Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: How School Districts Choose Edtech That’s Culturally Relevant
超越一刀切：学区如何选择与文化相关的教育技术
As classrooms across America become increasingly diverse, with growing populations of multilingual learners and students from various cultural backgrounds, school districts face a critical challenge: selecting educational technology that truly serves all students.
随着美国各地的教室变得越来越多样化，越来越多的多语言学习者和来自不同文化背景的学生，学区面临着一个严峻的挑战：选择真正为所有学生服务的教育技术。
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 5.3 million English learners in K-12 public schools in the fall of 2021, up from 4.6 million in the fall of 2011. Texas had the highest amount, at 20.2 percent.
根据国家教育统计中心的最新数据，2021年秋季，K-12公立学校有530万英语学习者，高于2011年秋季的460万。德克萨斯州的比例最高，为20.2%。
The traditional approach of choosing tools based on ease of use, efficiency or cost is proving inadequate for today’s multicultural learning environments.
基于易用性、效率或成本来选择工具的传统方法被证明不适合当今的多元文化学习环境。
“Technology is not neutral,” says Joshua Jonas, a curriculum and instruction researcher at Baylor University and former high school teacher. “It either amplifies equity or widens gaps, depending on how it’s selected and integrated.”
“技术不是中立的，”贝勒大学课程和教学研究员、前高中教师约书亚·乔纳斯(Joshua Jonas)说。“它要么放大公平，要么扩大差距，这取决于它的选择和整合方式。”
This fundamental shift in thinking is driving districts to move beyond asking “Will it work?” to asking “Will it work for whom?”
这种思维的根本性转变正在推动学区超越“这行得通吗？”问“这对谁有用？”
The stakes are high. As UCLA professor Tyrone Howard notes, districts must be mindful of neurodivergence and cultural differences in learners, recognizing that tools often cater to dominant culture norms while excluding multilingual learners and students from non-Western pedagogical traditions. The result: We end up leaving the same kids behind, only faster.
赌注很高。正如加州大学洛杉矶分校教授泰隆·霍华德（Tyrone Howard）指出的那样，学区必须注意学习者的神经差异和文化差异，认识到工具往往迎合主流文化规范，同时将多语言学习者和非西方教学传统的学生排除在外。结果是：我们最终把同样的孩子抛在身后，只是速度更快。
Set Up a Framework
建立一个框架
Forward-thinking districts are adopting systematic approaches to culturally responsive edtech selection. The Center on Inclusive Technology and Education Systems (CITES) encourages technology leaders to define an inclusive technology vision, gather community feedback and define shared roles before diving into tool selection.
具有前瞻性思维的学区正在采用系统的方法来选择符合文化的教育技术。包容性技术和教育系统中心（CITES）鼓励技术领导者在投入工具选择之前定义包容性技术愿景，收集社区反馈并定义共享角色。
Mia Laudato, CITES’ co-project director, recommends starting with one of CITES’ six self-assessment tools.
CITES联合项目主任Mia Laudato建议从CITES六种自我评估工具中的一种开始。
“If you really want to change your ecosystem, you need to look at your overall ecosystem,” she says. “Start with the leadership assessment and ask other district leaders to take it too.”
“如果你真的想改变你的生态系统，你需要审视你的整个生态系统，”她说。“从领导力考核开始，让其他区领导也参加。”
After you’ve completed the assessments, discuss your strengths and challenges, prioritize key areas and determine goals.
完成评估后，讨论您的优势和挑战，优先考虑关键领域并确定目标。
“Implementation often fails when we go straight to student outcomes because we have to change adult behaviors first,” says Laudato. “Districts must get buy-in from a multidisciplinary team, including a family representative, on a shared, inclusive technology vision, and develop a strategic implementation plan before selecting tools.”
劳达托说：“当我们直接关注学生的成绩时，实施往往会失败，因为我们必须首先改变成人的行为。”“学区必须获得包括家庭代表在内的多学科团队对共享、包容性技术愿景的认可，并在选择工具之前制定战略实施计划。”
Evaluate Vendors
评估供应商
With 17 percent of its 12,700 students classified as English language learners as well as a significant refugee population, Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma used the CITES framework to develop a robust vendor-evaluation process.
俄克拉荷马州的詹克斯公立学校在12,700名学生中有17%被归类为英语学习者，还有大量的难民人口，他们使用CITES框架开发了一个强大的供应商评估流程。
“We ask vendors to take our survey for curriculum tools that specifically looks at accessibility,” says Samantha Reid, educational technology coordinator. “It has to be AA rated or we don’t buy it.”
“我们要求供应商参加我们的课程工具调查，专门关注可访问性，”教育技术协调员萨曼莎·里德(Samantha Reid)说。“必须是AA级，否则我们就不买了。”
Last year, Jenks did a pilot with Talking Points, a family engagement and communication platform that offers automatic translation in the language a family chooses.
去年，詹克斯对Talking Points进行了试点，这是一个家庭参与和沟通平台，可以用家庭选择的语言提供自动翻译。
“We liked that the platform has human translators, particularly for our large population of Zomi students from Burma. Zomi is so small that it doesn’t exist in [typical formatted] translation,” says Reid.
“我们喜欢这个平台有人工翻译，特别是对于我们大量来自缅甸的Zomi学生来说。Zomi太小了，它不存在于（典型的格式化）翻译中，”里德说。
Reid says that thinking about technology to serve all students has transformed the way she collaborates with her district’s assistive technology team. “We meet weekly to do things together. Our tight bond helps every student.”
里德说，思考技术为所有学生服务已经改变了她与学区辅助技术团队的合作方式。“我们每周见面一起做事。我们紧密的联系帮助了每个学生。”
The 3Cs of Inclusive Edtech
全纳教育科技的3C
Debbie Tannenbaum, a school-based tech specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, supports an elementary school in which 40 percent of the students’ initial language is not English. She looks for technology that can help students become creators versus consumers and for tools that incorporate a framework she developed called the “3Cs”:
黛比·坦南鲍姆(Debbie Tannenbaum)是弗吉尼亚州费尔法克斯县公立学校的学校技术专家，她支持一所小学，其中40%的学生的母语不是英语。她寻找可以帮助学生成为创造者而不是消费者的技术，以及包含她开发的名为“3C”的框架的工具：
Choice: Tools should provide multiple ways for students to access and share learning, such as through audio, drawing, dictation or video. When one of Tannenbaum’s first-grade multilingual learners discovered he could create videos using Wixie instead of doing traditional math worksheets, his entire attitude toward learning transformed. “He’s just finished third grade and is different because he has access to tools like that,” says Tannenbaum.
选择：工具应该为学生提供多种方式来访问和分享学习，例如通过音频、绘图、听写或视频。当Tannenbaum的一年级多语言学习者发现他可以使用Wixie制作视频而不是做传统的数学工作表时，他对学习的整个态度发生了转变。“他刚刚读完三年级，与众不同，因为他可以使用这样的工具，”坦南鲍姆说。
Collaborative: Digital tools must provide opportunities for students to work together in virtual spaces, respecting different comfort levels and communication styles while building essential 21st-century skills. “Ultimately, students need to know how to interact in digital and analog spaces. We don’t want students always working on their own because in the workforce people work together.”
协作：数字工具必须为学生提供在虚拟空间中一起工作的机会，尊重不同的舒适度和沟通方式，同时培养21世纪的基本技能。“最终，学生需要知道如何在数字和模拟空间中互动。我们不希望学生总是独自工作，因为在劳动力中，人们一起工作。”
Clickable (User-Friendly): Icons and interfaces should be intuitive, with visual and textual cues side by side to support multilingual learners who may recognize pictures before words. Tannenbaum teaches icons first.
可点击（用户友好）：图标和界面应该是直观的，视觉和文本提示并排，以支持可能先识别图片再识别单词的多语言学习者。坦南鲍姆先教图标。
Equity-Centered Teams
以股权为中心的团队
Districts intent on choosing inclusive technology should form diverse evaluation teams that include teachers, directors of multilingual learner services, special education specialists, parents, community members, and even student representatives.
有意选择包容性技术的学区应组建多元化的评估团队，包括教师、多语言学习者服务主管、特殊教育专家、家长、社区成员，甚至学生代表。
Kelly Forbes, a former newcomer teacher and Title III director who is now a district consultant, says that one of the keys is understanding the people you’re serving.
凯利·福布斯（Kelly Forbes）曾是一名新教师，也是Title III主任，现在是一名地区顾问，她说关键之一是了解你所服务的人。
“Invite parents of your multilingual students to the table,” he says. “Let them be leaders in the committee. Have someone who doesn’t speak English be on the committee and hire an interpreter.”
“邀请你的多语言学生的家长参加会议，”他说。“让他们成为委员会的领导者。让一个不会说英语的人加入委员会，并聘请一名翻译。”
Because most educators don’t live in the zip codes they serve, community input is essential for understanding local needs and cultural contexts.
因为大多数教育工作者不住在他们服务的邮政编码区，所以社区意见对于了解当地需求和文化背景至关重要。
Six Steps to Success
成功的六个步骤
The shift toward culturally responsive edtech selection requires more than policy changes; it demands a reimagining of how districts approach technology decisions. But this hard work enhances everyone. As Forbes says, “When we do this, we all rise.”
向符合文化的教育技术选择的转变需要的不仅仅是政策的改变；这需要重新构想学区如何进行技术决策。但是这种努力让每个人都变得更好。正如福布斯所说，“当我们这样做时，我们都会崛起。”
The technology becomes a bridge rather than a barrier, supporting students in expressing their knowledge while maintaining connections to their cultural and linguistic heritage.
技术成为桥梁而不是障碍，支持学生表达他们的知识，同时保持与他们的文化和语言遗产的联系。
Jonas and his colleagues at Baylor developed a six-step technology evaluation for equity framework.
乔纳斯和他在贝勒大学的同事开发了一个六步技术评估股权框架。
Know your students beyond the numbers: Understand languages, cultures, learning preferences and existing barriers.
超越数字了解你的学生：了解语言、文化、学习偏好和现有障碍。
Build a culturally responsive evaluation team: Include diverse voices in decision-making.
建立一个文化响应的评估团队：在决策中纳入不同的声音。
Compare with similar districts: Learn from districts with comparable demographics.
与类似地区比较：向人口统计数据相当的地区学习。
Pilot with equity in mind: Collect feedback specifically from multilingual learners and families.
考虑公平的试点：专门收集多语言学习者和家庭的反馈。
Embed equity in procurement: Make cultural responsiveness a formal requirement.
在采购中嵌入公平：使文化响应成为正式要求。
Create feedback loops: Monitor effectiveness in the first 60 days of implementation.
创建反馈循环：监控实施前60天的有效性。
