While the pandemic highlighted the critical role technology plays in children's lives, not all Australian children have reliable access to technology. This situation exacerbates educational disadvantage for children who are already amongst our nation's most vulnerable. In this research project, we carried out a pilot project with three schools in Western Australia, conducting a series of workshops and interviews with students, parents, school staff members, and teachers. Drawing on rich empirical material, we identify key barriers and enablers for digitally inclusive online learning at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, and infrastructural levels. Of particular importance is that technology is only part of this story - an array of social, environmental, and skills "infrastructure" is needed to facilitate inclusive online learning. Building on this finding, we ran a Digital Inclusion Studio to address this holistic set of issues with strongly positive feedback from participants. We conclude with a set of recommendations for stakeholders (parents, schools, government agencies) who wish to support more digitally inclusive learning.
翻译:尽管疫情凸显了技术在儿童生活中的关键作用,但并非所有澳大利亚儿童都能可靠地获得技术资源。这一现状加剧了本就处于国家最弱势群体中的儿童的教育不平等问题。在本研究项目中,我们与西澳大利亚州三所学校合作开展了试点项目,通过系列工作坊和访谈收集了学生、家长、学校教职工及教师的数据。基于丰富的实证材料,我们识别出个人、人际、组织及基础设施层面影响数字包容性在线学习的关键障碍与促进因素。尤为重要的是,技术仅是该议题的组成部分——要促进包容性在线学习,还需配套社会、环境及技能等多维“基础设施”。基于此发现,我们举办了数字包容性工作室,系统应对这些综合性问题,参与者反馈极为积极。最后,我们向希望支持更具数字包容性学习的利益相关方(家长、学校、政府机构)提出系列建议。