Future Directions

Thank you, reader, for joining me in this inquiry

—a journey that has reshaped not only how I think about literacy, but how I imagine my role as an educator, designer, and advocate for children’s voices in the digital age. Over the past year, I’ve encountered literacy not as a fixed set of competencies, but as a living practice, deeply entangled with identity, belonging, and power. Through coursework, research, and the stories of students like Zoe and Leon, I have come to understand that literacy today demands something more expansive, more generous, and more humane.

What began as a desire to understand the intersection between culture and literacy has evolved into a commitment to creating digital spaces where children can explore, perform, and preserve who they are. I am especially moved by the ways that digital platforms, when intentionally designed, can serve not just as tools, but as mirrors and windows—spaces where students see themselves reflected and are invited to see others with curiosity and care. Zoe’s poetry and illustrations, shared joyfully on social media, and Leon’s quiet pride in creating a digital poster that honored his hometown remind me that these small acts of authorship are, in fact, powerful declarations of identity.

As I look ahead, I plan to continue this work—building and supporting digital environments that offer children both protection and possibility. I hope to contribute to platforms that value youth as cultural creators, not just content consumers; that respect home languages, family stories, and personal memories as valid forms of literacy; and that provide diverse learners with tools to speak back to dominant narratives. My goal is not just to integrate technology for its own sake, but to ensure that these digital spaces center equity, creativity, and connection.

I am grateful to the children who shared their voices with me, and to the scholars and mentors who helped me understand that honoring those voices is not a side project, but the very heart of this work. Whatever form my career takes, I know that I want to keep making space—for language, for culture, for wonder. In classrooms, in code, in stories that have yet to be told.