Guest User
“Here I Am”: Reclaiming Moral Presence in a ...

Written by: Gila Hammer Furnes

Abstract: In a culture where children witness cruelty, grief, and injustice on their screens before breakfast—often without an adult to hold what they have seen—this essay reclaims moral presence as a pedagogical condition. Drawing on Lévinas, Buber, Todd, Biesta, and Ellsworth, it introduces Hineni—the Hebrew phrase meaning “Here I am”—as an ethical stance of availability that precedes instruction, autonomy, or deliberation. In contrast to dominant models of moral development that locate ethics in reason, regulation, or curriculum, Hineni reconfigures the child not as a future ethical subject, but as one already present in their trembling response to the world. Situated at the intersection of digital culture, ethical phenomenology, and critical pedagogy, the essay resists calls for digital resilience and instead frames education as a space of mutual presence. It argues that pedagogy must not merely protect the child, but stay with them—in their silence, uncertainty, and proximity to harm. To teach ethically in a digital age, it suggests, is not to command response, but to echo it.

Keywords:Hineni, moral education, digital culture, ethical responsiveness, critical pedagogy

Image: "Hineni" by Howard J Duncan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Here I Am”: Reclaiming Moral Presence in a Culture of Digital Noise

rapid review

Towards Multilayered Framework Of Digital Agency: Insights From A Rapid Hybrid Review

Written By: Paulina Rikala, Minna Ylönen, Panu Forsman, Susanna Paloniemi, Tommi Kärkkäinen & Raija Hämäläinen

Abstract: Digital agency is an emerging concept in research on technology use in education, social inclusion, and working life, yet its conceptual fragmentation calls for synthesis. To address this gap, we conducted a rapid hybrid systematic-narrative review of 42 studies, identified using the search terms “digital agency,” “transformative digital agency,” and “technological agency” in Dimensions.ai and Google Scholar, supplemented by snowball sampling strategies. The review addressed three questions: What is the current state of research on digital agency? How is digital agency interpreted through concepts like digital agency, transformative digital agency, and technological agency? In which contexts of study has digital agency been examined? First, the review revealed that research on digital agency is growing but lacks conceptual coherence. Second, digital agency is understood through three overlapping concepts: digital agency, transformative digital agency, and technological agency. Each emphasizes a slightly different focus. Nevertheless, collectively, they describe individuals’ capacity to act, adapt, and influence in digital environments shaped by sociotechnical conditions and an understanding of technology and its impacts. These concepts highlight the mindset—digital competence, confidence, and accountability—that motivates or inhibits technology use. Third, digital agency has been studied in education, social inclusion, and work, often as a situational and individual phenomenon. This study synthesizes these perspectives into a multilayered framework and an integrated definition that encompasses conceptual, individual, situational, and sociotechnical dimensions, offering a foundation for future research.

Keywords: digital agency, hybrid systematic-narrative review, multilayered digital agency framework, rapid review, transformative digital agency, technological agency