What is Justice-Oriented Citizen

This chapter focuses on how mobile apps and smartphones can be used to enhance democratic education in schools and society at large, why such opportunities need to be more seriously considered as integral to the school learning environment, and how it can empower citizens for civic engagement. Using Dewey's philosophy of democratic education this chapter provides examples of mobile apps designed through classroom, community-based or after school programs that provide youth with coding training opportunities as well as macro-level highlights of civic engagement for social change. Reviewing theories of technology – from determinism to social embeddedness – this chapter reflects on the inherent “democratic” design of mobile technologies, as well as the challenge to embrace the interest that youth and society in general have for mobile app use. It is a call to promote mobile-driven democratic education in an environment encouraging continuous learning as well as cultivating and leveraging mobile technologies to develop an informed public voice and participatory agency.