How does the tech world impact an arts and social justice organization like Groundswell? Last month, two representatives from Groundswell found out more about the intersection between technology, design, and the arts.
 
From June 11-13th, Groundswell’s Youth Development Manager Jules Joseph and youth artist Fabio Gomez attended the 2015 Digital Media and Learning Conference (DML) in Los Angeles, California. DML 2015’s theme, Equity by Design, called on participants to “promote equity in digital learning practices, and engage in thinking of solutions for addressing educational opportunity gaps in today’s technological world.” Their travel was supported with a travel grant from The Hive Digital Media Learning Fund, a network devoted to increasing access and equity to 21st century skills among underserved and marginalized teens.
 
Groundswell interviewed Jules and Fabio and asked them reflect on their learning journey that took them across the country.
 
Groundswell: How did you become involved with DML 2015?
 
Fabio Gomez: Groundswell has been a part my life since my early days in high school. It gave me the platform to think creatively, collaborate with others by working together and sharing ideas, build my skills as a young artist, and be mentored by some of the Lead and Assistant Artists. When Groundswell called me for the opportunity to take a trip to Los Angeles, I jumped at the opportunity. I had some idea that what I was in for was going to be amazing, but it was beyond my expectations and did not realize how it would change my life.
 
Groundswell: Was there a moment that highlighted how the conference impacted you?
 
FG: The introduction to DML 2015 not only gave me a general idea about the transformation I would experience at the conference, but also blew my mind away. The experience was like having a great meal, the first bite was something simply amazing that kept me wanting more. The keynote discussion featuring Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (DreamCorps), Maria Teresa Kumar (Voto Latino), and S. Craig Watkins (University of Texas) highlighted the serious problem with equity in the tech world. Their discussion helped me understand that this was a conversation happening in companies like Facebook, Google, and many more.
 
Jules Joseph: The highlight of the conference for me was also the keynote discussion. Echoing this year’s theme of “Equity by Design,” both Van Jones and Kumar spent a great deal of the discussion addressing harmful institutional practices that are targeted towards communities of color. Van Jones spoke about the prison industrial complex as a profitable incarceration industry, and Kumar spoke about using media and technology, increasing its access in communities of color, as a tool for civic engagement.
 
Van Jones also spoke about the 5’s of Digital Learning and Technology: Creativity, Communication, Connectivity, Cash, and Coding. From that discussion, I learned that where most communities of color fall short are in Cash and Coding. That discussion was a great catalyst into the workshops and hearing how other organizations and teams brainstorm ways to create more access and opportunities for the communities they serve.
 
Groundswell: What interests you about the issue of equity in the tech world?
 
FB: I love technology. I want to be a mechanical engineer or architect so I could bring more of the technical world into modern homes. As someone with my interests, that keynote was a wake-up call, because I thought that tech was a haven for anyone. But because of the lack of tech education in urban schools and teachers not being tech savvy enough to influence more kids into the tech world.
 
I remember one of the panelists asking a question to the crowd, “Do you know the difference between fate and destiny?" I remember thinking that they meant the same thing. I was corrected when the panelist said, “With fate, you can't control the outcome because it will always be what it is. But you form your own destiny." It was at that point, that I knew that I had to make a difference and help others understand the importance of what I learned here.
 
Groundswell: This year Groundswell has put a focus on our innovative Scaffold Up! educational model. How does this conference fit into the current model for Groundswell’s programming?
 
JJ: Most of the workshops I attended related to Digital Badges and brainstorming ways to build a more collaborative and inclusive environment for youth. These workshops included: “Putting Youth, Community, and Learning at the Heart of Civic Technology,” “Making Spaces for Equity and Social Justice,” “Digital Badges for College Credit,” and “You Will Know Us by the Trail of Badges 2.0: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward Using a Community STEM Digital Badging Ecosystem.”
 
In the Digital Badges workshops, it was reaffirming to hear how other organizations problem-solved around the very same challenges we experienced while building Scaffold Up!. Most of the challenges teams faced centered on resources, changes in leadership or organizational structure, platform functionalities, incorporating Digital Badges, etc. Hearing about Digital Badges through a different lens really challenged me to think about how our youth earn merit pins and kept circling back to this idea of roles versus skills. Additionally, the “Digital Badges for College Credit” workshop talked about using I-Remix, an intuitive online platform, for Digital Badges and I’m excited about exploring that possibility to increase access for our youth.
 
FG: The conference introduced me to the digital badging system Jules mentioned, which I believe is the future for the Groundswell pin system. The ecosystem of digital badging could be the next step for Scaffold Up!, and I was excited to be a part of that future.
 
Groundswell: We are glad to have invited you into the future of our organization. Thanks for speaking with us.
 
-
 
As Jules and Fabio’s comments reveal, this conference provided a unique opportunity to reflect on technology, equity, and the design of Groundswell’s own educational model for social change. Thank you to the organizers of 2015 Digital Media and Learning Conference, and to The Hive Digital Media Learning Fund for this inspirational experience.