How schools can screen edtech for racial bias risk
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Research has proven that some technological innovation — like facial recognition application — can be biased, and some educators and specialists now are urging that increased treatment be taken when planning instruction technological innovation to make certain that racial gaps do not grow. Jeremy Roschelle, government director of the mastering sciences investigate crew with the nonprofit Electronic Guarantee, implies that educators check with tech companies for documentation that they have resolved potential bias and have a program to deal with it.
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Supply hyperlink In light of the civil rights protests that have transpired in the United States in 2020, many schools are beginning to consider how to best ensure that their educational technology does not contain racial bias or put minority students at a disadvantage. As such, it is important for educators to take steps to evaluate technology for potential bias and develop practices to mitigate risk.
To begin, school administrators should look for tech solutions that do not systematically disadvantage students, such as technology that uses facial recognition or speech recognition that is equipped to recognize different dialects, skin tones, accents, hair textures, and facial features. For example, technology providers should ensure that their programs have a wide range of skin tones for their facial recognition algorithms and that their speech recognition algorithms are trained to recognize different dialects and accents. Technology solutions should also be tested in both homogenous and diverse environments before they are implemented in order to ensure that they are not creating any disparities.
Next, administrators should carefully review the data that is collected by edtech tools and consider how it is used. Data collected by educational technology should not be used to make decisions about a student’s future, such as decisions about course selection or college admissions. Schools should also look out for technology solutions that are designed to track student performance and generate rankings or prizes that can increase racial disparities among students.
Finally, school administrators should take steps to ensure that technology is not being used as a replacement for teachers or to replace human contact among students. Technology should be used to supplement human contact, not replace it. This is especially important for minority students who may require more human contact to ensure their academic success.
By following these steps, school administrators can systemically evaluate technology for potential bias and develop strategies to mitigate risk. By doing so, schools can ensure that their edtech solutions are equipping minority students with the same technology and educational opportunities as their peers.
