Tech adaptations for ELL/immigrant students

1. RQ #1: What challenges or obstacles do EL/immigrant students face in accessing educational resources online/ via technology? RQ #2: How can we make education and educational technologies more accessible to public students?

2. Viability: ROI and "system-strategy" (Frank and Hovey, 2014)create “authentic social interactions” with the use of technology in and out of the classroom by considering how the functions of the technology align with the educator’s intended purpose (Altavilla, 2020, p.21) -

2.1. Some applications and software do well to bridge language barriers (Strietelmeier, 2021) and some have taken into consideration the limits of internet access like Kolibri : A Free, Open Source Education for All | Learning Equality

3. Intro w/ empathy/narrative: Miriam and her networks in school and work.. Adjustments are key for Afghan immigrant in Niskayuna | The Daily Gazette

4. PROBLEM - Desirability - "We want to "democratize education and training so that all people have the skills needed to find and grow in quality jobs that provide economic mobility" (UN, Workforce Development Brief, p.9) UNHCR is calling on states to guarantee the right of all children, including refugees, to access secondary education, and to ensure they are part of national educational systems and planning” (UNHCR, 2021)

4.1. "digital-use divide" (Altavilla, 2020. p.19) "new normal" (Mitchell, 2020)

5. Feasibility: TO be proactive and plan ahead "start with a needs assessment and talk with families about their child's access to a device (and Wifi) for schoolwork" (Colorin Colorado, Breiseth, 2020)

6. CLAIM: Technology is not the answer for EL accessibility to education.. so educators must understand how educational technology functions in tandem with instructional purpose. This means taking a proactive approach to immigrant families' accessibility to educational resources.