Posts from — September 2011

http://campaigns.hellocoolworld.com/index.cfm?campaign_id=2
Description: A sexual health awareness website featuring videos created by Aboriginal youth (mostly in BC) regarding various topics affecting their peers. Many of the videos feature educational information presented in a culturally-relevant context. The project aims to empower youth to educate others through video production. An example of youth empowerment and community involvement using video production as a tool.

With the still-fresh wounds from residential schooling in particular, and effects of colonization in general, there is a barrier that exists between school and community. However, if the goal of formalized education is prepare students for a productive life, then the school system must be a fully functioning part of the community. There should be fluid movement between school-based activities and community relevance and engagement. In the context of the Tlicho region, attempts have been made to bring together school and community through such programs as culture-based education being integrated into the school programming, teachers leaving the school to go into community homes for home visits at several points throughout the year, the presence of elders in the school, and the use of school-community counsellors whose role it is to help build bridges between the two. With all of these initiatives, the disconnect remains. There are ongoing consultations and questions over how to effectively bring the two together.

The goal of this analysis is to examine if there is a role for the use of multimedia in making inroads on this issue. Through engaging with community issues, gaining input from community members, and publishing work for community consumption, can the student learning process and output become engaging and accessible to parents, relatives and community members outside of the formal school building? My research weblog will focus on projects and initiatives that arise out of the junction of school-based learning and community knowledge or issues.

Emily

The First Nations Schools Association works with First Nations schools to build nurturing environments that “develop learners’ pride and competence in their First Nations language and heritage and equips them to realize their full potential, within self-governing First Nations communities”.   Information on jurisdiction, programs and special education resources are provided.  A variety of resources are available (some free and some for purchase), including handbooks for teachers.

http://www.fnsa.ca/

The First Nations Education Steering Committee is an “independent society that is committed to improving education for all First Nations learners in British Columbia. FNESC is led by representatives of First Nations across the province.”  FNESC strives to facilitate First Nations support in the area of education. The website includes information about various programs and initiatives.

http://www.fnesc.ca/index.php

There are many links provided for further information.  A few key ones are:

First Nations School Association

Indigenous Adult and Higher Learning Association

First Nations Early Childhood Development Council

Seventh Generation Club

First Voices

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hAAkJ1B-M]

“FirstVoices is a group of web-based tools and services designed to support Aboriginal people engaged in language archiving, language teaching & culture revitalization”.  In ETEC 521 we are discussing factors that make Aboriginal education distinct.  The importance of language is one of these things.  Visitors to this site can hear Aboriginal languages being spoken.  There are activities for children as well as adults.

 http://www.firstvoices.com/

Opportunities to make learning Meaningful

This document, published by Alberta Education, provides extensive suggestions for making learning meaningful for Aboriginal students.  It addresses some of their unique learning attributes.  Graphic organizers, cooperative learning, and independent studies are suggested, linking many important Aboriginal values and traditions to learning activities.

Link

The mission of this website is to raise awareness of First Nations pedagogy around the world. June Kaminski, the creator of the site, provides extensive information related to Aboriginal education. The “Theory” section lists many core Aboriginal beliefs and practices (ie: story telling, the land, four directions, elders, interconnectedness). There is also an extensive list of links related to education.

http://firstnationspedagogy.com/

Is Technology Culturally Neutral?

The general consensus in the reading is that it is not – it is described as a “dangerous technology”, Howe (1998) calls it an exceedingly deceptive technology” (p. 27) with a hidden agenda of the conceptual models and values of the dominant culture. Hence the critique of the western dominated – especially American – monoculture. This technology he feels is intrinsically hostile to the aboriginal worldview, the language and culture of the elders, and to the relationship of land and culture in aboriginal communities.

I came across a video of Andrew Feenberg in the context of another course I am doing. I really like his analysis of the active co-construction or co-creation of the world by the interactions of technology and social and cultural factors – including political and economic forces. His analysis has helped my clarify in what ways technology is not neutral though his analysis of the 10 Paradoxes of Technology:

on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HzJ_Jkqa2Q

The College of the Rockies (COTR) serves the communities of the East Kootenays and is located in the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation and the Kinbasket people. Five Bands are located within the College region, four Ktunaxa Bands and one Shuswap – Kinbasket Band.

I teach in the Child, Youth, and Family Studies program at COTR, and while there is a strong Aboriginal presence in our institution, it is strangely absent in my department.  Last year the Aboriginal Strategic Support and Education Team (a team of faculty members whose goal is to “work collaboratively with the College community to promote the integration and use of Aboriginal scholarship in programs and courses offered by College of the Rockies”) approached our department requesting we include more Aboriginal content in our courses.  The request was denied, as my department felt we were very multi-cultural in our approach, and that it was not necessary to single out any one specific culture or group of people.  Although very early in this course, I’m already realizing that there are deeper issues that we never considered.  There are distinctions to be made and questions to be asked.

Why do we have almost no First Nations students enrolled in our program?  Many of the courses I teach are online courses.   What can I do, as an instructor, to meet the needs of Aboriginal students in my online classes?  What are those needs?  How are the goals and needs of Aboriginal students taking online courses different and/or similar to non-Aboriginals’? These are the questions I will use as the basis for my weblog research.

References:

A.S.S.E.T.  (2011).  College of the Rockies.  Retrieved September 20, 2011 from http://www.cotr.bc.ca/aboriginal/cotr_web.asp?IDNumber=175

Who We Are. (n.d.) Ktunaxa Nation.  Retrieved September 20, 2011 from http://www.ktunaxa.org/who/index.html