Diversity in EdTech

I'm starting to see a pattern in EdTech I hope it isn't so but I see what I see. Is EdTech truly diverse??? I returned to Twitter the same day as another educator and we had the same count of "followers" at the end of the week and were following the same people. Why does she have 2000 followers and I have 500? Is there bias in who we follow? 

When I updated my profile to begin this journey I thought about whether or not I should use my bitmoji which showed my race. Do other non-minority people consider whether or not there race will make them more or less attractive to people. 

Don't get me wrong I love the groups I am involved in and the people that follow me are powerful but that was just a wondering. I was following Google Educators and Microsoft Educators because that was my interest. As I started getting "badges" I followed those groups and developed my "window" into the EdTech world. As I scrolled I was seeing the same names and groups and started to wonder where were the people of color. Now there were people of color but NOT clearly representative in this new world that I joined. 

I decided to go to #blackteacher #blacktwitter to see what was going on. Was I part of a select group of POC involved in the EdTech world. I found POC but I had become aware of these badges of "honor" and I noticed they were not as prevalent in this world. Why???? Why weren't POC represented in the world of educator certifications???

I thank ALL of the groups that have taught me so much but they are teaching me to use my voice to speak out. So I am speaking out!!! Does it matter having these certifications and badges? It shows a level of excellence in this area but do our educators of color know about these things???

Before the pandemic I was unaware and changed that so I was left out but now I am in and I want to bring other educators with me. I was struggling with my Google Innovative Educator application but I am not struggling anymore. This is the work this is the problem. Having POC be fully represented in the EdTech world.