Tag Archives: Indigenous language revitalization

M1 P5 XR Indigenous Language & Culture

Below is a link to an episode of a podcast talking to a Mohawk woman doing very interesting work in the XR space with a focus on revitalizing language and culture. She is also creating virtual spaces for language learners to drop in and speak in the language. I find this idea fascinating and a great way for people to share knowledge.

 

https://www.kunm.org/arts/2021-04-12/xr-indigenous-language-culture-ep-2-extending-reality-with-native-spaces

M1 P4 Indigenous Peoples Teach the World First Nations Wisdom Through Technology

I believe that mixed reality can be a way to teach language and culture that can incorporate Indigenous place based knowledge into the teachings.When using technology to teach and share language and culture, many of the cultural nuances and knowledge of the land can be lost in translation. Using technology such as Microsoft’s Hololens mixed reality headset, may have the potential to be a game changer for teaching and sharing Indigenous knowledge. An Indigenous language  learner may be able to see the world around them as their ancestors did. Learning place names and plant knowledge could be an immersive experience through mixed reality technology and a way to help preserve precious language and knowledge.

 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/indigenous-people-augmented-reality/

M1 P2 Teaching an Indigenous Language Using Social VR at Georgian College

As a person teaching an Indigenous language, I find the potential for VR and XR to be used as tools for teaching Indigenous languages to be quite fascinating. I think there is a lot of potential to enhance the learning experiences of students by using these XR technologies. In person language classes are a great way to learn; however, students interested in learning their Indigenous language are often not located near where the classes are held. XR technologies offer a potential to bring a learning experience that is more tangible to the online learner. As XR technology improves, there may be potential to teach plant names or place names while the learner is in a Mixed Reality environment that allows the learner to ‘see’ and ‘interact’ with the plants and or place names. The article below shows how Georgian College is now using VR to teach Anishnaabemowin. The youtube video link is from the Immersive Learning Research Network World Conference 2021.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ryQS0QpTQ

Teaching an Indigenous Language Using Social VR at Georgian College

M1 P1 How AI is Helping Revitalize Indigenous Languages

This article is one example of Indigenous people are using technology to help preserve their language. The Maori people are using AI and machine learning as a way to automate the transcription of thousands of hours of Maori language archives to enhance access to Maori media. They aim to bring the Maori language and other Indigenous languages to voice operated digital assistants like Siri.  An additional point of importance in the article is the call for data sovereignty for all Indigenous cultures.  The non-profit media organization Te Hiku, the organization behind the development of the app using AI and machine learning, states that “Data is the new land. Having had our land taken off us, and the experience of language loss in our family, we take data sovereignty very seriously.”

https://www.itu.int/hub/2022/08/ai-indigenous-languages-maori-te-reo/