Category — Connection to Research Topic

I do not pretend to be knowledgeable about Indigenous cultures, and all that I know about these cultures I have learned from popular media.  This course is helping me think critically about issues that surround Indigenous education, especially when Westerners impose their ways and modes of knowing on these peoples.

My research interests will focus on place-based learning.  This topic interests me, not only because of its novelty to me had (I had no idea what it was prior to ETEC 521), but because it is related to two areas of cognition that interest me:  situated learning and embodied knowing.  Place-based learning is a form of situated learning, where learning takes place in social and environmental contexts in which the knowledge is used. Learning takes place when problems that are authentic to the context are tackled.  Embodied knowing is a bit more difficult to define simply because it has different meanings.  One definition which is useful in this context is placing the learner in the context in which he will need to use specific types of knowledge.  For instance, although a driver’s manual is helpful, the way to learn how to drive a car is to sit behind the wheel of one and drive.

Topic:  Bridging the gap of culture and education between non-indigenous and Indigenous  groups with technology

Indigenous peoples today have continued poor health and social issues unequal to that of non-indigenous population on the whole.  As a result, educational goals for mainstream and Indigenous peoples are different. Away from the basics of education, the needs and values of Indigenous peoples are different since their existence largely depends on their culture and traditions.  Many studies have shown that Indigenous students have negative experiences in mainstream schools and as a result they are hesitant to engage in traditional curricula.  These experiences have created barriers that affect their educational achievement and consequently lead to unfavourable educational results.

There is potential for technology to address many of these issues.  My weblog will be geared towards documenting information that explores some of the educational challenges facing Indigenous peoples and ways that technology can be used to help First Nation students at all levels to participate in teaching and learning environments that enables them to achieve appropriate and positive educational outcomes.

Topic : Bridging the gap of culture and education between non-indigenous and   Indigenous groups with technology

As a Jamaican working in my country I was never exposed to indigenous people and their cultures in Canada and Australia until I started module one of this course. As I read the literatures of this module, I have become aware that there is a lot to learn about the indigenous cultures and they can learn from our culture.  I agree with the quote, “Culture is a deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of our being” (Brown, 2000, p. 183). In my view, culture is unique to a group but should be not enclosed to a particular group. We easily communicate with each other when we are fully aware of each other’s culture. Hence the knowledge of different cultures becomes important to effective and efficient communication between individuals. Through the use of technology one can easily learn the cultures of indigenous people and vice versa.

Since the start of this course my web searches are centred on the cultures and education of indigenous people both in Canada and Australia. From various searches I have done so far revealed that both the indigenous and non-indigenous people can immensely benefit from each other. As result of the high fuel which has greatly affected the price of travelling across countries, technology is most effectively tool to bridge the gap between boundaries.

As I continue to carry web searches for my weblog on each module in this course, I will ensure my searches are based the keywords of my research topic.

Reference:

Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of Language Teaching and Learning. New York: Pearson Education.

As a teacher with a high population of Urban Aboriginal youth, it is clear that we are far from providing an authentic learning situation for our First Nations students. My project/paper will take a critical look at whether a constructivist approach that incorporates technology could possibly bring more success in a public school setting. Providing the possibility for the youth to be elevated from the dominant Eurocentric paradigm of educational pedagogy and practice while fostering connections with elders, community, and other youth. I will also be investigating the goals of Educational enhancement agreements in British Columbia to see if they are reflective of this idea.

One of the key foundations for constructivism is authentic learning; authentic not just to the needs of the community but also to the young person and their future. The original hegemony of Indigenous education was strongly experiential. I will be examining how an incorporation of technology could revitalize experiential learning in the classroom. Encouraging more success during the troubled Grade 10-12 years where dropout rates climb. The argument for attention to these years is strong. If a successful transition to post-secondary can be established Statistics have shown that First Peoples in Canada have identical if not higher success rates then their non-Aboriginal counterparts (Statistics Canada 2001)

The resources that I will be examining and sharing will provide the background information required to determine the validity of a constructivist approach that embraces technology within First Nations education.

References:
Census Aboriginal Population Profiles. (2001) Retrieved September 23,2011 from
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/AP01/Index.cfm?Lang=E

Language, links individuals to their culture and helps them to associate with and belong to their community. Many Aboriginals have lost touch with their culture due to the injustice they faced. The English language was encouraged as the right language for them to adopt. Society no longer forces Aboriginals to conform to ‘Western’ ideals and customs; thus, allowing for Aboriginals to re-embrace their culture. Various aboriginal dialogues are extinct and others are in danger of extinction. It has become difficult to keep dialects thriving due to the differing lifestyles many Aboriginals lead. Numerous individuals no longer live in communities with their relatives and are not able see them as often. Hence, they may not have access to the knowledge elders could impart to them or have minimal exposure to their native languages.

My research will focus on Indigenous Language Revitalization and how technology can be used as a tool to assist in helping educate modern day Aboriginals who are trying to find a balance between cultivating their culture and the way in which society functions.

The websites I highlight will assist in my research because they will focus on Indigenous languages resources and initiatives employed to rejuvenate Indigenous culture.

As was stated in the introduction to this course, there is no way to adequately answer all the questions of whether, what and how electronic technology should be incorporated into childhood education in FN communities. What I want to look at, is how this is happening now, and in the adult education context.

I want to look at the FN presence in cyberspace as it exists today, and how and why that contributes to both the continued education of FN adults and also adults and children in the dominant culture. Is this presence a positive or negative thing? Why do FN persons with a presence on the internet and in virtual worlds feel this is a) necessary and b) a safe thing to do?

Below are some links to some spaces set up to create aboriginal and indigenous places online.

Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace http://www.abtec.org/blog/?p=109 and http://magazine.concordia.ca/2009/spring/features/second_life.shtml

One of their projects on creating games with FN youth http://www.rit.edu/gccis/gameeducationjournal/skins-designing-games-first-nations-youth and http://www.abtec.org/blog/?p=219

A report of an award granted to a project which created a FN interactive story in the virtual world of SecondLife http://www.canadianexpatnetwork.com/public/891.cfm

My research paper/project will look at aboriginal spaces online, and I will hopefully be able to discuss interactions I have with their creators as well as look at the research that has been done on the subject, as well as how this connects to the concept of educaton.

Although I will not be soley focusing on SecondLife I will post the SLURLs (the links to places in SecondLife) that are relevant to what I am looking at; but those will only be available to people who are already residents in that world, so I am hoping to film some of the places and people I will visit (with permission of course). This is the environment with which I am most familiar, so I am hoping to find other virtual spaces to connect with and broaden both my horizons and the scope of my project.

My limited background and experience with indigenous education, and education in general, makes it a little difficult to choose a topic this early in the semester, so I will pursue a tiny obsession of mine that we all refer to as ‘context’. The question of context, and its influence on how and what people learn, has been a mystery to me prior to getting involved in the MET program, and now that I am close to the finish line I would like to at least attempt to solve this mystery. I see contextual learning, as a form of experiential learning, which can further take the form of service learning, internships, study abroad programs, co-ops and practicums, and so forth. Putting learning into ‘context’ does not only strengthen but also ensures long lasting cognitive connections. The fascinating aspect (for me!) of experiential or contextual learning is the opportunity it allows for learners to interact with knowledge, a knowledge that (in my mind) transforms from a theoretical state to a practical, hands on and interactive one. In applying this concept to indigenous education I would like to answer some of the following questions throughout my research:

1. How does indigenous culture view the concept of ‘context’?
2. Do current indigenous education practices rely on methods that allow for experiential learning?
3. How does technology play a role in indigenous education and is it enough to compensate for the lack of context in education?
4. How do indigenous people learn and what learning methods are best suited in the process of knowledge transfer? Is context important?

There are probably better questions to ask, but I will figure out what they are along the way.

Below, is a list of the first five websites that will help me focus my research.

Last year, for the first time in my entire teaching career, I saw pride and confidence in my two aboriginal students. It was refreshing to hear them sing their cultural song in front of the entire school in their regalia to kick of the Harmony Week, to have them bring artifacts from grandma to share during our First Nations studies, to see them ecstatic about going to a powwow, and to see their impatience while grandma made their drums. But their cultural abundance also made me realize that this was a rare occurrence. Most of the other aboriginal students at my school do not exhibit such pride, excitement, or even curiosity. They view their cultural activities with their First Nation Advocate as fun and a way to be out of the class. I discussed this with the First Nations Advocate and we both want to look at ways to enrich the cultural experience of aboriginal students at elementary school level and instill pride in them about their culture. For my assignment I will examine authentic and meaningful technological resources and tools available for the aboriginal children and look at ways to incorporated them into my school culture and the prescribed curriculum.

Using Technology to Support Community-based Traditional Knowledge Education:

At my school in the NWTs and at our Board we are working to integrate technology in a meaningful and supportive way into the schools and classroom. This year, with support of community members, I secured funding from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for a 2 year project – and hopefully indefinite – to develop technology based curriculum and resources emphasizing the preservation, valuing and passing on of traditional land-based knowledge and language. One of the things I want to do is get some direction and focus for our efforts.

Over the past 7 years we have tried many great strategies to immerse the school in the life of the community including weeks out on the land in the Barrens and recording all this, elders and community members in the school for language, stories, and values education support; on line repositories and resources, SMART Board language learning lessons etc. But I hope technology can help us make some real ‘shift’ in the way we work in the community.

I want to look at strategies used by other indigenous people and develop ideas for our community.  Being aware of the possible harmful effects of technology alongside the many clear benefits we want to develop some practical strategies we can use to guide our development of resources in a way that maximizes involvement and integration of the community, and helps the students be more successful in school and their community.

Sheila

This is a collection of recorded interviews in  English, Inuktitut and French regarding Indigenous experiences of historical events etc – each interview also is related to a written text. Other links to other organizations working with indigenous peoples… Sheila

http://www.traditional-knowledge.ca/default.html