Tag Archives: technology

My Final Project

For my final project I decided to look at how Modern Metis communities are using technology for Self-representation and Self-Determination. I provided a brief history of the Metis and their struggles as well as a current snap shop of the progress that the Metis have made and continue to make.

My Presentation is a Prezi titled: The Metis Looking Back, Moving Forward and it is viewable here: http://prezi.com/j0zgljcejwdb/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Direct Link Here: The Metis Looking Back, Moving Forward

Thanks everyone, this course has been a wonderful experience.

Mod 4:5 UCalgary Native Civilisations

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The University of Calgary has webpages that give basic information about First Nations history. This one has maps of Canada with different ways of dividing regions. It is interesting to see how the linguistic, regional, and First Nations maps differ and compare to one another.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/firstnations/civilisations.html

Mod 4:4 Four Directions

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This website is an interactive journey that gives information about five First Nations across Canada. The website says, “Four Directions Teachings celebrates Indigenous oral traditions by honoring the process of listening with intent as each elder or traditional teacher shares a teaching from their perspective on the richness and value of cultural traditions from their nation.” (http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/transcripts.html) The site is student friendly and engaging. It could easily be used in the classroom to share information about First Nations peoples.

http://www.fourdirectionsteachings.com/main.html

Mod 4:3 Treaty Videos

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The Office of the Treaty Commissioner is an agency in Saskatchewan that is committed to treaty education. As part of the Treaty Essential Learnings curriculum that was put out in 2007, videos were created for teachers to use in the classroom. These videos give students an overview of the treaties that cover the province of Saskatchewan. They are useful for any teacher wanting to incorporate treaty teachings in their classroom.

http://www.otc.ca/LEARNING_RESOURCES/Videos/

Mod 4:2 This is the classroom

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The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is the professional organization representing the teachers of Saskatchewan. This is the Classroom is blog created by the STF that discusses important issues that affect teachers in this province. First Nations and Metis issues are always at the forefront of our educational consciousness and this blog has put together some well written posts about the Treaty Essential Learnings and First Nations education. The posts are written by teachers, for teachers so they are easy to read and informative.

http://thisistheclassroom.ca/category/understanding-complexity-in-metis-inuit-and-first-nations-education/#.UpgfKSiySPE

Module 4, post#3: The Use of Social Media

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The use of technology in the classroom has proven to increase students’ engagement. There are a number of valuable social medias that afford students the opportunity to interact with their classmates about a learning topic and share their information and ideas online. These tools can be valuable during any studies, including a unit on indigenous culture.

In my experience, I have found the following two forms of educational social media to be most beneficial in the classroom: Edmodo and Google Apps for Education.

For those of you unfamiliar with Edmodo, it allows students to share their information with others through a platform that looks similar to Facebook (without the privacy issues). Students can access files that have been linked by teachers and can also share links with the class. If you have assigned a group activity, such as to co-create a digital version of an indigenous story, students can share their work with others via Edmodo. Teachers can track students’ performance on a task and can also collaborate with other teachers around the world, possibly teachers who are members of the First Nation or who have a deeper understanding of the culture than themselves.

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) allows each student to access shared documents or presentations through Google Drive. For example, the teacher could make a unit outline using Google Presentations. Students would then have access to the slides from each lesson, even at home, and they can add information to these presentations throughout the unit. The first slide might include a KWL Chart. As homework, students can add what they already know and what they would like to learn. Students can update this chart throughout the unit, adding what they have learned.

Using technology to teach indigenous studies can help make the topic appealing to today’s tech savvy students. If the goal is to get Junior/Intermediate/High School students interested in indigenous culture, social medias such as Edmodo and GAFE can be building blocks toward reaching that outcome.

Module #4-5: Indigenous Portal

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Indigenous Portal is a website that offers a broad array of resources such as articles, videos, and podcasts regarding Indigenous peoples from all over the world.

The Indigenous Portal is an outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication, and the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis (it was coincidentally mentioned in Ginsberg’s article in week 12). One of its chief aims was to bridge the global digital divide separating rich countries from poor countries by spreading access to the Internet in the developing world.

In the Portal, articles and resources are divided up into a number of regions and categorized by various subjects (culture, education, technology, etc.). Not only can visitors search for documents by regions or topics, but anybody can submit content (press releases or other text articles) to the Portal once they create an account. These documents provide guidance to Indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, or academics who are interested in improving communications and the quality of life for Indigenous peoples around the world.

Module 4 – Post 4 – Distance Education

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As more and more interest appears in the those wishing to study aboriginal issues, the question arises as to what is the most effective way in communicating this knowledge. The online course or distance education model is becoming increasingly more popular and it is evident that the there must exist a way to bring these two areas together. This article represents a survey of distance education courses that focus on First Nations issues and how the curriculum is developed and delivered. Its very interesting to consider that challenges in this educational model and the distinct challenges in communicating the ideas and cultural sensitives that are essential to this subject.

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/united-states/indigenous-distance-education

Module #4 – Post #3: Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival

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The Vancouver Indigenous Media Arts Festival (VIMAF) recently wrapped up its third annual event last week. This year’s festival ran from the 6 – 11 of November and hosted a number of events across downtown Vancouver, with venues ranging from the Central Library to SFU Woodwards to the NFB. The festival is an opportunity for indigenous artists working in the field to showcase their works, and perhaps even more importantly, for the public to engage with these artists in the issues surrounding indigeneity in a contemporary context.

While the works featured and the topics discussed at VIMAF may diverge from traditional indigenous artistic expression, the organizers of the festival stress the underlying element that ties together the variety of works showcased over the course of the week: storytelling. In this sense, new media technologies have provided indigenous artists with a new venue, a new voice in which to relate their histories, traditions, and contemporary issues with not just their own communities, but with the wider public.

The festival’s programming includes screenings, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities that help indigenous artists in the field to build personal and industry connections. Full details from this year’s festival can be found here.

Module 3. Post 3 – A Change in Focus: Fort McKay

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I have been researching the peoples of Fort McKay recently as I believe that their struggle epitomizes the struggle of First Nations people. It is a story of loss of language, culture, and many traditional ways of living to the economies of our nation. Their story shows how treaty rights are being ignored and I am keen to learn how the indigenous residents of Fort McKay are using technology to combat the quiet oppression they face every day by mass corporate practices.

This video summarizes much of what the peoples of Fort McKay are up against. I will refocus my final project to highlight the issues surrounding the peoples of Fort McKay and how they are fighting back.

Mel Burgess.