Developing Critical Social Justice Literacy in an Online Seminar

Dialogue, inquiry, and encounter: Critical geographies of online higher education

“…Online environments can provide fertile conditions in which to help educators to read the world and act upon it in ways that create equity of opportunity and outcome for persistently marginalized students. (Bondy et al, 2015: 245)Geographers have contributed widely to critical pedagogy scholarship. Although critical pedagogical practices in higher education first developed in face-to-face classrooms and in alternative educational movements beyond the academy, the implementation of critical pedagogy in online classrooms is increasingly the focus of a growing body of research and practice (Lukinbeal and Allen, 2007; Stern, 2011; Mundkur and Ellickson, 2012; Smith and Jeffrey, 2013; Caruthers and Friend, 2014; Davis Conover and Miller, 2014; Bondy et al, 2015; O’Shea et al, 2015).…”

“…(Bondy et al, 2015: 245)Geographers have contributed widely to critical pedagogy scholarship. Although critical pedagogical practices in higher education first developed in face-to-face classrooms and in alternative educational movements beyond the academy, the implementation of critical pedagogy in online classrooms is increasingly the focus of a growing body of research and practice (Lukinbeal and Allen, 2007; Stern, 2011; Mundkur and Ellickson, 2012; Smith and Jeffrey, 2013; Caruthers and Friend, 2014; Davis Conover and Miller, 2014; Bondy et al, 2015; O’Shea et al, 2015). For over two decades, central facets in the debate over online education and the production and dissemination of knowledge have focused on the contested roles of computer-mediated communication, online learning networks, and the place of technology in education (Walther, 1996; Benbunan-Fich and Hiltz, 1999; Hiltz, 1994; Hiltz and Wellman, 1997; Johnson et al, 2000; Heckman and Annabi, 2005; Brooks, 2010; Borup et al, 2012).…”

“…For over two decades, central facets in the debate over online education and the production and dissemination of knowledge have focused on the contested roles of computer-mediated communication, online learning networks, and the place of technology in education (Walther, 1996; Benbunan-Fich and Hiltz, 1999; Hiltz, 1994; Hiltz and Wellman, 1997; Johnson et al, 2000; Heckman and Annabi, 2005; Brooks, 2010; Borup et al, 2012). Although this debate continues, scholars have demonstrated that online education and transformative education rooted in critical pedagogy are not antagonistic (Brooks, 2010, 2015b; Bondy et al, 2015). As a teaching and learning modality, in the way it can distinctly provide new means of access, support new networks, and potentially allow for new voices, online education has the capacity to align well with radical education approaches, particularly those influenced by Paulo Freire, Antonio Gramsci, and bell hooks (cf.…”

“…Online environments can provide fertile conditions in which to help educators to read the world and act upon it in ways that create equity of opportunity and outcome for persistently marginalized students. (Bondy et al, 2015: 245)…”

“…As Talanquer and Pollard (2010: 81) demonstrate in their own chemistry curriculum, ‘innovative [online] tools create opportunities for students to create their own molecular representations, animations, and simulations, explore the dynamic behavior of chemical systems, and collect and analyze data in real time’. Active teaching and learning approaches force change in pedagogical practice and instructional design which, in turn, place both more responsibility and potentially more power for learning in the hands of the student, creating a new set of learning challenges (Bondy et al, 2015).…”