“It’s a Black Hole . . .”: Exploring Teachers’ Narratives and Practices for Digital Literacies in the Adult EAL Context

Tour, Ekaterina; Creely, Edwin; Waterhouse, Peter

doi:10.1177/0741713621991516

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(49 reference statements)

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“…Using digital technologies critically also requires some degree of designing and creativity (Pangrazio, 2016). In short, technical and critical skills are important to engaging with the digital medium in a way that is both safe and creative (Tour, Creely, & Waterhouse, 2021), Moreover, as Pötzsch points out, digital literacies need to move beyond responsible and efficient digital technology use and focus on 'capitalist dynamics, environmental ramifications, and individual empowerment ' (2019, p. 222).…”

Section: -Conceptual Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educators' data literacy

Raffaghelli¹

2022

Learning to Live With Datafication

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Data extraction and algorithmic manipulation have become increasingly frequent across the globe -hence the expression "datafied society". Initially perceived as an opportunity to innovate in several areas of human knowledge (Stephen-Davidowitz, 2017), data practices had unthinkable impacts. Race, gender and other vulnerable characteristics were made invisible, overrepresented and over-tracked by certain forms of data visualisation (Ricaurte, 2019). Automations based on machine learning have entailed perilous biases in the way they represent or neglect relevant cultural perspectives (Malik, 2020). Moreover, they have led to biases and users' lack of agency or even harm (Eubanks, 2018;O'Neil, 2016). In education, research has also highlighted forms of surveillance on children, teenagers and young adults with the aim of addressing their behaviours, emotions and cognition (Chi, Jeng, Acker, & Bowler, 2018;Lupton & Williamson, 2017;Prinsloo, 2020). The "platformisation" of learning and the monetisation of students' data are also pressing issues in the educational agenda. These problems were magnified by the intense and unprecedented use of digital technologies during the pandemic (Perrotta, Gulson, Williamson, & Witzenberger, 2020;Williamson, Eynon, & Potter, 2020).Against this backdrop, an activist counterculture emerged (Baack, 2015) in which participants aim to uncover how surveillance is redistributing power through the participatory appropriation of data (Lehtiniemi & Ruckenstein, 2019). Expressions of this movement have manifest through the Open Government Data and Open Science (Lehtiniemi & Ruckenstein, 2019), as well as with independent collectives reacting to the oppression of surveillance, including forms of disconnection and "hacking" the system (Pybus, Coté, & Blanke, 2015). Overall, data activists' search for recognition, awareness, redistribution of symbolic and material power aims at emancipation. As Milan and van der Velden (2016) argue, data circulates generating imaginaries, discourses and practices, which they refer to as "data epistemologies". Despite the universal circulation of metrics and quantification, the concept of data epistemology spots the contextual and diversified nature of data practices in response or reaction to datafication. According to these same authors, the activists that search for data appropriation to express diversity and empowerment embrace a proactive data epistemology . Instead, the activists whose goal is to uncover injustice and condemn malpractice stick to a reactive data epistemology. In each case, the quest for equal representation, voice and self-determination leads to an ideal known as fair data culture The term "epistemology" refers too widely to a theory of knowledge in the context of philosophy, though it is apparently used "lato sensu" by Milan and van der Velden. From an

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Section: -Conceptual Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educators' data literacy

Raffaghelli¹

2022

Learning to Live With Datafication

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“…These include social support, collaborative learning, hands-on experience, inclusive program design, a multi-faceted approach, and simple user interfaces (Borg et al, 2019;McGillivray, 2017;Zelezny-Green et al, 2018). These are relevant principles for application with refugee populations, as are the previously described strengths-based teaching practices identified by Tour et al (2021). Further, future research should examine what specific technology skills are most helpful to learn during different stages of the integration process (Bletscher, 2020).…”

Section: Implications For Programmingmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…The International Journal of Information,Diversity,& Inclusion,5(5) Digital skills training often occurs in other group learning activities, such as language and employment classes (Dahya, 2020). In this regard, Pei and Crooks (2020) and Tour et al (2021) conducted ethnographic studies of refugees' digital use and skills in adult English language courses in the U.S. and Australia, respectively. Pei and Crooks (2020) studied the perspectives and practices of the students, and Tour et al studied those of the teachers.…”

Section: Digital Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the teachers' perspective, Tour et al (2021) found that despite being highly compassionate, empathetic, and goal-oriented, teachers generally held a normative deficitbased view of their students that focused on what they lack more than what they bring.…”

Section: Digital Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) andTour et al (2021) conducted ethnographic studies of refugees' digital use and skills in adult English language courses in the U.S. and Australia, respectively. Pei and Crooks (2020) studied the perspectives and practices of the students, and Tour et al studied those of the teachers.…”

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Role of Digital Skills in Refugee Integration

Potocky

2022

IJIDI

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Two concurrent 21st-century phenomena—the nearly unprecedented number of forced migrants and the near ubiquity of information and communications technology—have given rise to increased scholarship in “digital migration studies.” One area of investigation in this emergent interdisciplinary field is the role of digital skills in refugee integration. Given the accelerated global reliance on technology resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the author conducted a state-of-the-art literature review to identify emerging issues and highlight research needs in this area. A search of 10 databases yielded 39 studies spanning the major resettlement regions (North America, Western Europe, Oceania), and including refugees from across the globe. The inclusion criteria were studies focused on refugees’ practical use of digital technology in integration, published from January 2020-April 2021. Exclusion criteria were studies on refugees in transit or protracted displacement, digital connectivity and accessibility, use of digital technology by humanitarian actors, software development, analyses of digital representations of refugees, public attitudes toward refugees as expressed in digital media, and literature reviews. Ndofor-Tah et al.’s (2019) Refugee Integration Framework was used to organize and synthesize the findings. The studies demonstrated how digital skills affect all domains of integration. Additionally, the studies confirm that many refugees in resettlement have limited digital skills for necessary integration tasks, such as navigating websites and assessing the credibility of online information. Limitations of this state-of-the-art review include its cross-sectional nature, having only one reviewer, and only published literature accessible online through public websites or subscription databases. An important emerging issue for future research is assessing, teaching, and learning digital skills among this population. The study's contributions to the knowledge base and theory, and its implications for information science scholars and practitioners and those in allied disciplines within digital migration studies, are discussed.

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Investigating the efficacy of the AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide for adult EAL settings

Tour,

Creely,

Waterhouse

et al. 2023

J Adolescent & Adult Lit

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The importance of digital literacies for adult language learners from migrant and refugee backgrounds has been widely recognized. However, there is relatively limited conceptual and practical guidance for practitioners. To address this concern, we developed a pedagogical framework and a practical guide for teachers in the Adult Migrant English Program in Australia. The conceptual framework brought together four well‐established bodies of scholarly work and formed the four principles for teaching digital literacies: (1) authentic learning contexts, (2) problem‐based learning, (2) strengths‐based approaches, and (4) multidimensional practices. To unpack the framework for practical use, we then developed a guide, which reflected these principles and offered teaching ideas. This paper describes the conceptualization of the pedagogical framework and reports on a multiple case study which sought to gain insight from five English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers on the efficacy of the framework and guide. The findings suggest that while there was a reasonable level of understanding of the framework and guide and many rich learning experiences were created , in practice some teachers experienced challenges in actuating some principles of the framework. The article concludes with implications for teachers' self‐directed learning with the help of this resource and future research.

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“It’s a Black Hole . . .”: Exploring Teachers’ Narratives and Practices for Digital Literacies in the Adult EAL Context

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Educators' data literacy

Educators' data literacy

Role of Digital Skills in Refugee Integration

Investigating the efficacy of the AMEP Digital Literacies Framework and Guide for adult EAL settings

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