Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: How do we connect to others?

15 minutes

Find Out: Mapping my e-footprint

30 minutes

Take Action: E-differences around the world

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: How do we connect with others?

Step 1

Watch the following video with your class:

A Brief History of Communication - Timbuktoons (youtu.be/0ay2Qy3wBe8)

Invite students to take notes on the different ways in which humans have communicated over time as they watch.

Ask students:

Which methods are missing?
- Have students with existing knowledge of some of these modes of communication share their knowledge with the class.
Why do students think we have so many ways of communicating today?

Step 2

Ask students to list how they can communicate now. Have them think of all the different platforms and apps they might use daily. Don’t forget things like podcasts, radio and streaming services they might subscribe to at home. If students are young and do not have their own devices yet, have students think about what platforms and services might be used in their homes.

Discuss with students the positives of these many modes of communication. Lead the discussion so that technology and communication become synonymous with each other. Ask them to list as many positives as they can. This could be anything from technology's clear positive relational aspects to innovation, entertainment, jobs, etc.

After you have discussed the positives of technology and communication, ask students if they think there are any negative aspects of technology/communication and the industries that provide us with these.

The goal is to get students to start thinking about the impacts technology and electronic devices have on us and our environment. They may not know which of these industries affect the world around them, but this unit aims to uncover some of these impacts and encourage students to think critically about them.

Find Out: Mapping my e-footprint

Step 1

Watch the following video with your class to get them thinking about the global e-waste crisis, what electronics might go through in their lifetime, and what happens to them once they are no longer useful.

What is E-Waste? - Closing the E-loop Topic Overview (vimeo.com/866569030/1d731b33a4?share=copy)

Step 2

Explain to students that the impacts of their electronic devices go beyond just their smartphones and that to understand this issue, we first need to understand its scale. Invite students to think about their e-footprint by considering their own electronic devices (e-products).

Invite students to map out their classroom to think about the e-products they have surrounding them. The following questions can prompt this:

What personal sharing devices are there available to them?
What other communication devices are there in the school?

As a class, add up the total number of devices in their classroom.

Step 3

Extend this exercise to the students' entire lives. Ask students to draw up a rough plan of their home and locate all e-devices within each room. Don’t forget outdated, broken or charging devices, whether they personally use them or not. You may like to distribute the 8 E-Product Categories factsheet, which shows what products students might have at home that could be considered e-waste when disposed of.

Ask students to total the number of devices in their homes and then compare this number to a table mate. Pose the following questions to the class:

How do your figures compare?
What percentage of the devices in your home are unused or rarely used?
How reliant are we on technology?

Use the Compass Points Visible Thinking routine to examine this issue with your students

E Excited	What excites you about what you’ve discussed so far? What are the positive impacts?
W Worrisome	What worries you about what you’ve discussed so far? What might the negative impacts be?
N Need to know	What else do you need to know or find out about this issue?
S Stance and suggestion	What is your current stance on this issue? What suggestions do you have for moving forward thinking about the fact that technology is an important aspect of our lives?

Take Action: E-differences around the world

Step 1

Ask students to stand up and assign one side of the room as strongly agree and the other as strongly disagree. Ask students the following questions and ask them to move to the side of the room that represents their answer:

All people in this school would have the same level of access to technology that you do.
All people in this community would have the same level of access to technology that you do.
All people in Australia have the same level of access to technology that you do/adequate level of technological access.
All people in the world have the same level of access to technology that you do/adequate level of technological access.

Discuss their opinions as you move through the questions to try and ascertain what students know and understand about the digital divide.

Step 2

Watch the following video with your students, which explores the impact of differing levels of technology access in Australia and the impacts this has, particularly on remote Indigenous communities:

Ronnie is the only person in his town with internet. The digital divide is to blame - ABC Australia (youtu.be/uYQ503GU0YE)

If you are interested in exploring differences in access to technology further, you may like to check out the following interviews created especially for this unit with organisations who are involved in this space:
Appcyclers
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)
Good Point Recycling
Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL)
Karo Sambhav

After watching the video, invite students to explore this image which is available on the attached visual explainer for this lesson from Good Things Foundation Australia.

Discuss with students using the following prompts:

What are the three barriers to digital inclusion?
- Affordability, Ability, Access
What about the video and image surprised them?
We discussed all of the positives that come from technology and communication. What does this mean for people who are digitally excluded?
If this is what is happening in Australia, what do they think is happening worldwide?

Step 2.

The following article from IEEE discusses the digital divide issue from a global perspective. Divide students into groups of 3 and allocate each student group one of the following topics discussed in the article. Ask them to take some notes into the table on their worksheet that they will share with the other members of their group - jigsaw style!

Causes of the digital divide
Effects of the digital divide
Obstacles to overcome

If you’re looking for an extension opportunity, task students with discovering which countries have the greatest digital divide and what might be the cause of this gap. Students might like to consider how these countries have changed over time, what the causes of the divide are and what the impacts could be.

Once students have shared their knowledge and completed the tables. Ask students:

What types of countries are more likely to have a greater digital divide?
- Note: encourage students to refer to countries as low, middle or high-income countries rather than developing or developed countries.
What can be done to close the digital divide?
- This is an incredibly complex issue with many aspects that students will not have the answers to. This question aims to get students thinking about the causes of the digital divide and what might happen to overcome these obstacles.

You might like to share the following interview with The Reconnect Project with your class, made specifically for this Closing the E-Loop unit. This Australian organisation are trying to close the digital divide by providing people experiencing disadvantage with good quality refurbished technology.

The Reconnect Project (https://vimeo.com/863846656?share=copy)

Reflection

Invite students to answer the following questions after today’s lesson in their Student Worksheet

How has your understanding of how humans communicate changed after today’s lesson?
Why do you think people your grandparents' age might struggle with the rate of change regarding e-communication?
Were you aware of your e-footprint before this lesson? (Explain your answer)
Do you think it is fair that the digital divide exists?

How Does Technology Influence Interconnections?

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UN Sustainable Development Goals

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