Author Archives: sbrook

Thinking about films, as opposed to print resources, I went in search of a film that looks at my research topic and came across this recording: http://resources.ethnosproject.org/indigenous-technology-design-and-its-challenges-2/

I think I will be able to glean some information from this film.
Description:
“While many well meaning efforts bring technology design to bear on problems in developing economies, such as Google People Finder, One Laptop Per Child, etc., fewer efforts involve local participants or settings in the design process. I share some of our work on collaboration with youth, NGOs, and technologists in India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and highlight some of the challenges in trying to create indigenous design capacity in places like these. I explore an ecological metaphor of ‘invasive and non-invasive species’ for different types of technology in new settings, with an eye towards discussing what makes a technology ‘invasive’ and how healthy technological ecosystems might be developed.” (taken from website)

Another really interesting link that I found through Professor Marker’s suggestion to look at the NFB website is this Virtual Classroom opportunity – students between the ages of 14 and 18 are invited to a virtual dialogue with Alanis Obomsawin, among others. Opportunities like this link into our discussion around how to dialogue about first nations’ history if you are not a member of a first nations’ community. There was discussion that many teachers prefer to ask members of the first nations’ communities into their classroom to allow for a first-hand historic discussion. Opportunities like this are a great way to allow for this to happen virtually.

Description: The NFB and its community partner, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, present a virtual classroom with acclaimed documentary filmmaker and social activist Alanis Obomsawin (keynote speaker) and community activists Gabrielle Fayant and Brock Lewis. Moderated by CBC journalist and author Waubgeshig Rice, the live-streamed discussion from the OCDSB’s Aboriginal Learning Center will focus on the topic of social justice in Indigenous communities and the positive shifts brought about by Indigenous youth. Grade 9+ students can submit advance questions for panellists to stimulate debate. Sign up for this virtual event and get interactive!

https://www.nfb.ca/education/virtual-classrooms/alanis_obomsawin_virtual_classroom

Here is another one, linking to a discussion about Residential Schools.
https://www.nfb.ca/education/virtual-classrooms/we_were_children_virtual_classroom

Professor Marker directed us to a collection of films produced by the National Film Board of Canada earlier this week. I did a quick search and found some very interesting films about indigenous people and technology. This film was shot on a mobile phone, and explores the dichotomy of nature vs. technology.
Away by Peter Mettler
https://www.nfb.ca/film/away

This is a Facebook group called FAIR (For Accurate Indigenous Representation). It welcomes new members, and has established a social media presence for itself. I had to laugh, as I had never heard of North America being referred to as “Turtle Island” before. I thought it was an actual island somewhere in the world. I have also included a link to the Wikipedia page explaining this name – I would be interested to know whether or not this is accurate information.

https://www.facebook.com/realIndigenous/timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Island_%28North_America%29

Module 1’s discussions about face-to-face vs. online communication were a good motivation to look into this further. This article looks at the impact of technology on communication.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865609628/How-technology-is-changing-the-way-we-communicate.html

An interesting collection of journal articles relating to emerging digital spaces around the world. Available as an e-book through UBC library.

Edited by Phillip Kalantzis-Cope and Karim Gherab-Martin. (December 2010). Emerging Digital Spaces in Contemporary Society. Retrieved from http://www.palgraveconnect.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9780230299047

After looking at this project’s online site, it didn’t list Canada as one of the countries where it was working. It also didn’t list Australia, so I thought that I should look further. I soon discovered a whole site set up and dedicated to OLPC’s work in Canada’s First Nations communities. There is an interesting “promotional” video with famous faces in it, and a map showing requests from communities for laptops. An interesting place to begin my research into this project.

http://www.olpccanada.com/

This article, “Across the Digital Divide” looks at the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme and how it has been refined and revised to become highly effective in Indigenous communities in Australia. There has been much criticism of the project, and this article sheds a positive light on what can be accomplished through reflection on best practice.

Logue, D., & Edwards, M. (2013, Fall). Across the digital divide. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 11, 66-71. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1460983782?accountid=14656
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1460983782?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=14656

I found this article, which speaks to the use of technology as a means to share cultural heritage with indigenous communities in Australia. The authors note some of the difficulties with access in remote communities, but the overall result seems quite positive.

McClellan, D., & Tanner, K. (2011). Knowledge Discovery Empowering Australian Indigenous Communities. Information Technologies & International Development, 7(2), 31-46.
http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=65462381&site=ehost-live&scope=site