You have got to watch this, it is amazing!!!

A TED video about a technology that allows the user to use/find digital information while  in her/his physical environment. The learner in the physical world interacts with digital data using physical gestures. No longer will we need desktop computers or laptops. No longer will we have to sit for hours in front of a machine interacting with a machine (computer). We can get information while interacting with our physical world.

Pranav Mistry, an MIT graduate student has created a device called the SixthSense that uses our physical gestures and interactions with real-world objects and integrates/combines them with data (digital information) for ‘just in time” knowledge building.

He hopes that this will solve the digital divide. All equipment needed is extremely cheap and the software is open source. You only need a wireless connection to the internet.

Near the end of the video he shows how his device makes working with digital data the same as working with information in a physical form (on paper)

I love it. I can hardly wait until it becomes the norm.

I think this fits in well with aboriginal pedagogy. The learner can be in the natural environment and interact with digital information at the same time.

Off-reserve aboriginal people in Canada face “second” digital divide

The survey is done by stats Canada in the winter of 2004 :
www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2004003/article/7732-eng.pdf

The study points to the fact that most off-reserve aboriginals live in rural areas and these areas tended to offer poorer Internet access

34 percent of urban aboriginal Internet users described their computer skills as “excellent”, but only 21 percent of rural users rated their skills at that level.

The survey suggests that aboriginal people have historically had less Internet access than other Canadians and aboriginal Internet users were “much more likely to be recent learners”, the study stated.

Conclusion: “a gap existed among Aboriginal users themselves, separating more experienced urban users from their rural counterparts”; hense creating a 2nd digital divide

http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/ajohnson/pathfinder.html

This website offers an overview, and links for  further research, into how technology is being utilized by Indigenous groups around the world. I found this to be a great starting point for our Module 1 focus on the global and local in Indigenous knowledge.

There are resources posted in response to six key questions, covering topics such as:

• a general overview of how technology affects Indigenous people
• beneficial uses of new technology
• problems created by the “digital divide”
• using new technology to promote history and culture
• how technology has changed communication
• encouraging utilization of technology in Indigenous communities

Liberating Voices

A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution

Indigenous people in rural and urban areas in developing and developed countries around the world need to create —as well as use —information and communication systems to promote education, health, governance, cultural life and many other important values.

Resources available:

Polished visual patterns are contextualized and followed by discussions and issues on various indigenous subjects of interest.

Example of themes:

Linguistic Diversity
Arts of Resistance
Roles in Media
Influencing the Design of Information Technologies
Mobile ICT Learning Facilities for 3rd World Communities
International Networks of Alternative Media
Control of One’s Representation
Solidarity Networks
Ordinary Protagonists and Everyday Life

 Links to other sites:

 Alternative Media

Offers multiple links to excellent artistic representation of indigenous realities concerning themes like:

• Digital divide
• Education
• Media critique
• Engagement
• Etc.

Usefulness for research on Indigenous knowledge, media, and community reality:

This richness of representation in media production results in additional diversity of ideas and perspectives in the media. Positive consequences can be: more interest for political participation and knowledge about rights.

Indigenous people who are denied their voice will find it difficult to fight oppression, work with allies, or maintain their culture. Without the means to make their voices heard, communities become atomized within themselves and invisible to the outside world.

Address:

http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/pattern.pl/public?pattern_id=393

Published in the online Georgia Straight,  First Nations seeking to cross digital divide, was written by Stephen Hui and published on July 16, 2009. The article discusses a variety of issues: internet connectivity, computers, and technical support, which have created a digital divide in BC for First Nations. The article outlines a variety of plans, councils, and programs which are listed below aimed to decrease the digital divide.

First Nations Technology Council strategic plan
Transformative Change Accord
All Nations Trust Company
Pathways to Technology

Other related stories linked to this article include:
Geek of the Week: First Peoples’ Language Map of British Columbia
Q&A: Grand Chief Edward John on First Nations’ Internet connectivity
Q&A: Indigenous blogger Dustin Rivers on using Internet technology