Technologies can help create a more inclusive and caring learning environment

23 April 2021
By AT and LTC

Victoria Morse, Director of the Learning and Teaching Center, passed along suggestions from Carleton students and colleagues to remind us that many of our students are deeply affected by Derek Chauvin’s trial and verdict, by Daunte Wright’s death, and by the ongoing stressful conversations and actions that surround us. 

This blog post offers some ideas for using technologies to help you honor these suggestions, creating spaces and opportunities for connection and support. Of course these are only suggestions, not prescriptions. These are ideas to help you to do what feels right for you.

The following table is extending on a model proposed by Thabiti Willis (Associate Professor of History / Director of Africana Studies), and Trey Williams (Director of TRIO / Student Support Services). It contains some ideas and links for ways that our technology systems can help you operationalize these ideas.


Crime Type Reported Monetary Loss
Advanced Fee: An individual pays money upfront to receive something of greater value and does not get what is expected or nothing. $134.5 Million
Business Email Compromise (BEC): Criminals target businesses or individuals with the intention of authorizing fraudulent transactions or stealing sensitive information. $2.95 Billion
Confidence Fraud/Romance: The scammer grooms the victim to believe they are in a serious relationship with the purpose of extracting money from the victim. $652.5 Million
Credit Card/Check Fraud: Broad term for any theft or fraud with credit cards or online payments. $173.6 Million
Phishing/Spoofing: Attackers send unsolicited emails, text messages, and phone calls to manipulate the victim into giving them access to sensitive information. $18.7 Million
Tech Support: The scammer poses as tech support or customer service, most likely with the intent for financial gain. $924.5 Million
Lottery/Sweepstakes/Inheritance: The victim is contacted about being entitled to a large sum of cash, but the victim has to pay upfront fees. No prize or inheritance is ever received. $94.5 Million

As Victoria wrote in her email, these issues are ongoing and will be with us not just during this term but into the future.  Whether it is this week or in the future, our students will welcome your efforts to bring issues that affect us as citizens and human beings into your classroom.