Diversifying Computational Tools: How Technology Affords and Constrains Indigenous Youths’ Design Agency
Document Type
Conference Paper
Journal/Book Title/Conference
International Conference of the Learning Sciences
Volume
3
Publisher
International Society of the Learning Sciences
Location
Nashville, TN
Publication Date
6-1-2020
First Page
1261
Last Page
1268
Abstract
To address the need to make accessible and culturally responsive computational tools, we take a critical perspective toward a specific programming environment to illustrate the ways in which technology affords and constrains Indigenous youths’ design agency. Most efforts to design culturally responsive computational tools redesign surface features, yet the deeper structural design remains largely intact. We share our work from an ongoing design-based research study and present two cases to illustrate how RPG Maker shapes the narratives Indigenous youth are able to share. Findings offer insights to how technology shapes youths’ forms of expression and how youth navigate representing culture in digital spaces. We discuss insights for how to integrate cultural practices in future designs of culturally responsive computational tools.
Recommended Citation
Litts, B.K., Searle, K.A., *Hamilton, M., **Yazzie, K., & **Mannie, C. (2020, accepted). Diversifying Computational Tools: How Technology Affords and Constrains Indigenous Youths’ Design Agency. In M. Gresalfi, M. & I. S. Horn (Eds.). The Interdisciplinarity of the Learning Sciences, 14thInternational Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2020, Volume 3, Nashville, TN: International Society of the Learning Sciences, pp. 1261-1267.
