Leszek’s ETEC521 Blog

http://www.ricta.ca/

RICTA, short for Research on ICT (information and communication technologies) with Aboriginal Communities. is a Canadian led research consortium which aims to support Aboriginal Communities, by means of research-based evidence to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to help them reach their development goals. Accoding to the website, The RICTA principles are:

The RICTA principles are:

• Working WITH Aboriginal communities
• Using information and communication technologies (ICT) strategically and creatively
• Building local capacity to develop and conduct research
• Holding cluster meetings in communities that facilitate Aboriginal participation
• Facilitating connection and trust among diverse cluster members

http://www.savenativelanguages.org/

The National Alliance to Save Native Languages, established in  2006 is working to promote the revitalization of Native Languages in the United States.  It has a broad membership, including numerous tribes, schools, and various organizations from across the US.  The site provides valuable links to numerous groups engaged in language revitalization across the us, as well as to resources for language teachers. (http://www.savenativelanguages.org/links.html)

http://www.fntc.info

The First Nations Technology Council was established in 2002 by the British Columbia First Nations
Summit Chiefs.  Its mission is to support the full integration of technologies to improve the
quality of life for all First Nations in B.C.  The site provides many useful tools to promote, support and increase technology use among first nations.

According to the terms of reference, the objectives of the FNTC are:

• Advocating for First Nations communities on telecommunications and technology issues.
• Establishing sustainable ICT partnerships for First Nations communities.
• Advising the First Nations Summit on technical matters.
• Building the First Nations Technology Plan.
• Managing First Nations Technology Council communications.

This organization is embracing technology while at the same ensuring it is used in a way that respects the culture and support the values that are important to First Nations.

http://anm-okc.blogspot.com/

This is a blog maintained by Michael Sheyahshe, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for alterNative Media, the owner of Digital Media company based in Oklahoma City.  The blog has excellent links, news and updates on anything related to new media and First Nations, including this excellent article on the growth of an Indigenous digital animation movement.

http://songlines.interactiondesign.com.au/

In module 4, we’ve been looking at the imporance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This site struck me as on which embodies many of the topics we have been looking at in this course, especially ones related to empowerement, cultural sensitivity, and respect.

This is an Australian-based project which aims to conserve Indigenous heritage using virtual reality technologies. It is a collaborative initiative between ACID, an indigenous owned new media, SGI corporation, and numerous aboriginal communities. The Digital Songlines project will use immersive 3D tools/environments to facilitate the collection, education and sharing of indigenous cultural heritage knowledge. The project explores the effective recording, content management and virtual reality delivery of indigenous cultural knowledge in way that are culturally sensitive and involve the indigenous custodians, leaders and communities.

According to the website, the title “Digital Songlines” represents the “blend of new media technology, simulation technology and high end computer visualisation systems to depict Aboriginal culture and heritage in such a way as to do justice to the traditions and practice of Indigenous culture as well as describe the Dreaming, Songlines and significant sites travelled by Aboriginal people throughout Australia.”

http://firstnationspedagogy.com/index.html

This is a site maintained by June Kaminski, a Metis with degrees in Nursing and soon, a PhD in Curriculum Studies and Technology Education.

Just as we as students of ETEC521 are working through this course to better understand indigenous cultures and issues related to education and technology, this site helps teachers, health professionals, and anyone working with first nations to become more aware of issues related to first nations educational initiatives.

For anyone developing online courses for First Nations, this site has a wealth of helpful articles, references and guidelines, including a very helpful report on the Pedagogical considerations of using Moodle as a tool for course development.

http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/

This up to date blog, is authored collectively by the members of PARADISEC.  PARADISEC was reviewed in an earlier posting to this blog.  The blog provides a rich set of resources and ongoing commentary on current research efforts in language preservation and revitalization.  There are numerous links to related blogs and to sites maintained by linguistic researchers.

As with the parent PARADISEC site, it is hard to tell if there is a large amount of indigenous input into this site, but nevertheless, the site does provide useful tools to those working in indigenous  language linguistics.

http://www.12canoes.com.au/

We’ve spent a good deal of the course reading about or discussion have indigenous communities are appropriating technologies and media to create their own content/productions or to tell their own stories.  Here’s an incredibly rich interactive and immersive site that tells the stories of the Yolngu people of Arnhem land in Northern Australia. Each portion of the site provides an insight into an aspect of culture, place, or history and incorporates rich artwork, video clips, still images, music, sounds and often, narration by one of the Yolngo people. Importantly, all content is available in English and in the Yolngu language.

As the Yolngo people state on the site. They are proud of their community, history, children, artists, songmen and place, and are happy to share these with others who are interested in learning about them.

This is a great example of a project that embodies the concepts we have have been discussing, respect for intellectual property, self-determination, autonomy, and supporting native ways and traditions.

http://www.win-hec.org/

WINHEC was established in 2002 during the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education. The founding state/country members present were Australia, the states of Hawai’i and Alaska and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium of the United States, Canada, the Wänanga of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Saamiland (North Norway).  Module 3 of the ETE521 course is largely about de-colonization, especially in the areas of research, education, and property rights.

Acccording to the web site, WINHEC is working towards several goals:

WINHEC GOALS

1. Accelerating the articulation of Indigenous epistemology (ways of knowing, education, philosophy, and research);
2. Protecting and enhancing Indigenous spiritual beliefs, culture and languages through higher education;
3. Advancing the social, economical, and political status of Indigenous Peoples that contribute to the well-being of indigenous communities through higher education;
4. Creating an accreditation body for indigenous education initiatives and systems that identify common criteria, practices and principles by which Indigenous Peoples live;
5. Recognizing the significance of Indigenous education;
6. Creating a global network for sharing knowledge through exchange forums and state of the art technology ; and
7. Recognizing the educational rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This organization serves as a model for the working with and empowering indigenous groups.  WINHEC sponsors an annual conference and publishes an annual summary of the proceedings.  Overall, an excellent resource for anyone working in or doing research in indigenous education.

Keewaytinook Okimakanak (www.knet.ca) is an Aboriginal tribal council in northern Ontario (Canada) that uses Moodle to provide eLearning programs for primary, secondary and adult learners in remote First Nations communities.   I’m a huge proponent of open source learning technologies, so it is nice to see Moodle being adopted by indigenous community groups.  One of the limitations of
mainstream learning management systems and learning technologies is that they are limited to mainstream language groups.  It’s not cost effective for the large vendors to support indigenous language groups.  Moodle allows users to develop their own language packs.  It seems that an Oji-Cree language pack is being developed by the the Kwayaciiwin Resource Centre (http://www.kwayaciiwin.com) in Sioux Lookout, Ontario, with support from knet.