Towards making digital issues a part of youth learning initiatives
Tech x Youth
How can young people come together to think and share what it means to grow, learn, explore, and live life online? How can schools, communities and neighbourhoods create space where the young can openly talk about digital experiences?
These questions animate the makers of the toolkit series.Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we see a sharp rise in the dependence of digital technologies for education for students and teachers- often becoming a primary mode of learning. This has increased exposure to devices, as well as made devices essential to access education. Technology usage has become more pervasive across all age groups, with little control (parental or otherwise) and the normalisation of personal devices for students regardless of age. This also makes children early consumers of technology as an essential service, and makes youth the largest group online.
Given this context, we believe in creating research, multimedia resources, and workshop-based pedagogies which can help digital education become more holistic, as well as accessible.
The Project Journey
2020-2021
July 2022
October 2022- April 2023
Development of the first Toolkit which focussed on Persuasive Design and how our digital behaviours are a result of purposive design, leading to addiction, manipulation, bio-memory and negative emotions which seem our own doing. This toolkit aimed at helping youth between ages 13-17 understand tech design, and take back control.
At RightsCon 2022, the Unboxing Tech Toolkit: 1 was opened up to a larger audience as a community lab session where we explored how educators, civil society leaders, policymakers and youth experienced the toolkit, and helped the project reach out to the right audience.
What's your smartphone made up of? In end of 2022, we began working on the second toolkit which traces the complex material, global journey of what makes up our phones, literally. This toolkit seeks to intertwine technology with sustainability consciousness among youth. We are developing a toolkit, along with Facilitation Resources for teachers, parents and educators.
