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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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English learners in the digital age:English learners in the digital age:
natives, immigrants, or outsiders?natives, immigrants, or outsiders?
Ruslana Westerlund, Ed.D. (Cand.)
Collaboration Convention and unConference,
November 11-12, 2010
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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Questions to be addressed:Questions to be addressed:
If our students are tomorrow’s world citizens,
are we serving as agents of change to close not
only the achievement gap, but also the digital gap
that exists among our students?
Do we view technology literacy as literacy
worthy of our pursuit?
Do we have a sense of urgency to prepare our
students to be engaged digital citizens or do we
still believe that media competes with literacy?
What are the costs of the digital exclusion to our
schools, communities, and the world?
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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Social Inclusion & DemocracySocial Inclusion & Democracy
““To communicate in the post-modernTo communicate in the post-modern
society is the power to interact withsociety is the power to interact with
networks of information. It is not sufficientnetworks of information. It is not sufficient
to have a free mind, if our words cannotto have a free mind, if our words cannot
circulate like the words of others.”circulate like the words of others.”
Sergio Amadeu de SilvaSergio Amadeu de Silva
The National Institute of Information Technology,The National Institute of Information Technology,
San Paulo BrazilSan Paulo Brazil
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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Digital Divide in the U.S.Digital Divide in the U.S.
The digital divide occurs along racial and
ethnic lines, where income, language, social
networks, and education influencin
technology access and literacy (2005 data):
77% of white children have Internet access
at home, compared to 40% of black and
Latino children. 86% of white children have a
home computer, while only half of black and
Latino children do.
American Indians have lower rates of
computer ownership and Internet access
than whites.
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Offline in AmericaOffline in America
source: U.S. Department of Commerce, A Nation Online, 2004source: U.S. Department of Commerce, A Nation Online, 2004
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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““Don’t need it, not interested in it.”Don’t need it, not interested in it.”
18% of those not online answered:
◦ “I’m not interested in anything on the Internet.”
This exceeds the 12% who said they either weren’t
sure who to use the Internet or couldn’t afford a
computer.1
A Children’s Partnership report on online content
reveals “not interested” means “content/information
is not designed for me, or my family or my
community”.2
1.Pew Internet and American Life Study, 2005
2. Wendy Lazarus and Francisco Mora “Online Content for Low-Income and
Underserved Americans: The Digital Divide's New Frontier”
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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CONTENT, NOT ACCESS BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONSCONTENT, NOT ACCESS BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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e lingua franca?e lingua franca?
 70% of website pages70% of website pages
are in Englishare in English
70% of the worlds70% of the worlds
population doesn’t speakpopulation doesn’t speak
English as their primaryEnglish as their primary
languagelanguage
 2000 U.S. census:2000 U.S. census:
18% of residents report18% of residents report
English is not theEnglish is not the
primary language spokenprimary language spoken
at homeat home
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Deeper Causes for
THE Digital Divide
a generational issue
a cultural issue
an educational issue:
do you have the
basic training to use
it?I’m hungry. If we had a computer, we would
have been able to order it on the computer
Julian: Mom, can you make some blueberry muffins?
Mom: Julian, I don’t have a recipe to make blueberry muffins.
Julian (age 5): You can google it.
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Left brain, right brain, new brainLeft brain, right brain, new brain
The Internet is nothing
less than the equivalent of
a the development of
phonetic alphabet in
ancient Greece.
Students are acquiring
new desirable skills:
◦ Networking
◦ Associative Logic
◦ Graphic Literacy
◦ Information Space
◦ Multi-tasking 13
Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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Power of ICTPower of ICT
User-driven media is exploding around
the globe – this is not a western fad
Blogs are being created in places like
China and Singapore, where traditional
media is restricted
Human rights and indigenous democracy
movements benefit from instant,
international attention
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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Power of ICTPower of ICT
People without a voice in the mainstream
media or with limited political
representation can use the Internet to
become active participants in civil
discourse and engage others in campaigns
for positive change.
Let’s look at some examples
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Burma VJ: Reporting from a closedBurma VJ: Reporting from a closed
countrycountry
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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“Students see themselves as change-
makers!”
Multimedia enhances project-based
learning (Edutopia Expeditionary
Learning)
Students as Critical Consumers of Media

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reThink Literacy…reThink Literacy…
ICT provides new opportunities for
knowledge creation, should we expand
our (centuries-old) definition and our
assumptions of literacy?
What is your definition of literacy?
Discuss with the people at your table.
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Technology Literacy is:Technology Literacy is:
The ability to responsibly, creatively, and
effectively use appropriate technology to:
◦ Communicate
◦ Access, collect, manage, integrate, and
evaluate information
◦ Solve problems and create solutions
◦ Build and share knowledge; and
◦ Improve and enhance learning in all subject
areas and experiences.
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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ISTE’s National EducationalISTE’s National Educational
Technology Standards for StudentsTechnology Standards for Students
Creativity and Innovation: students
should be able to use technology and
their existing knowledge to generate new
ideas, products, processes.
Communication and Collaboration:
students should be able to work
collaboratively, both in person and at a
distance, and to communicate ideas
effectively to multiple audiences using
new media.
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010

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ISTE’s National EducationalISTE’s National Educational
Technology Standards for StudentsTechnology Standards for Students
Research and information fluency:
students should be able to use a variety
of digital media to locate, organize,
analyze, and evaluate information from a
variety of sources.
Critical thinking, problem solving, and
decision making: students should be able
to define problems, plan and conduct
research, and identify solutions using
digital tools and resources.

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ISTE’s National EducationalISTE’s National Educational
Technology Standards for StudentsTechnology Standards for Students
Digital citizenship: students should take
responsibility for their own lifelong
learning and should practice safe, legal,
and ethical use of information and digital
tools.
Technology operations and concepts:
Students should understand technology
systems, select and use technology
applications effectively, and be able to
troubleshoot systems and applications.

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Are your
English
learners
working
toward
meeting these
standards or
are they falling
through the
net?
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Convention 2010 24

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Learning: Engage and EmpowerLearning: Engage and Empower
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National Education Technology Plan 2010 released November
2010. US Department of Education. Office of Educational
Technology

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Assessment: Measure What MattersAssessment: Measure What Matters
Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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National Education Technology Plan 2010 released November
2010. US Department of Education. Office of Educational
Technology

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Teaching: Prepare and ConnectTeaching: Prepare and Connect
Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
Convention 2010 27
National Education Technology Plan 2010 released November
2010. US Department of Education. Office of Educational
Technology

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reThink assumptions…
Rethink basic assumptions about
◦ “seat-time” measures of educational
attainment created in 1800’s.
◦ Age-determined groups,
◦ Structure separate academic disciplines,
◦ Organize learning into classes of roughly
equal size with all the students in a particular
class receiving the same content at the same
pace, and keep these groups place all year

28.
ModelofLearningPoweredbyModelofLearningPoweredby
TechnologyTechnology
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Convention 2010 29
National Education Technology Plan 2010 released November
2010. US Department of Education. Office of Educational

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School of One

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Working toward Social InclusionWorking toward Social Inclusion
Technology should combat social
exclusion, not reinforce it
“Access” is not about computers and the
Internet – it’s about social inclusion and
equity
Participation in the global, knowledge-
based economy requires the ability to
access and manage information
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Ruslana Westerlund Collaboration
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Closing questions:Closing questions:
Define your current reality: Are your
English Learners digital natives,
immigrants, or outsiders?
Vision for the future: Where do you
want your students to be?
Getting it done: What are the next steps
you can take?
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Convention 2010 32

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References:References:
Cummins, J., Brown, K., Sawyers, D. (2007)
Literacy, technology, and diversity. Teaching for
success in changing times. Boston, MA: Allyn
Bacon.
Transforming American Education: Learning
Powered by Technology. National Education
Technology Plan 2010 released November 2010.
US Department of Education. Office of
Educational Technology
http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf
Lazarus, W.,& Mora, F. (2005) “Online Content
for Low-Income and Underserved Americans:
The Digital Divide's New Frontier”
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