Practicing Sovereignty: Digital Involvement in Times of Crises

Digital sovereignty has become a hotly debated concept. The current convergence of multiple crises adds fuel to this debate, as it contextualizes the concept in a foundational discussion of democratic principles, civil rights, and national identities: is (technological) self-determination an option for every individual to cope with the digital sphere effectively? Can disruptive events provide chances to rethink our ideas of society - including the design of the objects and processes which constitute our techno-social realities? The positions assembled in this volume analyze opportunities for participation and policy-making, and describe alternative technological practices before and after the pandemic

Polishing The Mirror: A Multiple Methods Study Of The Relationship Between Teaching Style And The Application Of Technology In Alaska's Rural One To One Digital Classrooms

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012This mixed method survey study examined the inter-relationships between teaching styles and the depth of classroom-based technology applications used by teachers participating in 1:1 digitally enhanced classrooms in thirteen of Alaska's rural school districts. The promise of technology to catalyze the transformation of schools into learner centric environments preparing students to be 21st century learners has not been realized. Significant first order barriers have limited the digital learning resources necessary to systemically affect pedagogical change. During the last six years, various entities have sponsored digitally enhanced learning environments to stimulate the process of education reform. These initiatives, labeled as one-to-one (1:1), brought teachers face-to-face with the challenges related to second order education reform while creating an opportunity to study changes in instructional philosophy and practice as a result of teaching in an environment rich in technology. This study explored three questions formulated to probe the relationship between pedagogical philosophy and the application of 1:1 technology to support learning: • "What is the relationship between instructional philosophy and the way teachers use technology to support learning in Alaskan high school 1:1 laptop programs?" • "How does access to a 1:1 classroom affect a teacher's instructional philosophy or practice?" • "Does access to a 1:1 digitally enhanced teaching environment facilitate the use of instructional practices consistent with Alaska Native and 21st century learner outcomes?" Ninety-four rural high school teachers responded to a survey that assessed teaching styles on a continuum from transmission to constructivist. The level of technology adoption was examined using three indices that respectively measure the professional, personal and classroom use of technology by teachers. Information derived from open ended questions was triangulated with quantitative data to develop a meaningful understanding of the study questions. Quantitative and qualitative data suggested that the majority of responding teachers identified with constructivist beliefs over traditional transmission. Teachers noted a strong positive relationship between teaching and the application of technology, yet analysis showed that constructivist beliefs were attenuated by several challenges related to management of technology. While teachers were generally aware of the potential for digital learning technologies to support Alaska Native and 21st century methods, they were outweighed by operational concerns related to the integration of technology. These study questions are significant. Digitally enhanced instructional practices help to equip students with the skills expected of 21st century learners. Perhaps even more significant is the congruence between the teaching styles traditionally used by Alaska Natives and the digitally enhanced constructivist practices made possible when using technology to augment processes for acquiring knowledge

Practicing Sovereignty

Digital sovereignty has become a hotly debated concept. The current convergence of multiple crises adds fuel to this debate, as it contextualizes the concept in a foundational discussion of democratic principles, civil rights, and national identities: is (technological) self-determination an option for every individual to cope with the digital sphere effectively? Can disruptive events provide chances to rethink our ideas of society - including the design of the objects and processes which constitute our techno-social realities? The positions assembled in this volume analyze opportunities for participation and policy-making, and describe alternative technological practices before and after the pandemic

Transforming Library Services for and with Teens through Continuing Education

Together with the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) embarked on a year-long exploration of the continuing education (CE) needs of staff at state library agencies (SLA) and libraries to identify challenges and opportunities and recommend ways for improving the CE landscape as a strategy to transforming serving teens through libraries.  This project was funded through a National Forum grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Indigenous identity and environmental governance in Guyana, South America

In an era of increasing access to digital technologies, Indigenous communities are progressively more able to present sophisticated and differentiated narratives in order to maximise their long-term survival. In this article, we explore how Indigenous communities use participatory video and participatory photography as tools of Indigenous media to enhance, adapt and/or reinforce their collective social memory. This social memory is key for identity formation and self-representation, and the ways in which Indigenous representations are performed promote particular interests and worldviews to the local, national and global scales. Working with the Makushi and Wapishana communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana, the current social memory ‘in use’ was surfaced through the participatory video and photography process led by the Indigenous community. Through an iterative process of analysing images (photos and video clips) and text (written material, narration and spoken word), we identified key narratives of the communities’ social memory. We show how communities provide different messages to different actors through the way they use participatory video and participatory photography, revealing how self-conscious multiple identities shape differing purposes. We suggest that our ability, as non-Indigenous stakeholders, to perceive, appreciate and act upon these more complex and nuanced narratives is critical to help address environmental governance in a rapidly changing social–ecological context

Between oral history and ICT: on the creation of knowledge societies

Vor dem Hintergrund eines Globalisierungsprozesses, der insbesondere durch die Weiterentwicklung von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien geprägt ist, befasst sich der Beitrag mit der oralen Wissensvermittlung am Beispiel von sozialen Organisationen in Ghana. Dabei verfolgt die Autorin eine vermittlungs- und prozessorientierte konzeptuelle und theoretische Herangehensweise, welche die soziale Organisation sowie die Wissensordnung betrachtet und in ihren Schlussfolgerungen die Aspekte der Politik, Geschichte, Identität und Machtverhältnisse integriert. Auf diese Weise wird Wissen hinsichtlich seiner sozialen, zeitlichen und räumlichen Dimensionen analysiert. Den Untersuchungsgegenstand bilden Frauengruppen bzw. Frauenorganisationen, die auf lokaler, regionaler und auch nationaler Ebene eine 'epistemische Kultur' geformt haben, die interaktiv sozial und elektronisch mit dem World Wide Women's Web verbunden sind. Innerhalb dieser Einrichtung bzw. Schnittstelle wird Wissen generiert, ausgetauscht, verbreitet und schließlich auf einem abstrakten Level in einen neuen Entwicklungsansatz über- und umgesetzt. Dabei handelt es sich um (1) die Integration von Geschichte und (2) wissenschaftlichem Wissen, (3) die Reflektion von Alltagswissen und -praktiken sowie (4) die kritische Untersuchung und aktive Transformation der sozialen bzw. symbolischen Ordnung. Das allgemeine Ziel besteht in diesem Zusammenhang darin, einen sozialen Wandel herbeizuführen. Der Anspruch der Studie ist es nun, die unterschiedlichen koexistierenden Kommunikationsformen aufzuzeigen. Denn anstatt der oft antizipierten Annahme eines eindimensionalen Wandels von oralen zu schriftlichen Kulturen wird hier auf der Basis von Pluralität und Komplementarität der Kommunikationsmedien argumentiert, was schließlich die Existenz von 'multiplen Modernitäten' innerhalb einer Region bedeutet. So sind die gegenwärtigen Dynamiken der Verflechtungen in den untersuchten Organisationen durch eine Struktur der Überlappung von sozialen und virtuellen Räumen geprägt. Die Individuen gehören zu verschiedenen Räumen, während sie gleichzeitig Kontakt zu unterschiedlichen Wissensquellen haben. Diese beidseitige Inklusion von unterschiedlichen Wissensinhalten etabliert sodann eine Metaebene des Wissens, basierend auf Wissen: eine zweite Wissensordnung. (ICG2