Bits, Bytes & Better Judgment: A Digital Humanities Lens on Teacher Education and Ethical K-12 Computing

• In Event: Can Education Stop Killer Robots? Exploring Values, Ethics, and Impacts in K12 Computer Science Instruction

Abstract

Digital tools are hastily becoming the chalk and slate of K‑12 schooling, yet technological literacies within teacher preparation programs largely remain a low‑bandwidth affair, with coursework only covering basic uses of tools like Learning Management Systems (siloed digital teaching environments) and Smartboards (which are now often used as expensive projector screens) to support teaching. This leaves future educators underprepared for the technological realities they will face and their students without the opportunity to develop their critical computational literacies (Lee & Soep, 2016) in an increasingly digital world where harmful tools with biased algorithms are becoming mainstream.

In response, the [removed for review] initiative has been advancing the preparation of future P-12 teachers to engage about, with, through, and against technology (Vogel et al., 2024) using meaningful, culturally responsive methods to support both pedagogical and institutional change. Guided by this framing, this presentation introduces an in-progress dissertation study that investigates how introducing Digital Humanities (DH), a field that offers a unique lens on technology’s role in our world, into teacher education courses (beyond STEM disciplines) can prepare pre-service teachers to “level up” their digital pedagogy and confront issues like algorithmic bias, digital/AI ethics, and other computational literacy mandates in K‑12 schools.

This work is also driven by another home-grown [reviewed for review] framework, [removed for review], which leverages 6 design principles to guide designing equitable computing integrations into education curriculum: co-constructing knowledge in communities; supporting learner agency with tools; centering creativity; vetting/critiquing tools and tech cultures; computing for social action; and adopting expansive notions of learning. These principles will later serve as guidance for coding for teacher candidates’ values/priorities as they design their own digital integrations.

During summer, faculty received professional development where they worked to apply DH concepts to activities they had already designed as part of [removed for review]. Collaborators are continuing to meet with the PI to integrate DH into their education course for the study. Data sources will include (a) pre-service‑teacher pre/post teaching philosophies on the role of technology/ethics within their pedagogy; (b) pre-service teachers' digital teaching artifact designs; (c) field notes from classroom observations while the instructor is facilitating DH activities and students collaborate to design their own interdisciplinary activities.

Although pre-service‑teacher data won’t be collected until Fall 2025, these methods have been successfully piloted with experienced education faculty who then volunteered to support the study, sharing positive reflections like “DH is a perfect starting place for ‘an intersectional endeavor’ of remixing theories/practices in culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical race theory, digital literacies, constructionism, and more” [removed for review]).

In short, Digital Humanities does not merely complement computing education– it supplies a ready-made framework where cultural critique, technical skill, and playful experimentation coexist. Teacher candidates’ voices will be the ones going out into schools and speaking on topics related to digital advancement, and predisposing them to these dialogues from an equity perspective will better prepare our future teachers to be critically conscious advocates.

Author

• Anthony Wheeler, Graduate Center - CUNY