Author Archives: Chris Cramer

Distance education in rural indigenous communities in Canada – Chris Cramer

For my final weblog, I collected resources that focus on the core of my topic: distance education in rural indigenous communities in Canada.

Research on Distance Education for First Nations/aboriginals

IRRODL (International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning), Volume 15, Number 1 is now available, for free downloading as open educational resources.

Once again, this is an invaluable resource on the latest research in open and distance learning from authors in 15 countries/regions, covering the following topics (thanks to Diane Conrad, the co-editor, for this classification of otherwise disparate articles):

  • cultural aspects (impact of DE on First Nations/aboriginal communities in Canada; community and identity in MOOCs; DE and gender in Saudi Arabia; and cultural issues affecting DE in South Korea)
  • MOOCs and OERs
  • evaluation of different technologies used in DE
  • effective teaching approaches or factors influencing this.

Altogether this journal consists of 15 articles. I will in later posts review at least some of the articles, but I want to focus this post on one paper in particular, because it deals with a particular important issue here in Canada.

https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/02/25/research-on-distance-education-for-first-nationsaboriginals-from-irrodl-vol-15-no-1/

 

The State of Aboriginal Learning in Canada: A Holistic Approach To Measuring Success

Aboriginal people in Canada have long understood the role that learning plays in building healthy, thriving communities. Despite significant cultural and historical differences, Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis people share a vision of learning as a holistic, lifelong process.

Increasingly, governments, Aboriginal organizations and communities are making decisions and developing policies that reflect a better understanding and awareness of an Aboriginal perspective on learning. However, the effectiveness of these decisions still typically rely on conventional measurement approaches that offer a limited—and indeed incomplete— view of the state of Aboriginal learning in Canada.

Current measurement approaches typically focus on the discrepancies in educational attainment between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth (in particular, high-school completion rates) and often overlook the many aspects of learning that are integral to an Aboriginal perspective on learning. As a result, conventional measurement approaches rarely reflect the specific needs and aspirations of Aboriginal people.

This situation is not unique to Canada. In a recent report, the United Nations stated “it is of utmost importance that Governments, indigenous peoples, donors and civil society organizations work together to ensure that special [measurement] approaches are devised to coincide with the aspirations of indigenous peoples.”

Without a comprehensive understanding of Aboriginal people’s perspective on learning and a culturally appropriate framework for measuring it, the diverse aspirations and needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis across Canada will continue to be misinterpreted and misunderstood.

https://www.eboulearning.com/bkp-for-teachers/canadian-council-on-learning/

 

Lessons Learned: Effectiveness of Courses Developed for Aboriginal Teacher Candidates Delivered at a Distance

Recent Ontario provincial and federal education policy developments propose to increase the academic success of an ever increasing number of First Nation children attending urban and First Nation schools. Key to achieving that goal is increasing the number of Aboriginal educators who are skilled in teaching that is grounded in culturally responsive and relational pedagogy. In many instances, those interested in pursuing such a career in education are limited in their ability to attend conventional teacher education programs because they live in remote communities, have familial responsibilities, and/or have limitations related to their employment. Creating and resourcing teacher education programs that consider the realities of First Nation peoples will be fundamental to achieving the goals set out by the Ontario and federal governments. This paper highlights factors that limit access to university education for First Nation peoples and presents the results of a pilot study that evaluated a unique teacher education program for Aboriginal students delivered at a distance from their home communities. The paper also discusses the opportunities and pitfalls associated with technology-mediated Aboriginal teacher education.

http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/798/1552

 

Digital Technology Innovations in Education in Remote First Nation

Students in many remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario and other regions across Canada now have a choice for their education: to remain in their community with their family, close to their traditional lands and teachings, or to travel to a far-away urban environment to access an education. The choice is made possible with digital technologies that support new formal and informal educational opportunities in remote First Nations. The use of digital technologies in these special geographic environments is changing how people create and share their experiences and teachings with others (McMullen & Rorhbach, 2003; Molyneaux et al., 2014; Simon, Burton, Lockhart, & O’Donnell, 2014). This study explores how digital technology is supporting the decolonization of education in remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario.

http://ineducation.ca/ineducation/article/view/266/847

 

Post-Secondary Distance Education: Experiences of Elsipogtog First Nation Community Members

Post-secondary distance education is an option for community members living in many Atlantic First Nations. Currently several universities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and further afield offer distance education to community members in Elsipogtog First Nation. The course delivery is offered through videoconferencing or the web for individuals and groups in community classrooms. These courses and technologies offer both opportunities and challenges for students who choose to study in the community where they live and work.

This exploratory paper considers some of these opportunities and challenges. The discussion includes preliminary results from research based on interviews with community members of Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Most community members interviewed had taken post-secondary courses by distance education while living and working in their community. This paper is based on an initial analysis of these interviews. The focus is their experiences of distance education, in particular with videoconferencing and online web-based course delivery systems.

http://firstmile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2012-Elsipogtog-ANTEC.pdf

 

References:

Beaton, B., & Carpenter, P. (2016). Digital Technology Innovations in Education in Remote First Nations. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from http://ineducation.ca/ineducation/article/view/266/847

Lessons Learned: Effectiveness of Courses Developed for Aboriginal Teacher Candidates Delivered at a Distance (2014). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/798/1552

Research on Distance Education for First Nations/aboriginals, from IRRODL, Vol. 15, No. 1. (2014). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/02/25/research-on-distance-education-for-first-nationsaboriginals-from-irrodl-vol-15-no-1/

Simon, J., Burton, K., Lockhart, E. & O’Donnell, S. (2012) Post-Secondary Distance Education: Experiences of Elsipogtog First Nation Community Members. Presented at the Atlantic Native Teachers Education Conference (ANTEC), Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from http://firstmile.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2012-Elsipogtog-ANTEC.pdf

The State of Aboriginal Learning in Canada: A Holistic Approach to Measuring Success. (2009). Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://www.eboulearning.com/bkp-for-teachers/canadian-council-on-learning/

 

 

Globalization and its impact on indigenous communities – Chris Cramer

In my third research weblog I decided to collect some recent resources that give me a better understanding of how globalization (driven in huge parts by a rapidly developing internet infrastructure) impacts indigenous communities. This will contribute to my research essay about the impact of internet infrastructure in remote indigenous communities and consequences for distance education.

The impact of globalization on Indigenous Intellectual Property and Cultures

Lecture by Professor Dr. Erica-Irene A. Daes, 25 May 2004, Museum of Sydney, Sydney Australia.

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/impact-globalization-indigenous-intellectual-property-and-cultures

 

Globalization of Cultural Heritage: Issues, Impacts, and Inevitable Challenges for Nigeria

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behaviour. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artefacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organisation thus distinguishing people from their neighbours. In Federal Republic of Nigeria (1988), culture comprises material, institutional, philosophical and creative aspects.

The process of expanding culture has been under way for many centuries, but technologies have increased the speed and have also broadened the distribution of cultural elements beyond communities and nations’ territorial frontiers.

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/nwegbu-eze-azogwa.htm

 

Globalisation and crisis of cultural identity

Globalization is a dynamic process which impacts differentially on various cultures around the world. It permeates cultural boundaries and in the process results in the spread of Western ideologies and values across the world. This paper investigates the relationship between globalization and cultural identity crisis underlying assumption that globalization is manifested in the intercultural penetration processes which have substantial effects on the cultural identities.

http://www.interesjournals.org/full-articles/globalisation-and-crisis-of-cultural-identity.pdf?view=inline

 

Globalization: its impacts on indigenous communities

According to the Anthropological Survey a total of 4,635 communities are now to be found in India. Out of this total, ‘tribal’ or Indigenous communities number 732. Under globalization. The impact of globalization on the Indigenous communities is manifold, and often they are ones most negatively affected. Under globalization, it is the tribal Indigenous areas that have had to face the attacks of massive developmental projects. Cases of displacement of tribal populations have increased in India. Commercial activities have also introduced alien forces, cultures and influences into the traditionally insulated life and culture of the Indigenous peoples. Deprivation of land and forests are the worst forms of oppression that these people experience. It has resulted in the breakdown of community life and a steady cultural death or ‘ethnocide ‘. The tribal people are exterminated by a process of attrition, through which their lands are taken away, their rivers poisoned, their cultures undermined and their lives made intolerable. Hunters and gatherers, forest produce collectors, fisherfolk, both inland and marine, and the rural artisans are the victims of globalization and modern development through appropriation of people’s resources for industrial advancement, especially in association with capital-intensive, machine-oriented technology.

http://www.anthropologywa.org/iuaes_aas_asaanz_conference2011/0047.html

 

Globalization and its Special and Significant Impacts on Indigenous Communities 

Globalization is really a painting of the earth whose rendering can never be truly fixed. Yet, it is emblematic of the social dimensions of human interactions. Globalization has particular urgency for the world’s Indigenous Peoples. Many Indigenous systems of collective economic production and distribution do not conform to capitalism’s cultural emphasis on individual accumulation. This manuscript explores the challenges to Indigenous societies from economic hegemonic regimes, bioprospecting, nature conservation, and extended continuing and derivative impacts. Crucially, Indigenous Peoples do not passively accede to domination by global market forces. Resistance, negotiation, and consultation are common features of Indigenous communities’ interactions with transnational corporations and international economic policy bodies, but the definition and content of these terms play out very differently for distinct societies. The article suggests appropriate protocols for engaging Indigenous societies and recognizes alternatives to domination. It concludes with an examination of how Indigenous Peoples may be embracing internet technologies to further their claims to self-determination.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2070204

 

Resources:

Daes, E. (2012, December 13). The impact of globalization on Indigenous Intellectual Property and Cultures. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/impact-globalization-indigenous-intellectual-property-and-cultures

Globalization: its impacts on indigenous communities. (2011). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://www.anthropologywa.org/iuaes_aas_asaanz_conference2011/0047.html

Hershey, Robert, Globalization and its Special and Significant Impacts on Indigenous Communities (May 26, 2012). Arizona Legal Studies Discussion Paper No. 12-19. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://ssrn.com/abstract=2070204

Kaul, V. (2012). Globalisation and crisis of cultural identity. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://www.interesjournals.org/jribm/december-2012-special-issue-vol-2-issue-13/globalisation-and-crisis-of-cultural-identity

Nwegbu, M. U., Eze, C. C., & Asogwa, B. E. (2011). Globalization of Cultural Heritage: Issues, Impacts, and Inevitable Challenges for Nigeria. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/nwegbu-eze-azogwa.htm

 

 

How can the internet help to preserve indigenous culture – Chris Cramer

In my first weblog I focused on how indigenous communities can get online. In my second weblog I want to look at the question how the internet can help to preserve indigenous culture.

Life at the Edge of the Internet

Preserving the Digital Heritage of Indigenous Cultures

Abstract

This paper presents our research and field work with the Waorani Indians in eastern Ecuador regarding how they can preserve their digital heritage and culture on the Internet. We focused on empowering the Waorani to use technology to approach the Internet on their terms: to tell their story, not have their story told, to be independent, not dependent. Using analogies to life in the jungle, we explored issues such as digital self-determination, proprietary file formats, control of material entrusted to cloud service providers, international data import/export, content ownership vs. licensing, and intellectual property.

Archival systems are only as valuable as their input data. This data is at risk due to competing economic and legal forces that can adversely influence content, digitization, ownership, and permitted usage. To address this problem, we present an encryption framework that encourages medical tourism to indigenous villages by protecting archived medical data, privacy, and constitutional rights.

http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/mow/VC_Madsen_et_al_E_1330.pdf

 

How to Preserve Cultural Memory in the Digital Age

Humans are a fortunate species. We are not the strongest or fastest. We don’t have the biggest brains or live the longest. Yet we are dominant over the planet. From cuneiform to computer chip, our memory technologies give us a unique survival advantage: knowledge. But that knowledge is not secure in the digital age.

We’re moving from an information economy of relative scarcity to one of abundance. And we have yet to build an infrastructure that can manage titanic masses of data at scale. The high cost of publishing books and making films forced us to ask what we can afford to save. But anyone with an internet connection can write blogs and post home movies to YouTube. Now we must decide what we can afford to lose. […]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/abby-smith-rumsey/culture-memory-digital_b_10357622.html

 

Aboriginal Culture in the Digital Age

The object of this paper is to bring a holistic perspective to the implications of ICT for Aboriginal ways of living, thinking and knowing. Is ICT the potent enabler for the promotion, renewal and enrichment of Aboriginal cultures as many claim? For example does ICT offer new possibilities for the preservation and teaching of Aboriginal languages? Within the context of increasing numbers of Aboriginal peoples living away from traditional communities in large urban melting pots, can technology help safeguard the right of Aboriginal children and young people to learn their culture and speak their Indigenous languages? On the other hand, what types of cultural risks does the new ICT broadly, but not exclusively, refer to existing and emerging digital technologies such as the computer, telecommunications, the Internet, wireless, satellite, mobile phones, etc. technology present for Aboriginal peoples? Is appropriation and distortion of traditional Aboriginal knowledge one of them, and if so, what can be done to mitigate the risks of inappropriate access and use of this knowledge? These are some of the major questions explored in this paper.

http://www.kta.on.ca/pdf/AboriginalCultureinaDigitalAge.pdf

 

The Use of ICT to preserve Australian Indigenous Culture and Language – a Preliminarily Proposal Using the Activity Theory Framework

Abstract

Propinquity between Australian Indigenous communities’ social structures and ICT purposed for cultural preservation is a modern area of research; hindered by the ‘digital divide’ thus limiting plentiful literature in this field in theoretical or practical applications. Consequently, community consultations become mandatory for deriving empirical and effective processes and outcomes in successful culture and language preservation and teaching of Indigenous culture in Aboriginal Australian communities. Analysis of a literature review has identified ICT as the best provision method to immortalize and teach cultural knowledge and language for Indigenous Australians determined by the accessibility of ICT’s, the capacity of Aboriginal Australians to learn to use ICT and in some instances, the increased cost effectivity for multi-community communications and meetings from geographically dispersed land councils to use ICT. This research examines the effectiveness and outputs of culturally conscious, end-user driven ICT development and implementation into contemporary Indigenous Australian social structures and communities.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Van_Der_Meer/publication/297324225_The_Use_of_ICT_to_preserve_Australian_Indigenous_Culture_and_Language_-_a_Preliminarily_Proposal_Using_the_Activity_Theory_Framework/links/56de5f9c08aeb8b66f94b0bb/The-Use-of-ICT-to-preserve-Australian-Indigenous-Culture-and-Language-a-Preliminarily-Proposal-Using-the-Activity-Theory-Framework.pdf

 

Indigenous tribe in Brazil creates video game to help preserve culture

For indigenous communities grappling with how to preserve their cultures, there’s the constant question of how to bridge the gap between historical tradition and a tech-focused world. But a seemingly unusual medium has emerged as an avenue toward achieving this goal: gaming. And one indigenous tribe in Brazil is using it as a means to tell their story.

http://mashable.com/2016/03/07/indigenous-video-game-huni-kuin/#tt1rI6LKtOqu

 

References:

Aboriginal Culture in a Digital Age. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://www.kta.on.ca/pubRep.html

Dupere, K. (2016, March 07). Indigenous tribe in Brazil creates video game to help preserve culture. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://mashable.com/2016/03/07/indigenous-video-game-huni-kuin/#tt1rI6LKtOqu

Katikala, R., Madsen, K., & Mincaye Nenquimo Enqueri, G. (n.d.). Life at the Edge of the Internet Preserving the Digital Heritage of Indigenous Cultures. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/events/calendar-of-events/events-websites/the-memory-of-the-world-in-the-digital-age-digitization-and-preservation/presentations-day-1/

Rumsey, A. S. (2016, June 14). How to Preserve Cultural Memory in the Digital Age. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/abby-smith-rumsey/culture-memory-digital_b_10357622.html

Van Der Meer, Sarah & Meer, Der & Smith, Stephen & Pang, Vincent. (2015). The Use of ICT to preserve Australian Indigenous Culture and Language – a Preliminarily Proposal Using the Activity Theory Framework. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Van_Der_Meer/publication/297324225_The_Use_of_ICT_to_preserve_Australian_Indigenous_Culture_and_Language_-_a_Preliminarily_Proposal_Using_the_Activity_Theory_Framework/links/56de5f9c08aeb8b66f94b0bb/The-Use-of-ICT-to-preserve-Australian-Indigenous-Culture-and-Language-a-Preliminarily-Proposal-Using-the-Activity-Theory-Framework.pdf

 

 

Internet Access and Indigenous Communities – Chris Cramer

Getting remote Indigenous communities online

Most remote Australian Indigenous communities have little or no access to digital technology. Last year, three internet-enabled terminals were installed as a trial in the remote communities of Burraluba Yuru Ngurra (Halls Creek WA), Binjari Top Camp (NT) and Bana Yarralji Bubu (Shiptons Flat QLD).

The terminals are robust, free standing units with vandal-resistant screens, keyboards and touchpads, designed to run 24/7 in the harshest conditions. Each has three screens and keyboards so several people can use them simultaneously. Educational games, books, and a child-friendly copy of Wikipedia were included as part of the content.

Source: http://theconversation.com/getting-remote-indigenous-communities-online-19549

 

Internet access in Aboriginal communities

The Internet is yet to make a difference in remote Aboriginal communities. Very few people there own a computer and even fewer are connected.

Source: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/economy/internet-access-in-aboriginal-communities#ixzz4tLrK4ltB

 

Home Internet for Remote Indigenous Communities

Only one household out of 30 in the Kwale Kwale, Mungalawuru, and Imangara communities in Central Australia is connected to the internet.

The Home Internet for Remote Indigenous Communities provides a baseline study of communication use in these three remote communities. It includes an overview of existing policies, demonstrating the significance of the intersection between communications and social policy for indigenous consumers living in remote communities.

Source: http://accan.org.au/files/SWIN-CLC-CATHomeInternet.pdf

 

Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: a literature review

The use of social media and digital technologies has grown rapidly in Australia and around the world, including among Indigenous young people who face social disadvantage. Given the potential to use social media for communication, providing information and as part of creating and responding to social change, this paper explores published literature to understand how Indigenous Australian youth use digital technologies and social media, and its positive and negative impacts.

Source: https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0 

 

Is the Internet A Useful Resource For Indigenous Women Living In Remote Communities In Canada, Australia and New Zealand To Access Health Resources?

In the emerging Information economy, the internet is a very powerful resource. Yet for most Indigenous people, access to this resource is very limited. This report examines the digital divide in our society and how it affects Indigenous peoples in remote communities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Also explored is the issue of whether or not the internet is a viable resource for Indigenous women to access health resources, and other valuable information that promotes a holistic approach to health and well-being.

Source: http://www.yorku.ca/anthna/DigitalDivide.pdf

References:

Fisher, J. (2013, November 25). Getting remote Indigenous communities online. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from http://theconversation.com/getting-remote-indigenous-communities-online-19549

Rennie, E, Crouch, A, Wright, A & Thomas, J 2011, Home Internet for Remote Indigenous Communities, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, Sydney. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from http://accan.org.au/files/SWIN-CLC-CATHomeInternet.pdf

Rice, E. S., Haynes, E., Royce, P., & Thompson, S. C. (2016, May 25). Social media and digital technology use among Indigenous young people in Australia: a literature review. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0366-0

Smillie – Adjarkwa , C. (2005). Is the Internet A Useful Resource For Indigenous Women Living In Remote Communities In Canada, Australia and New Zealand To Access Health Resources? [PDF]. National Network for Aboriginal Mental Health Research. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from http://www.yorku.ca/anthna/DigitalDivide.pdf

Spirits, J. K. (n.d.). Internet access in Aboriginal communities. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/economy/internet-access-in-aboriginal-communities