Category Archives: MODULE 2

M2: P5: Podplays by Neworld Theatre

I’m not sure how I came across these “Podplays” by Neworld Theatre in Vancouver, but they do seem intriguing. Although I am not completely sure what they are, or how they work, I figure that you situate yourself in the actual setting of a play of a local theatre troupe. Then you simply press play, and locate yourself so that you feel like you are on the set in real life, and in situ. I feel like Podplays would be similar to augmented reality in that the user puts themselves in a place, and a storyteller guides them through the setting: “you look at a familiar place in an unfamiliar way” (NeworldTheatreBC, 2012, 0:52). This is similar to my experience at Alcatraz in San Francisco where my wife and had to move along with the pre-recorded script.

One of the audience members that has engaged in the Neworld Theatre Podplays says it “wants me to learn more about my neighbourhood” (NeworldTheatreBC, 2012, 1:13). On Neworld Theatre’s YouTube channel they describe Podplays as “a hybrid of technology and performance and combines sound, story and text…[on] your portable media player, ….[and] the plays become a soundtrack to life on the streets of Vancouver” (NeworldTheatreBC, 2012).

Reference

NeworldTheatreBC. (2012). Podplays Audience Feedback. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB5w4o4XSzo.

M2: P4: Indigital, Minecraft Education Edition (MEE) and Paint 3D

OK, I thought that the Indigital app was creative as is, but now Indigital has integrated MEE and Paint 3D into its platform. Students use Paint 3D to create their characters, elements or objects from their 2D drawings that they took from cultural stories that they recorded. Then, using MEE students create the time and place. Finally, the students unite all three into an AR experience to demonstrate their learning. This program boasts not only a step in the right direction, but also a connection to the past.

Indigital: Impact

M2: P3: Indigital

Indigital is a mash-up of the words “Indigenous” and “digital”. It uses augmented reality to tell Indigenous stories. This is an Australian based digital storytelling app that uses artwork at the physical space that the user holds up to the piece, and the app recognizes the artwork and tells a story around that piece of Indigenous art. The traditional artists who own the work are involved in the creation of the storytelling part. This app started in 2012 when AR was relatively new; think, Pokémon Go was released in 2016. The app was created to help protect the oral traditions that are being lost along with the loss of elders. It’s a wonderful combination of technology both new and old. In my opinion, this is very much like Canadian Wikiupedia that I have posted in M2: P2: Wikiupedia, but for some reason this has taken off unlike its Canadian counterpart.

MODULE 2-ENTRY 4: How Indigenous people are promoting and learning their languages

Language is more than a means of communication; it is an identity.

There are 6000-7000 languages spoken by indigenous peoples around the world but indigenous languages extinction is going unnoticed. So many people who desire to revitalize indigenous languages are trying to promote and help make it more accessible to people by using some playing cards that double as a language matching game.

This radio tells us how indigenous languages are learned and grown and how challenging it is to maintain. We know some best ways to learn a language such as playing games, immersion programs, etc, but those are not enough to revitalize and flourish endangered indigenous language. In order to help reclaim and revitalize endangered languages, not only individual efforts, also government or community-based funding should be accompanied that make it more accessible to learn the various languages by using technology. Technology can play a role as the bridge of generation gap as well as geographic distances.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/how-indigenous-people-are-promoting-and-learning-their-languages-1.6024472

Beyond a Formal Acknowledgement

Module 2 Post 5

The article discusses the City of Vancouver’s formally acknowledging that it was located on the “unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Indigenous peoples” and how it does not improve the life’s of the Indigenous people of the area but is it just a “settler move to innocence”.

Hamilton, H.G. (2015, January 7). Beyond a Formal Acknowledgement. The Mainlander. https://themainlander.com/2015/01/07/beyond-a-formal-acknowledgement/

Image from the First Peoples Guide for Newcomers

Land acknowledgements in the academy: Refusing the settler myth

MODULE 2: ENTRY 4

The article is a critical review of Land Acknowledgements from Indigenous PhD student Joe Wark.

“While initially understood as culturally based political statements to resist the erasure of Indigenous presence and colonial violence, these practices have been repurposed in settler institutions. Land acknowledgements have now become deeply embedded in state-sponsored “forgive-and-forget” reconciliation efforts that seek to absorb Indigenous peoples into the body politic of “good Canadians.”

– Wark (2021).

Joe Wark (2021) Land acknowledgements in the academy: Refusing the settler myth, Curriculum Inquiry, 51:2, 191-209, DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2021.1889924

Photo by Ali Kazal on Unsplash

MODULE 2-ENTRY 3: How Korean language had been protected during colonial era?

This video shows how the Japanese Government destroyed Hangul(Korean language) during the Japanese colonial period. All classes at all educational institutions were conducted in Japanese, and Korean language became a local dialect. Koreans have made efforts to protect the Korean language through various methods of resistance against to Japanese atrocities. Koreans organized a secret society and pushed for a campaign to protect our language. As the movement to protect Hangul became active, however, Japan eliminated all magazines and newspapers made in Hangul. Believing that protecting the language is to protect the spirit of the people and the identity of the nation, thanks to the sacrifice of many people, Hangul was able to survive.

We can consider what efforts and spirit we need to make in order to preserve and vitalize indigenous language through this video clip.

Reference

tvN인사이트. (2020, Feburary 25). 해방 후 ,1달만에 한글로 교과서를 가질 수 있었던 이유. [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OHuFCjaEK8&ab_channel=ohforsatanssake

M2 P4: BCIT’s Indigenous Vision

This framework is the basis for the Indigenization of the nursing program at BCIT. It is broad and ambitious, but serves as a guiding framework for the work being done by faculty to ensure Indigenous student success in the programs. It is openly available to the public on the BCIT website. This vision prioritizes three actions around inclusion, accountability and collaborative relationships. The faculty working within this framework works closely with Indigenous educators and leaders from BCIT Indigenous services.

https://www.bcit.ca/indigenous-vision/

“Truth is the foundation. Indigenization is the action. Reconciliation is the goal”.

British Columbia Institute of Technology. (n.d.-a). BCIT’s Indigenous vision. BCIT.Ca. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://www.bcit.ca/indigenous-vision/

M2: P2: Wikiupedia

A “wikiup” is an Indigenous word for “hut”, and has obviously been used in the name, Wikiupedia as a play on words for the famous online wiki-style encyclopedia, Wikipedia. However, Wikiupedia has been described as “ Google Maps, Wikipedia, Pokémon Go and a Canadian Heritage Minute, all rolled into one” (CBC, 2017, para. 1). This app was created by a member of the Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, the app seems to not have made it past the beta stage. In fact, I have clicked on several of the links that are directly associated with Wikiupedia and they seem to be suffering from link rot. Regardless, I thought that this is a wonderful idea that would act like Pokémon Go in that it would capture stories from Indigenous communities in a place-based way, ensuring that the user is connected to the land. Although it has not made it to market, the idea is there. But why has it not come to fruition? I feel that this might be something to ask when considering this type of technology for use in revitalizing Indigenous stories.

Markers like you would see in Google Maps. Photo: Garnet Tabacco/submitted by Adrian Duke.

References

CBC/Radio Canada. (2017, March 10). Tech entrepreneur Adrian Duke is building an augmented reality app to tell Indigenous stories | CBC Radio. CBCnews. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/episode-328-cia-secrets-leaked-phyllis-diller-s-gag-file-virtual-indigenous-history-and-more-1.4015018/tech-entrepreneur-adrian-duke-is-building-an-augmented-reality-app-to-tell-indigenous-stories-1.4015037.

Devlin, M. (2017, February 15). This Augmented Reality App Tells Indigenous Stories in Canadian Cities. VICE. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qk9w5/augmented-reality-vancouver-indigenous.

M2, Entry 5: Supporting Self-Determined Indigenous Innovations

As described in my previous blog posts, VR and AR technology are leading the way in enabling Indigenous communities to pursue self-determination and sovereignty. Winter and Boudreau (2018) illuminate the highly Eurocentric conceptions of “civilized” and “savage” in addition to “past” and “present”, insinuating the Indigenous cultures invariably must “assimilate” to survive into future: their cultures are not static however, but always in flux. Even regarding the latter categorizations as “linear” does a disservice to Indigenous epistemologies and perspectives on the world (Winter and Boudreau, 2018). These troublesome categorizations privilege Eurocentric perspectives, making them tech-centered rather than human-centered. Winter Boudreau (2018) reiterate this by stating that we must disrupt the need-based approach in the digital divide and transition to a strength-based approach that support bottom-up community initiatives.

Indigenous creators can leverage these technologies by using animation, design, code, art, etc. to continue traditions of oral storytelling, in addition to pursuing decolonization efforts (Winter & Boudreau, 2018). Creating partially and fully immersive worlds can help Indigenous youth in particular to learn about their relationship with the land, practice traditional skills, and even their languages. The existence of Indigenous-produced VR and AR directly dispels the myth that traditional cultures cannot be reconciled with such technology.

Figure 1. Winter & Boudreau (2018). The School virtual camp. Retrieved June 18, 2021, from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/supporting-self-determined-indigenous-innovations/docview/2035667161/se-2?accountid=14656. Screenshot by Katrina Metallic.

References

Winter, J., & Boudreau, J. (2018). Supporting self-determined indigenous innovations: Rethinking the digital divide in canada. Technology Innovation Management Review, 8(2), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1138