http://otsi.abtec.org/

This is the home page of project developed to teach game design to Aboriginal youth, and have them create a game based on their own context and experience. It was produced in partnership with the Owisokon Lahache of the Kahnawake Survival School. Part of the plan is to empower Aboriginal youth to see themselves as creators and builders, and the other part is to pass on knowledge from elders and preserve stories.

Does this clash? Not sure. Just finding more and more projects that seem to support the idea that Aboriginal designed new media can be an effective teaching tool, and a method of preservation.

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.

http://www.firstvoices.com/
Description: An interactive website created through partnerships with local communities and elders to share knowledge about the local community and to highlight language. There are some basic language recordings available, for a number of different Canadian Aboriginal languages, as well as some learning games. Within the language sections, there are auditory alphabets, words and phrases, organized thematically. The games include word search, matching, and hangman to name a few.
If you are interested in learning a little more about a certain community and getting started with a few phrases, this website would be useful.