Techquity Post-Covid Requires A Social Emotional Learning Lens Part 1

by Sarah Said

Pre-Covid vs. Post-Covid Considerations

Lately in my work as an educator , I often use the terms “pre-covid” and “post-covid” as if I’m teaching a lesson on modern history in education. Yet this is our reality. During the pandemic, many were hopeful that we would have all this great change after we came back into schools post-pandemic. Yes, as a profession, educators have become stronger with our abilities to use technology and our schools have acquired more technology tools. In an article I wrote for this blog years before the pandemic, called Use Your Teacher Voice!: Advocating for Techquity in Your Classroom and School Finding Ways to Provide a Technology Infused Environment for All Students, I wrote about my concerns for lack of resources and innovation in schools that supported students from low income communities, students of color, and English Learners. I still have these concerns, but they just look and sound different than they did five years ago. Techquity is a term that was used pre-covid in the ed-tech world by speakers like Ken Shelton to bridge the technology education gap- the gap is different than it was in 2018. 

Yes, the pandemic forced many schools to move to 1:1 structures for technology, acquire and maintain learning management systems and applications to innovate instruction, and support teachers with the implementation and training of personalized learning programs. This seems wonderful… but we were forced to rethink our structures so quickly we lost sight of a lot. We are educating a new type of student, a student who may be more tech-savvy than we are, but who also has more needs we have to learn about than students ten years ago had.

Although there may be more access to technology in marginalized communities now in this “post covid” landscape, there can be a difference in how that technology is being regulated. I ask us to consider questions like: Are appropriate programs like “Digital Citizenship” and “Commonsense Media” accessible in high needs communities? How are we promoting cell phone and device management? See my article from Edutopia here that explores these questions further in depth. Considering that during the pandemic many of our students not only used their devices for learning, but they also became a self-soothing tool especially with caregivers working during school hours with students being home alone with devices. Are we ensuring that students in all communities are learning in structures in person and on devices that promote engagement again? What support can we give students when it comes to presence and when and where to use a device?

For the “post covid”  students who are now entering our classrooms, there are things that we need to be more conscious of before they get there. We need to be conscious that our students need to learn coping skills in life that are not always involving devices which will require us to infuse more social emotional learning in our classroom structure and content. Also, we should think about how we manage technology in our classroom in order for students to gain new experiences that give them a break from technology. Furthermore, it is important to think about technology as more than just a substitution but a tool to create and reimagine learning. 

This is Part 1 in a 3-Part Series. Read Part 2 here.