This article was shared by Rob Theriault on the UBC MET Community Facebook Page.
What interested me most about how this VR tool was used to teach language was the setting of a “immersive Indigenous Language House” with a fire pit and basketball court outside for virtual socializing. To build a meaningful, comfortable and familiar space to explore language and culture.
While getting out in nature is so important, I wonder if there could be a next phase of development to create outdoor settings with language pop ups and whether the challenge of creating new words that Angeline King and Elder Ernestine Baldwin had in the house setting would be the same or different for an on the land setting.
Click for full article: https://anishinabeknews.ca/2021/06/25/georgian-students-learn-indigenous-language-using-virtual-reality/
Hello Danika,
I imagine the VR will be very attractive to learners. It seems like the use of technology in this way came at a good time, with the restrictions to hold face-to-face classes. It sounds like new words have been created because certain words didn’t exist in the Anishinabe language. What do you think about the creation of new words?