Statement connecting weblog to research interests

As I reflect on my weblog entries, I realized that my research focus drastically changed from what I started with. Initially, I had intended to narrow in on the use of media; specifically video production and its implications on student engagement. Almost all my weblog posts were directed towards this area and the Tim Michel interview in the last week changed all that. I began to think holistically and even though the most important part of conducting research is narrowing down a topic, I decided that I would take the opposite approach in my final project. As such, I picked out the main themes that stuck out to me within this course and articulated my thoughts on them. My understanding of the subject matter is a culmination of prior experience, course readings, weblog entries and discussion. For this reason, my weblog entries are not directly related to my final project but along with other peoples entries, they did play a role in furthering my understanding.

Thanks,

Manny Loyla

Weblog  #3

As I begin to narrow down my research interest, I thought the best course of action would be to investigate what kind of programs are out there locally so that it can be more relevant to my teaching practice. I have added a few posts regarding groups in the lower mainland area that our school works closely with.

1) L.O.V.E.

The leave out violence group has base stations throughout the whole of Canada. It was initiated by a lady (Sheila Rudberg) who had lost her husband in what appeared to be a random act of violence. This group uses various forms of media such as photojournalism to address and empower youth to speak out against violence.

2) Strengthening the Circle Aboriginal Leadership Conference

This annual event hosts students from across the lower mainland along with support staff and brings together important figures from within the aboriginal community. During the 2-day event, students participate in a variety of activities intended to build upon leadership and communication skills.

3) Pacific Cinematheque

This organization is involved in all aspects of video production. They have a 4 day digital bootcamp program where they go to schools and let them use their professional movie making equipment. Students are allowed to take on various tasks such as script writing, casting, editing, etc. The ultimate goal being the production of a mini-movie ready for publishing and entry into contests across North America.

4) First Nations Films

This website provides a catalogue of movies created by first nations communities across Canada. They are open to educators and span a wide range of topics such as residential schooling and politics about life on the reserve. These documentaries have been created by first nations people for first nations people. They range in price from $100-$150 each but showcase some of the finest works over the past decade.

5) CBC – Aboriginal

This link highlights pertinent issues facing aboriginal communities across Canada. It contains links to many issues that face aboriginal communities and highlights a lot of the topics we have been deconstructing in our cohort.  There is also an archive section in which there is a documentary on the “fight for native rights.” It is well worth a quick browse and appeals to many different research interests.

Module 2 – Manny’s Weblog continued…

In continuing with my theme on video production and broadcasting within Canadian indigenous communities, I have located the following resources that may aid me in my final paper.

1) Indigenous Independent Digital Filmmaking Program

This program has been offered by Capilano college of North Vancouver for the past decade. It allows aboriginal students to receive training in all elements of filmmaking and express these from an aboriginal perspective. The Aboriginal film and television production sector is growing at a rapid rate. This program seeks to equip students with the skills required to pursue a career in this industry.

2) Indigenous film timeline – australia.gov.au

This government website has many links and information related to conflicts that arose between settlers and the Aboriginal populations across Australia. It has a wonderfully chronicled timeline that dates back to the 1920’s. There are many links to documentaries that can be downloaded or viewed online. It is very illustrative and contains a large database of information on aboriginal film. There are links at the bottom that have examples of indigenous and non-indigenous filmmakers work.

 3) Indigenous arts network (IAN)

This site boasts many examples of media produced by Canadian aboriginal artists. You can also select your province of choice and bring up local examples in many different media formats. The art presented on IAN is represented by the Nine Circles designed by the Association for Native Development in the Performing and Visual Arts – ANDPVA, namely; theatre, writing, film and video, music, new media, dance, craft and design, visual art and communication.

4) The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF)

The VIFF occurs annually and highlights some of the works created by local artists that have received notoriety in the filmmaking world. I recently had the opportunity to take my students downtown Vancouver to watch the movie “Iran Job.” Luckily the editor was in the audience and he described to our students how he was able to make the movie in a country were filming cultural norms was outlawed. I immediately thought of the subject matter in ETEC 521 and the commonalities between cultures not wanting their traditions being recorded by outsiders.

5) Government website – First nations peoples of B.C.

This is an excellent site for those wanting to know the specifics of First Nations demography in B.C. It is a primary source of information and I am thinking that it must be updated on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. There are links to research articles and case studies that focus on aboriginal education. Great website if you need factual data on local first nations populations.

I think I have enough resources on the filmmaking portion of my final project but will focus my last two weblogs on the broadcasting and distribution networks in indigenous cultures. After sifting through the vast amounts of information, I can hopefully try to narrow in on a single topic for the final assignment. Feedback is always welcome…

Thanks,

Manny

As I contemplate what my final paper/project will look like, I am struggling with narrowing my thoughts down to a specific topic. I guess this is normal as research usually evolves along with our knowledge on a subject area. After progressing through the first module, the technology that I want to look at in more detail is the usage of video production and broadcasting in indigenous cultures. Although I am still in the infancy stages, I want to direct my attention to the implications that media has had on indigenous cultures, especially identity preservation. The Ginsburg (2002) article really opened my eyes to the power that technology had on the Northern Canadian Inuit and Australian Aboriginal communities. I have outlined a few articles that may be pertinent to my research interest.

1) Expanding Health Literacy: Indigenous youth creating videos.

This article begins by assessing the four aspects of health that are central to indigenous cultures; mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well being. A holistic view of health is achieved through interdependence and balance between these four characteristics. Although taken from a health perspective, this article outlines the many advantages a community can reap by allowing their youth to record interactions between them and their elders.

2) Community-based Indigenous Digital Storytelling with Elders and Youth

This article stuck out to me write away as Sylvia Moore is one of the co-authors, a name that I became familiar with in my last MET class. Sylvia claims that digital recordings of storytelling not only preserve cultural artifacts but also serve as an important tool to bring community together and produce something that they can benefit from. She stresses the importance of making digital videos so that a future generation of indigenous people can use technology to sustain their indigenous world views.

3) Television, Nation, and Indigenous Media

Similar to the Ginsburg article, this paper analyzes the impact of Australian aboriginal culture in media and how it clashed with the pre-formed national culture. It takes an in depth look at the role that media plays in building national identity and citizenship. Broadcasting videos allowed aboriginals a portal through which they could narrate their culture and embed it into Australia’s national identity.

4) Video communication roadblocks facing remote indigenous communities

This article investigates the broadband capabilities of remote indigenous communities and their usage of the Internet. As the title suggests, there are technical and social roadblocks in place that can be overcome if the right tools and policies are put into place.

I look forward to narrowing my research interests and l’m sure it will morph into something I never expected.