
classroom can record videos and create multimedia presentations, while across the hall
science students can summarise the steps and results to an experiment through
photographs. With careful, purposeful considerations, everyday technologies like the
mobile phone (a common classroom irritant) can become powerful tools to support the
learning and instructional processes (Preston et al., 2015).

Utilisation of resources such as social networking, weblogs, and wikis can enhance and
expand the learning environment by providing more opportunities for students to
collaborate and share content (Morgan, 2014). When students communicate over
technological or social media platforms, they allow different parts of their personalities
to emerge (Palloff & Pratt, 2013). This can encourage self-expression and engagement
across both introverted and extroverted learner groups. For online learning experiences
that utilise text-based communication, Morgan showed that students demonstrated
“clearer, more precise language as a result of writing for a wide audience” (p. 381).
Technologies also serve to enhance accessibility; for instance, touch-screen devices can

Page | 10 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

support students with limited fine-motor skills or with learning differences such as
autism, apraxia, and Downs Syndrome (Preston et al., 2015).

Technology is not a panacea for instructional or student engagement woes. Students

with different personalities and learning styles will respond to learning technologies in
different ways, both positively and negatively (Fogg, 2002). The ubiquitous nature of
mobile devices and social media, especially amongst the young “digital natives”
(Prensky, 2001, p.1) has created a hyper-connectivity to technology with negative
effects on attention span and critical cognitive abilities (Preston et al., 2015). Other
concerns are less immediately obvious. Technology is non-neutral and thus educators
need to be cognisant of the fact that its introduction in the classroom can amplify
certain voices at the cost of silencing others (Koehler et al., 2013). An over-reliance on
technology can potentially take away from learning experiences (Collins & Halverson,
2010), as educators can default to internal processes of the technology instead of
evaluating the most appropriate instructional strategies. Technology should be
considered a means to critically reflect on instructional and learning practices; to
empower, rather than replace, teaching. There are also practical factors associated with
bringing in technology into the classroom such as considering and providing adequate
consideration, time, training, and other resources to support its implementations (Lim
et al., 2013).

Social Justice Education

Social justice is a contested and contentious “multi-layered, ideal construct” (Zajda et al.,
2007, p. 5). While this powerful term aspires towards fair distribution of wealth,
opportunities, and privileges, its elusiveness is underpinned by its temporal and spatial
characteristics that counter any attempts towards hegemony. What is just in one
juncture in time or location or amongst a social group does not necessarily hold true in
another. For this collaborative inquiry, we locate social justice ideals of redistribution
within the notions of recognition and representation. We see the galvanising of high
school students towards social action through the “[recognition of] the ways in which
positions of dominance and subordination work in complex and intersecting ways to
constitute [their] experiences of personhood” (Nash, 2008, p.10).

Page | 11 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Social justice education seeks to develop individual and collaborative critical analytical
learnings, skills, and tools necessary to reveal and scrutinise structural topographies of
oppression. It also looks at the implications of socialisation within these systems to
scaffold students towards imagining its reorganisation and reconstruction in a more
equitable fashion. It encourages the critical examination of oppression within the
ubiquitous and reflexive nature of social constructs and identities in search of
opportunities for social action. Thus, social justice education necessitates simultaneous
attention to personal and systemic levels of power, privilege, and inequity by
introducing mechanisms and opportunities to authorise individuals with self-
determination and interdependence to instil a sense of agency and efficacy (Mayhew &
Fernández, 2007).

Social justice education pedagogies aim to generate active engagement with social
justice content through the integration of multiple dimensions of learning, which are
informed by the specific educational and social context. It sees learning situated within
and across relationships in which students feel free and safe to share and explore
different realities (Hackman, 2005; Adams, 2016). The complex and continuous
processes for attaining social justice must themselves be democratic, inclusive,
participatory, and affirming of individual and collective agency; in this manner “[s]ocial
justice is both a goal and a process” (Bell & Adams, 2016, p.3).

Social Change Through Dialogue

Hackman (2005) emphasises that while “no pedagogical approach is a panacea” (p.103),
the collaborative decisions that lead to social action and change are rooted in
educational strategies that build bridges across cultural differences to engage and form
alliances. Adams (2016) situates social justice education pedagogical principles within a
sociocultural framework that emphasises learning as dynamic and interdependent.
Social and individual processes in the co-construction of knowledge occur within a safe
and inclusive social environment. Mayhew and Fernández (2007) confirm that
pedagogy which includes diverse socio-cultural viewpoints and draws upon dialogical
and active learning techniques has a greater impact on students’ understanding and
commitment to social action than content alone.

Page | 12 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Rooted in Freirean traditions of conscious raising, intergroup dialogue is a critical-

dialogic, multi-partial approach that focuses on cross-group interactions (Nagda &
Gurin, 2007). Intergroup dialogue brings together students from diverse social identity
groups to build relationships across cultural and power differences, to explore
inequalities through similarities and differences, and to reinforce individual and
collective capacities to promote social justice. The approach integrates educational
goals of critical consciousness and co-inquiry, promotes discursive engagement across
differences and conflicts, and fortifies individual and collective capacities to promote
social justice using personal storytelling, empathetic connections, and interpersonal
inquiry (Gurin et al., 2008).

A growing literature on intergroup dialogue outcomes demonstrates its effectiveness in

academic settings (see: Dessel & Rogge 2008; Gurin et al., 2013) through an increase in
positive intergroup dynamics, civic engagement, and multicultural activism (see: Krings
et al., 2015). However, assessing classroom learning outcomes on critical dialogues is
difficult (Nagda & Gurin, 2007). Appreciative inquiry, which focuses on drawing out the
positive core (Cockell & McArthur-Blair, 2012), provides an appropriate underpinning
for the assessment of learning that emphasises the value of individuals and affirms
personal sharing as productive and desirable (Evinger, 2014). Appreciative inquiry
aligns with the intergroup dialogue ideas of reflection, narration, and awareness.
Student journals, discussions, and periodic self-evaluations can be used to explore and
assess positive learning outcomes (e.g. seeing themselves and others in new ways and
increase in empathetic listening) and negative outcomes (e.g. discomfort factors and
issues related to the dialogic processes) (Hess et al., 2010).

Implications of Technology on Social Justice Education

The integration of digital technologies in the social justice classroom demands careful
assessment of its implications on the notion of equity and the role of group dynamics
and relationships. While technology opens access for some populations, it also creates
barriers that may reinforce the ‘digital divide’ and perpetuate the very inequalities that
social justice education intends to mitigate (Bonilla, 2011). Therefore, in adopting a
technological approach to social justice education, we believe it is prudent to take

Page | 13 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Freire’s dialectical view that considers technology’s potential to both dominate and
liberate (Kahn & Kellner, 2007).

Despite challenges in constraining pedagogy, content, learning styles, and accessibility

(Bonilla, 2011), with careful design and facilitation approaches digital technologies can
establish novel, relevant, and authentic learning and instructing opportunities in line
with social justice education practices (Domingue, 2016). The introduction of
technology in the classroom inherently acknowledges the means with which
contemporary society acquires and distributes knowledge, builds relationships, and
supports the construction of social and cultural identities (Johnson, 2006). This is
particularly relevant for the “Net Geners”, who have “grown up digital” (Tapscott, 2008,
p.18). The incorporation of technology can counter what Buckingham (2007) saw as the
failure of traditional literacy definitions to address social diversity of literacy practices
(beyond reading and writing), and thus maintaining and valuing a narrow view of
meaning-making and knowledge. This inhibited view of literacy within traditional
classrooms has perpetuated a discrepancy between texts inside and outside the school,
creating learning experiences that may not be considered relevant or meaningful to
today’s high school students (Brauer, 2018). The use of technology in social justice
education can broaden its appeal and approach by examining and accepting various
social and ideological mediated representation of information.

Incorporating technology in social justice education provides an organic route to

incorporate critical reflection on the role of digital media in facilitating and rationalising
inequalities in the distribution of power relations (Brauer, 2018). Jansen (2011)
proposed that the deep, reflexive linkages between social justice and media literacy
provide for richer, broader social justice learning that looks beyond lived experience to
challenge those representations that dominate the student’s media ecosystems. In
considering the notion of digital citizenship and its principles of digital ethics, media,
information literacy, and participation in virtual spaces (Choi, 2016), social justice
students are presented with alternate paths to develop critical literacies that can lead to
social transformation and action through creative dialogues (Garcia et al., 2015).
Schmier (2014) explains that when students examine popular culture through digital
media, they augment their ability to think and write critically about the production and

Page | 14 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

consumption of media both in and outside of school, which “[positions] them as

community activists who [design and publish] texts that [give] voice to inequities in
their community” (p.45).

Digital and media literacies encompass a variety of literacies and skills needed to
engage in “transmedia storytelling” (Garcia et al., 2015, p.162) and considers students’
abilities to analyse, evaluate, and reflect critically (Buckingham, 2007) through a
composite of traditional and modern forms of literacies. Providing ownership to the
students to select, distribute, and produce digital content can lead to a democratic co-
creation of complex, multimodal artefacts. These artefacts can then transform the initial
course content into a multifaceted network of concepts, ideas, and connections: “a
bricolage of knowledge” (Kincheloe, 2008, p.188). This relinquishing of educators’
control on the creation and distribution of information to learners provides a platform
upon which relational and social power are disrupted and re-negotiated (Buckingham),
thereby instilling social justice education processes that are congruent with the overall
aim of the social justice learnings (Bell & Adams, 2016).

Our Key Design Considerations

We recognise that social justice education poses cognitive challenges for students both
in terms of content and the questions it raises about unexamined beliefs, biases,
misinformation, stereotypes, and entrenched modes of thinking. These may be
particularly acute for adolescents with developing “socio-emotional systems” (Sunstein,
2008, p. 2). To make the ensuing cognitive dissonance less overwhelming and open
opportunities for abstract, complex, and critical thinking, the ability to listen to differing
perspectives, reflect upon one’s own beliefs and values, and take a critical and inquiring
stance toward experts and authority is required (Adams, 2016). To this effect, we take a
critical-dialogical approach through intergroup dialogues to provide multiple
dimensions of learning needed to “integrate sustained dialogue with consciousness-
raising and bridge building across differences” (Zuniga & Nagda, p. 307). To this effect,
our technological design considerations centre upon the notion of building of authentic
interpersonal relationships.

Page | 15 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

The connective, communicative, and collaborative nature of digital technologies

presents exciting opportunities to expand cross-group interactions. They provide
educators the ability to virtually connect classrooms from different socio-economic and
geopolitical strata to create a space where knowledge may be co-created through the
collision of students and their ideas (Loveless & Griffith, 2004). To create a virtual space
for the congregation of students, online learning management systems (LMS), such as
Canvas, Moodle or Google for Education can be used (Domingue, 2016). This online
space is a location for students to convene, to access course resources, engage in class
discussions, and submit/share coursework.

In extending discussions to virtual spaces, students are given greater opportunities to

incorporate their cultural identities into their learning communities and promote active
participation in the negotiation of their knowledge, opinions, and differences (Buckley-
Marudas, 2016b). Price-Dennis and Carrion (2017) demonstrated that students engaged
in a collaborative inquiry process over digital platforms can effectively self-select issues,
proactively gather and share information from diverse sources, understand their roles
in relation to social justice issues, and support each other in building a collective
understanding. The “heightened visibility” of online collective work “[stages] a
particular kind of accountability for students, which [provokes] them to engage in
substantive and personally meaningful conversations with their peers about issues
related to topics surrounding race, culture, and identity” (Buckley-Marudas, 2016a, p.
560). However, Gardner and Davis (2013) caution that the exploration of identity and
social connections through digital spaces can tie identity too closely to technology,
depriving young people of considering or valuing offline experiences and thus creating
“an impoverished sense of self” (p. 91).

Technology provides a powerful means to broker connections. However, the locations

of the valuable connective elements that enable students to navigate interpersonal and
digital pathways to effectively explore and (re)construct individual, group, and social
identities for social action, are more elusive (Bennett & Toft, 2009). Therefore, even
though most LMS provide a variety of functionalities to support individual and group
learning, our technological approach (as articulated earlier) intends “to position
students as producers of content and create space in the curriculum to nurture their

Page | 16 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

inquiries while expanding their technological strategies and skills” (Price-Dennis &
Carrion, 2017, p.191). In this manner, the LMS is considered a central location for the
initial and core online learning experiences, technologies (from within or outside the
school educational technologies ecosystem), different means of representing learning,
and is expandable by students introducing new content and resources. We see this
merging of technologies to create “layered opportunities for students to develop
multimodal ways of knowing” (Price-Dennis & Carrion).

Empathy as a cognitive and emotional ingredient of human interaction is foundational

to learning processes that seek to build understanding of social identities towards
insight into structural inequalities and disparities (Cooper, 2016). Within intergroup
dialogues, empathy is seen to occur “when individuals respond to the experiences of
members of other social groups by trying to understand their perspectives (cognitive
empathy) or by feeling what they feel or responding emotionally to their experiences
(emotional intergroup empathy)” (Gurin et al., 2013, p.180-181). Empathy may be
nurtured through exposure, explanation, and experiences. We do not dismiss the
importance and role of using multimedia content and resources for a clearer
understanding of the course and course material, and stronger engagement with the
learning processes (Sull, 2014). However, we situate the value in using technology in a
social justice classroom in its ability to support the learning of shared experiences by
providing students with opportunities to select their own ways to represent and share
their stories (Medina, 2009). To this effect, students can undertake discursive
interactions that are centred on their self-depictions and self-interpretations of lived
experiences using variety of digital media that may include blogs/vlogs, short films,
digital compositions/story-telling, photographs, games, podcasts, etc. (Lundby, 2008).

Bearing in mind the central role of interpersonal relationships in the social justice
education practice (see: Adams, 2016; Hackman, 2005) and the limitations of
technology within learning environments, we consider the blended approach to be
better suited to our high school context (Domingue, 2016; Tharp, 2017). The approach
allows for the cherry-picking of technological opportunities while working around its
deficiencies. It also provides avenues to better support young students in accepting
alternative views of teacher-learner-content relationships, considering different ways of

Page | 17 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

thinking and learning, and nurturing the multiple literacies needed for the socialisation
into a virtual learning community (Kahn & Kellner, 2007). All the while, the learning of a
complex and nuanced subject is facilitated. Saye and Brush (2007) demonstrated that
technological affordances can allow for more authentic representations of reality to
encourage learner engagement and empathy regarding persistent social issues.
However, its ability to improve deep knowledge development and critical reasoning was
mixed. We see the blended approach to go beyond its traditional definition of mingling
various technologies to the traditional classroom space to one aligned to Wilhelm’s
(2014, p. 42) vision of nurturing a “third space” where digital and social technologies
offer and support learning spaces that emphasises collaboration, multimodality,
interdisciplinary problem-solving, and differing perspectives.

Conclusion
Through this literature review we have considered the implicit and extrinsic challenges
of a technology-mediated learning environments, explored the intrinsically entangled,
subjective, fluid, and relative nature of culture, identity, and representation in social
justice education, and investigated the implications of using technology in a BC high
school social justice classroom. Our findings focus on the crucial role of meaningful and
empathic interpersonal relationships in scrutinising systemic oppression and exclusion,
and the consequences of socialisation within these systems to nurture students towards
reimagining the organisation of social constructs for a more equitable society. In
adopting an intergroup dialogue approach to social justice education, we have focused
our attention on the ability of digital technologies to create spaces, resources, and
connections needed for the critical examination of social patterns, representation,
interpretation, and communication. We recognise and value that in bringing technology
into the social justice class, we have a compelling opportunity to organically integrate
digital and media literacy aspects into the learning processes, thereby expanding the
definition of literacies, producing relevant and meaningful learning experiences, and
supporting the New BC curriculum vision of preparing students for effective
participation in the 21 century.
st

Page | 18 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

References
Adams, M. (2016). Pedagogical foundations for social justice education. In Teaching for diversity
and social justice (pp. 45-72). Routledge.
BC Ministry of Education. (2018a). BC’s New Curriculum. Retrieved from
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/
BC Ministry of Education. (2018b). Area of Learning: SOCIAL STUDIES — Social Justice.
Retrieved from
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/curriculum/social-
studies/en_social-studies_12_social-justice_elab.pdf
Bell, L. A., & Adams, M. (2016). Theoretical foundations for social justice education. In Teaching
for diversity and social justice (pp.21-44). Routledge.
Bennett, W. L., & Toft, A. (2009). Identity, technology, and narratives. Transnational activism
and social networks. Routledge handbook of Internet politics, 146-260.
Bonilla, J. F. (2011). Revisiting technology in the classroom: Critical reflections of a
multiculturalist. The Journal of Faculty Development, 25(1), 28-35.
Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation
literature review in research preparation. Educational researcher, 34(6), 3-15.
Brauer, L. (2018). Access to what? English, texts, and social justice pedagogy. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(6), 631-642.
Buckingham, D. (2007). Digital media literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the
Internet. Research in Comparative and International Education, 2(1), 43-55.
Buckley-Marudas, M. F. (2016a). Literacy learning in a digitally rich humanities classroom:
Embracing multiple, collaborative, and simultaneous texts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy, 59(5), 551-561.
Buckley-Marudas, M. F. (2016b). “Truth,” interrupted: Leveraging digital media for culturally
sustaining education. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, 12(2).
Choi, M. (2016). A concept analysis of digital citizenship for democratic citizenship education in
the internet age. Theory & research in social education, 44(4), 565-607.
Cockell, J., & McArthur-Blair, J. (2012). Appreciative inquiry in higher education: A
transformative force. John Wiley & Sons.
Collins, A., & Halverson, R. (2010). The second educational revolution: Rethinking education in
the age of technology. Journal of computer assisted learning, 26(1), 18-27.
Cooper, B. (2016). Empathy, Emotion, Technology, and Learning. In Emotions, Technology, and
Learning (pp. 265-288).
Darvin, R. (2018). Digital Literacy, Language Learning, and Educational Policy in British
Columbia. Global Perspectives on Language Education Policies.
Dessel, A., & Rogge, M. E. (2008). Evaluation of intergroup dialogue: A review of the empirical
literature. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 26(2), 199-238.

Page | 19 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Domingue, A. D. (2016). Chapter 11 - Online and blended pedagogy in social justice education. In
Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (Eds.). (2016). Teaching for diversity and social justice (pp.369-
396). Routledge.
Evinger, L. (2014). Understanding facilitation: A study of knowledge, skills and behaviors in
intergroup dialogue facilitation.
Fogg, B. J. (2002). Persuasive technology: using computers to change what we think and
do. Ubiquity, 2002(December).
Fraser, N. (2009). Social justice in the age of identity politics. Geographic thought: A praxis
perspective, 72-91.
Garcia, A., Mirra, N., Morrell, E., Martinez, A., & Scorza, D. (2015). The council of youth research:
Critical literacy and civic agency in the digital age. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 31(2),
151-167.
Gardner, H., and Davis, K. (2013) Chapter Four: Personal Identity in the Age of the App. In The
App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a
Digital World (60-91). Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Gurin, P., Nagda, B. R. A., & Zuniga, X. (2013). Dialogue across difference: Practice, theory, and
research on intergroup dialogue. Russell Sage Foundation.
Hackman, H. W. (2005). Five essential components for social justice education. Equity &
Excellence in Education, 38(2), 103-109.
Hess, J. Z., Rynczak, D., Minarik, J. D., & Landrum‐Brown, J. (2010). Alternative settings for
liberal‐conservative exchange: Examining an undergraduate dialogue course. Journal of
Community & Applied Social Psychology, 20(2), 156-166.
Jonassen D.H. (2013) Transforming Learning with Technology. In: Clough M.P., Olson J.K.,
Niederhauser D.S. (eds) The Nature of Technology (101-110). Rotterdam:
SensePublishers.
Kahn, R., & Kellner, D. (2007). Paulo Freire and Ivan Illich: Technology, politics and the
reconstruction of education. Policy futures in education, 5(4), 431-448.
Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and critical pedagogy: An introduction (Vol. 1). Springer
Science & Business Media.
Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P., & Cain, W. (2013). What is technological pedagogical content
knowledge (TPACK)?. Journal of Education, 193(3), 13-19.
Krings, A., Austic, E. A., Gutiérrez, L. M., & Dirksen, K. E. (2015). The comparative impacts of
social justice educational methods on political participation, civic engagement, and
multicultural activism. Equity & Excellence in Education, 48(3), 403-417.
Lim, C. P., Zhao, Y., Tondeur, J., Chai, C. S., & Chin-Chung, T. (2013). Bridging the gap: Technology
trends and use of technology in schools. Journal of Educational Technology &
Society, 16(2).
Lundby, K. (Ed.). (2008). Digital storytelling, mediatized stories: Self-representations in new
media. Peter Lang.
Mayhew, M. J., & Fernández, S. D. (2007). Pedagogical practices that contribute to social justice
outcomes. The Review of Higher Education, 31(1), 55-80.

Page | 20 of 21
 Technology in the Arts & the Humanities Classroom
Annotated Bibliography & Literature Review
Collaborative Inquiry Project | Group 2

Morgan, H. (2014). Focus on Technology: Taking Advantage of Web 2.0 Technologies: Classroom
Blogging Basics. Childhood Education, 90(5), 379-381.
Nagda, B. R. A., & Gurin, P. (2007). Intergroup dialogue: A critical‐dialogic approach to learning
about difference, inequality, and social justice. New Directions for Teaching and
Learning, 2007(111), 35-45.
Nash, J. C. (2008). Re-thinking intersectionality. Feminist review, 89(1), 1-15.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2013). Lessons from the virtual classroom. San Francisco.
Peters, M. A. (2017). Education in a post-truth world.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
Preston, J., Wiebe, S., Gabriel, M., McAuley, A., Campbell, B., & MacDonald, R. (2015, May).
Benefits and Challenges of Technology in High Schools: A Voice from Educational
Leaders with a Freire Echo. Interchange 46:169–185.
Price-Dennis, D., & Carrion, S. (2017). Leveraging Digital Literacies for Equity and Social Justice.
Language Arts, 94(3), 190-195.
Saye, J. W., & Brush, T. (2007). Using technology-enhanced learning environments to support
problem-based historical inquiry in secondary school classrooms. Theory & Research in
Social Education, 35(2), 196-230.
Schmier, S. (2014). Popular culture in a digital media studies classroom: Popular culture in a
digital classroom. Literacy, 48(1), 39-46.
Sull, E. C. (2013). Teaching online with Errol: Effectively teaching the multicultural online
classroom. Online Classroom, 13(9).
Sull, E. C. (2014). Teaching Today's Online Students: They Are Diverse, But a Challenge to
Teach!. Distance Learning, 11(2), 49.
Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Adolescent risk-taking and social meaning: A commentary. Developmental
Review, 28(1), 145-152.
Tapscott, D. (2008). Net Geners Relate to News in New Ways. Nieman Reports; Winter2008 62(4)
18-19.
Tharp, D. S. (2017). Imagining Flipped Workshops: Considerations for Designing Online
Modules for Social Justice Education Workshops. Multicultural Perspectives, 19(3), 178-
184.
Wilhelm, J. (2014). Teacher as Trickster: Navigating Boundaries into Blended Transformational
Spaces. Voices From The Middle, 22(2), 42-44.
Woolcott, Geoff. (2015). Technology and Human Cultural Accumulation: The Role of Emotion. In
S.Y. Tettegah & M. P. McCreery, Emotions, Technology, and Learning (pp.243-263).
London: Academic Press.
Zajda, J., Majhanovich, S., & Rust, V. (2007). Introduction: Education and social
justice. International Review of Education, 52(1-2), 9-22.

Page | 21 of 21