It has been such an insightful few weeks as I've been reading blogs from my classmates and colleagues on so many different topics. I've read some great insights on what it means to be a 21st Century teacher, and I thought I would provide a few of my thoughts.
Valuing diversity in the classroom is an important focus when we are discussing what it means to be a 21st Century teacher. Having a stereotype-free classroom can be a daily challenge. With Ontario having one of the most diverse student populations in the world, it is so important that all teachers take into consideration the impact that everyday decisions can have on students’ thoughts and perceptions about the world around them.
As teachers, we often use interactive presentation software to enhance our lessons or collaboratively engage the class in an activity. During my Smart Board Level 2 Certification, I was planning a grade one activity on Smart Notebook software when I noticed something that I had never really paid attention to before. In the picture gallery under the people category, it was apparent that most clip art visuals had a gender bias. About 90% of the clipart available were male dominated in stereotypical jobs such as police officer, judge, construction worker, janitor, athlete, firefighter, etc.
We teach our students that they can grow up to be whatever they want, and that there is no such thing as ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ jobs, but at the same time we may contradict ourselves by the clipart that we repeatedly use in our everyday lessons. It may seem like such a little issue but if you think about software being so widely spread, it makes me wonder how many teachers are using clipart on a mass scale without giving it a second thought to what may be leaking into our students’ subconscious.
Technology is moving at such a fast pace but shouldn’t the concepts that go along with 21st Century thinking accompany this. As edtech teachers we are so wide-eyed to all the possibilities that new technology can bring to education, but there is obviously still some things that are lagging behind.
As teachers we want to inspire dreams into our students, not limit their imagination. Let’s not forget about the “little” things that we can do to change the next generation for the better.
Using appropriate clipart may be something that we have always overlooked, especially when we are so rushed to plan our lesson activities. If you search hard enough, you will probably be able to find clipart to suit your needs, but that takes time of an already busy teacher’s day.
Shouldn’t bias-free clipart be the standard in all software?
You raise a really good question! Are people really aware that biased clip-art is an issue.
ReplyDeleteSome standards that could begin to be developed around biases, like gender could be just the beginning.
Would be interesting to look through various other softwares and see if they have any standard set at all, or is this bias quite pervasive.
Would be especially interesting to look through most up-to-date softwares clip-art, programs so new they have that 21st Century edge and see the degree of growth around this issues, biased clipart.I am going to check it out!
Recent Ontario Ministry Licensed software such as: Pixie 2 and Frames 4,amazing versatile programs.
Pixie 2: combines a paint program with text options, clip art, voice recording, and standards-based curriculum activities, helping students build 21st century skills as they develop podcasts, online storybooks, videos, and Flash animations.
Frames 4: Creating illustrated animations, movies, and digital stories engages students in the curriculum, encourages problem solving, promotes creativity, and helps students develop 21st century skills. Students can use Frames to create movies, animated GIF files, and Flash animations to share with the world.
Found on the OSEPAC website:
http://www.osapac.org/cms/index
Thanks for noticing, good observation on gender bias, one that true we want all students to feel that all professions are open and not portrayed as sterotypes, but as open to pursue through interest and passion.
Would Smart Technologies be open to considering otherwise,becoming aware and making adjustments... helping begin to set a standard.
Something I will begin to start to take more notice of!
Hi Stephanie, an interesting and important post. There's a great quote from "who knows who": "I'm not sure who discovered water, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a fish!"
ReplyDeleteIt's so difficult to step out of the environment that we live in on a day-to-day basis to notice where we are and what we surrounded by. Our verbal and non-verbal "texts" are powerful reflections of the way we think about the world, aren't they.
My four year-old son gets upset when I use words like "beautiful" and "pretty" because they are "girl words". Not sure where he picked that up, but it proves the point that our students, even at the youngest ages, are sensitive to gender and its expression.
I would love to check back in with you in a few months on this. Stereotypes can't be switched on and off at will. Complex stuff!
Thanks for sharing it here.