ERIC Number: EJ831972
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1521-0960
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Diversity.Com: Teaching an Online Course on White Racism and Multiculturalism
Akintunde, Omowale
Multicultural Perspectives, v8 n2 p35-45 Jul 2006
We have entered a new millennium. As educators we are charged with using the phenomenal technology available to us to its greatest advantage. Modern technology cannot and must not be seen as an end but as a means to an end. Departments are being charged with offering more and more courses online as the demand for this type of education becomes an increasing demand for the 21st century population that we serve. Students may now earn partial or total degrees online. The question is no longer is virtual education a viable venue by which to offer an education, the question is now how best to offer that education. We must not view the technology that affords us access instantaneously to persons, information, and information systems as an enemy of the educational process but rather as a facilitator to educating a populace. Technology is not a deterrent to the educational process, it enhances it. Just as television, radio, video, cable, and the telephone revolutionized and changed how we offered and taught courses, so will the computer and the Internet. Online education and the virtual classroom have the potential to educate people and connect us in ways unimaginable just a decade ago. But just as this medium can be a conduit for change, it can also, without forethought, careful criticism, and analysis, be a conduit for antisocial elements we do no want proliferated. Critics of the Internet have argued that the Internet only connects the privileged and that its very presence is indicative of the globalization of capitalism, White privilege, and all of their attendant syndromes (Heaney, 2002). However, as we grapple with the notion that technology is just as much a product of social inequality as a conduit through which we can address such an issue, it becomes incumbent on us to ensure that as the debate rages we are using the technology to its best advantage. Similar accusations have been levied that schools and Western education in general are inherently White racist and mere conduits for the promotion of White supremacist ideology (Banks, 1995; Scheurich & Young, 1998). This article explores all of the aforementioned phenomena and also provides in-depth analysis, pedagogical strategies, actual online course examples, instructions on online multicultural education course development, curricular approaches, sample course content, and rationale for inclusion of online multicultural education courses. In addition, this article provides a comprehensive example of the possibilities of teaching multicultural education classes online. It provides a blueprint for an online multicultural education course with actual examples and extractions from the online course shell. This article is designed to provide ideas for teacher education programs seeking practical examples of how to successfully construct an effective online multicultural education course.
Descriptors: Education Courses, Multicultural Education, Teacher Education Programs, Online Courses, Global Approach, Information Systems, Cultural Pluralism, Virtual Classrooms, Internet, Electronic Mail, Whites, Distance Education, Technological Advancement, Technology Uses in Education, Epistemology, Racial Relations
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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