Tag Archives: video

Module 4 Weblog- Erin Howard

I must say that this weblog assignment has been vital to my learning in the class. Through my research and “web-travels”, I went down many necessary rabbit holes and discovered amazing resources. I have also learned through the posts of my peers. This is a site I will bookmark and continue to refer to throughout my career as an educator.

University of Saskatchewan Indian Teacher Education Program (ITEP)

Many of the readings and videos in the last two modules spoke to the need for trained teachers in Northern areas who were a part of the community and made long lasting connections with students. The students in the videos spoke about how important it was to have Indigenous teachers from their very own communities. As I watched, I wondered how Canadian post-secondary institutions were addressing this need through their programming. I found a great example from the University of Saskatchewan that supports Indigenous students who would like to become teachers. Applicants are encouraged through a coordinator and also flexible admission for new and mature students. The curriculum integrates subject matter that will prepare teachers to work with Indigenous students. I came across another related page that showed how U of S also offers an Indigenous Languages Certificate for any educator to enrich their education.

Think Indigenous Podcast

The Think Indigenous Podcast comes out of the ITEP program (linked in above posting) at the U of S. The podcast is situated at the intersection of “digital media, education, and Indigenous storytelling” and features many interesting and knowledgeable guest speakers. I just discovered this podcast and will need to catch up on past episodes, but it is incredibly relevant to this class as it is all about Indigenous education. A description on its websites promises that the program “peels back the layers, shines a light on and celebrates best practices in Indigenous education!”. It is available for free on many platforms and there is even an accompanying conference that people can attend. I am very impressed at the Indigenous education initiatives coming out of the University of Saskatchewan!

Redefining How Success is Measured in First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Learning- Canadian Council on Learning

This document is about 10 years old but the principles in it are very relevant to today when we are looking at strategies to assist with Indigenizing curriculum. It is also very applicable to any level in education (K-post secondary) that serves indigenous students. The document outlines best practices in several areas: understanding FNMI learners, redefining how Indigenous success in education is measured and looking at holistic learning models and forms of assessment. Place based learning is explored throughout the document, as well as the need to integrate community, language, and Elders into education. The document is full of statistics, quotes from educators, evidence-based recommendations and great graphics. It really brings many of the topics we have explored in our ETEC class together! 

First Peoples Principles of Learning Blog Site

This resource is a WordPress site created by BC educator Jo Chrona. For those of you who use Twitter, Jo (@luudisk) is definitely a must-follow as she posts a lot on the topic of Indigenous education and often shares her viewpoint on issues as well as some rich resources. Her blog site is equally full of tools for educators, and is a thoughtful compilation of research, resources, professional development activities and links to other initiatives in BC and Canada. A quick look at her reference page demonstrates many of the readings that we did in our ETEC class- there is no mention but I wondered if this was possibly an assignment related to this class as it was posted in 2014- worth looking at for any Canadian educator!

Elder in The Making (Film/Series)

Although this resource doesn’t really fit with the theme of the other items in my weblog, I could not resist the need to share it with my classmates as I enjoyed viewing it so much and would recommend it to anyone. Elder in the making is a film (broken into 6 episodes- and free to watch on YouTube) that showcases the journey of Chris Hsiung, a Chinese Canadian from Calgary and CowboyX, a young Blackfoot man from southern Alberta, and their quest to discover their own heritage and how someone comes to be an Elder. One thing I have learned in this class is that in order to understand other cultures, we must first do a self-examination of our own relationship to culture. This documentary is stunningly beautiful, honest, emotional, and educational. In the final episode, an unexpected event leaves Chris and Cowboy to mourn the loss of a friend, yet is inspirational and renews hope for the future. This film is created by local artists and really brings together what we’ve learned in our ETEC class and shares it through the use of technology and storytelling. I ended up watching all the episodes in one day- a must see!

Teaching the Students (Mod 1 Post 2)

To play off Natalie’s post, I find that Wab Kinew’s videos are informative and popular with students.  Like Natalie says, it’s important to get the right information and I try to find sources of information about Indigenous peoples BY Indigenous peoples. He is a great speaker and tackles issues like residential schools and First Nations stereotypes.  He was also recently within the past 24 hours elected as the leader of the Manitoba New Democrat Party.  There are a lot of great resources out there and not always time to get through them.  Thats why I enjoy posting links to different videos found both by myself and other students for them to watch on their own time.  I find it very rare that they ever just watch the one video but watch multiple videos connected with the original post.  Technology is always a double edged sword.  And in the same way one can get sucked into watching multiple cat fail videos, students can also get sucked into an issue or topic brought up in class using the same technology medium if we provide them the right guidance.

MODULE 3 WEBLOG

The following are resources (articles, videos, websites) on ideas and initiatives focused on Indigenous knowledge, learners and education:

Conestoga College. (2017, March 20). Indigenizing Post-Secondary Education [Video file].

This video explores the experiences of a few post-secondary Indigenous students, within their courses and on-campus supports. The students provide suggestions on going beyond a Euro-centric style of teaching and infusing Indigenous content and teaching methods into the education system, as well as ways to help build stronger relationships among Canadians.

Project of Heart. (n.d.). Project of Heart.

This is an “inquiry based, hands-on, collaborative, inter-generational activity” that helps students learn about the history of Aboriginal people in Canada, including the legacy of the residential school system. It is tailored to different grade levels, including post-secondary, but is not only tied to educational institutions: it can be used by anyone.

Province of BC. (2013, October 25). Changing Results for Young Readers: Laura Tait, First Peoples Principles of Learning [Video file].

This is a presentation by Laura Tait, an educator and administrator. She covers ideas such as Indigenous identity, pedagogy, reflective practice, relationships and understanding. Tait invites viewers to look at the world through an Indigenous lens. She shares some activities that teachers can use with their students and resources for their professional development.

Simon, J., Burton, K., Lockhart, E. (2014). Post-secondary distance education in a contemporary colonial context: Experiences of students in a rural First Nation in Canada. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 15(1).

This article shares some of the challenges of and opportunities through post-secondary online/distance education in rural and remote First Nation (Indigenous) communities in Canada. The Elsipogtog First Nation community in Nova Scotia is profiled. Student experiences using videoconferencing technology are shared.

University of British Columbia. (2017, February 17). Learning from Story [Video file].

This video is part of a non-credit massive open online course (MOOC), “Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education,” which focuses on strategies, teaching examples and resources supporting teaching and learning of Indigenous ways of knowing. The video focuses on the use of Indigenous storytelling and the benefits of utilizing it as a teaching strategy.

First Nations Steering Committee

.http://www.fnesc.ca/irsr/

This video introduces teaching resources that can be used to introduce Residential Schools in British Columbia.  It includes all of the necessary teaching components needed to introduce the topic sensitively and in a culturally sound way.  

 

Module 4 post 3

PowWow at Duck Lake

The National Film Board of Canada has a collection of 39 films about the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada. The collection covers a wide range of topics such as the arts, government relations, spirituality, and urban life.

PowWow at Duck Lake

PowWow at Duck Lake

The short documentary film, PowWow at Duck Lakecovers a discussion at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. Indian-Métis problems, such as education, and lack of opportunities for Native youth, are are discussed in a gathering of Native and white community members.

PowWow at Duck Lake by ONFB, National Film Board of Canada

Other[ed.]: What is Decolonizing Education in the Post-Secondary Setting?”

This 20 minute video was created as part of the 2014 University of Toronto’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD) Communications Campaign.  The video features a number of interviews with a variety of professors, directors, and researchers from a variety of University of Toronto campuses and departments.  The aim of the video is to discuss the meaning of decolonization in an education and post secondary setting.  By linking the decolonization of education and anti-racism, the video then discusses the types of changes that could occur at a post-secondary level.

http://www.antiracism.utoronto.ca/resources/videos.html

Brendan Clark

Module 3 Post 4

The British Columbia First Nations Education System

This is a link to a video jointly made in partnership by the First Nations Education Steering Committee and the First Nations Schools Association. It serves to highlight the evolution and development of the British Columbia First Nations Education System.

Throughout the video are examples of First Nations Education in action, in classrooms.

Module 2, post 5.

Module 3.2 – imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival

The imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival began in 1998 and is a festival that supports Indigenous artists in the media arts.  Their mission is to dispel the stereotypes placed on Indigenous people through the work from within their communities.  This website has information about previous festivals and all the artists who have participated in them.   If you click on “Films and Videos” you will be able to view films and videos in the 2014 festival.  There are over 100 films and videos in this collection.
http://www.imaginenative.org/home/

Module 3, Post 1- Nanisiniq: Arviat History Project

After watching the videos presented to us in week 8, I wanted to search for more example of youths’ use of technology as a means to document their peoples’ experiences and learn more about their culture, history and perspectives on various issues. That is when I stumbled upon the Nanisiniq: Arviat History Project.

This is a collaborative project involving elders and youths from Nunavut as well as the University of British Columbia. The site includes many videos in which the youths interview elders, other members of the community and each other to gain a better understanding of their culture while documenting it in an effort to preserve it. A historical timeline and stories about history, the caribou and survival skills are also featured in the site.

This is but another great example of how youths are using media as a medium and an opportunity to tell others about their culture and present it to the world. Despite living in the same country, these youths recognize that Canadians know very little, if anything at all, about their culture and ways of life. One of the youths involved in the project discusses how the Government isn’t properly educating Canadians about Inuit culture, which is why he feels it this project is important to teach his peoples and others about their ways of life in order to keep their culture alive.

This site shows how youths are able to create something that is positive and educational when given the proper tools, freedom to be creative and access to traditional knowledge.

I also came across this article in which a local Vancouver-based hip-hop artist talks about how she uses media and music to bring awareness to the missing and murdered Indigenous women. Hip-hop, which she describes as a “contemporary form of oral tradition”, is how she communicates her peoples’ history for others to hear. The song “Sisterz” is quite powerful.

Module 2 / Post 2: Indigenous Ways of Knowing

Indigenous Ways of Knowing is a short video in which Bruce Martin discusses the connection between language and culture and the different ways of knowing. Martin discusses how the English language is, at its roots, comprised of words taken from many other languages and therefore no longer has a connection to place. He also comments on how English is a language of nouns whereas Ojibwe is a language of verbs that describes their worldview. In Ojibwa culture, the world is alive and everyday things and objects that Europeans would consider inanimate are considered by the Ojibwa to possess spirit and are in fact animate. The relationship that the Ojibwa have with the world around them is juxtaposed by the lack of relationship that Westerners have with their environment.

This video is a nice introduction to considering the differences between Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. I particularly like that Martin discusses the connection between language and culture. For Indigenous peoples, the loss of their language also means the loss of their culture. I would imagine that English is an inadequate language replacement for Indigenous peoples in maintaining a connection with the land and their culture. This video has given me some things to think about as I delve into my research on Indigenous ways of knowing.

~Dan