Technology for Critical Thinking

3 units

This course is designed to provide students with frameworks to examine how technologies shape teaching and learning, and equip them with practical strategies for using digital tools to foster deeper analysis, problem-solving, and informed decision-making. Students explore the underlying principles and philosophies of using educational technology to address digital inequities and cultivate essential digital citizenship skills for K-12 learners. The course examines the complexities of integrating technology into education, including AI’s potential to enhance teaching efficiency alongside critical concerns about algorithmic bias, data privacy, and surveillance, to recognize that these technologies have uneven consequences for different student populations. Students will develop skills in interpreting educational data critically, evaluating media and information sources, and promoting digital well-being and responsible digital footprints for K-12 students. Through hands-on exploration of digital tools, readings, case studies, and collaborative inquiry, participants will build capacity to create classroom cultures where technology serves as a catalyst for critical thinking rather than passive consumption. The summative goal of this course is to build students’ capacity to think more clearly and analytically about technology and its integration in their teaching and students’ learning.