ETEC 521 Web Log Project Svetlana Gibson

http://www.openschool.bc.ca/features/bcfns12.html

This is an Open School BC web site which outlines the course content for the BC First Nations Studies 12. The site provides a short description of the 4 course modules, as well as the text used for the course and the print material available from the ministry. The module chart provides a useful outline for the course. The resources which support this course seem to be very expensive, especially if you want to purchase the Media CD which cost $699. It seems to me that this cost may be prohibitive. The most interesting part of this website is under Features which states that the course was developed by BC teachers, instructional designers and multimedia experts. I wonder why they did not use any Aboriginal experts, or if they did, why they did not see fit to credit them as such.

http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/~agraham/nost202/aboppsru.htm

A site is designed by the Yukon College which contains an extensive list of Aboriginal Peoples of the Russian North. Stylistically, this site is very plain. It is a very detailed list, sorted alphabetically instead of geographically or by language types. However, there is a wealth of information here. Each Aboriginal group has numerous links to sites with historical background, language history and origins as well as cultural and artistic links. The links for each group are informative and engaging. I particularly appreciated that there were links about languages as well as photographs and a thorough bibliography at the end.

www.cdu.edu.au/sspr/abracadabra.html This is a Charles Darwin University (School for Social and Policy Research). The article describes the Abracadabra multimedia software which is geared towards early childhood teachers and focuses on reinforcing foundation literacy skills among emerging learners.

The site provides information and links on all aspects of the University including research projects. There is also a link to the Telstra Foundation which is providing funding to the Abra project by committing $750,000.

http://www.fntc.info/ This is the First Nations Technology Council web site. The site is full of links such as Technical Support, Skills Development, Information Management, Community Applications, Youth Caf, Tools and Resources, and News and Events. Each of these in turn will take you on to other sites with a lot of useful information about everything to do with First Nations and Technology in BC. The most useful links I found to be under the Youth Caf which included such links as First Nations Schoolnet and First Nations Education Steering Committee. The site is well organized and easy to use.

http://www.library.ubc.ca/xwi7xwa/educx9.htm

The UBC Library hosts a First Nations Website devoted to a huge variety of topics and organizational links. Although the site is very simple in structure, it provides numerous links to British Columbia, Canadian and American First Nations Educational sites. There are also links to various reports on Aboriginal education. One of these reports is Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. This site is geared towards educators and researchers and covers various aspects of cultural research with links to Indigenous Education Worldwide. The Curriculum Resources links are also are also useful; however, they do not provide any links to technology related sites. The Programs links provide links to many post secondary Canadian educational establishments. Overall, this is a useful site if you are looking for teaching resources or information on various aspects of BC, Canadian or International First Nations Education. Well worth exploring.

http://epx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/2/258

This article is apparently about the role of technology in overcoming social exlusion in US Education. It sounds very interesting, examining current patterns of exlusion among other things. I was not able to access the entire article, because the cost was prohibitive. For short term (1 day) viewing, the price was $20. I feel that this is extremely ironic they are writing an article about using technology to overcome social exclusion, but they exlude many readers by putting a hefty price tag on it. What I find interesting is the social dynamic. Where I could pay for this article if I wanted to, why would I when there are so many free articles out there? However, they are denying access to the same people they seem to be trying to empower with their article.

http://www.horizonzero.ca/index.php?pp=29&lang=0

HorizonZero is an online site for digital art, ideas and culture. It was created in 2002 as a collaboration between the Banff New Media Institute and the Culture.ca Gateway. It is an interactive web production with 18 thematic issues. However, it only lasted for 3 years so it is not currently being updated. The objective of the project was to: to commissio n fresh Canadian new media content; to promote and disseminate Canadian talent in digital arts and culture, both nationally and worldwide; and to facilitate dialogue and innovation in the converging fields of science, technology, media arts, and research. Issue 17 drew my attention because it deals with Aboriginal Story in Digital Media. It tells the story of Iktomni the Trickster. The story is narrated with simple animation. The most engaging part is that you can select the language you want to hear the story in English or Nakoda. The site is well organized and provides a wealth of information on Aboriginal culture and art. Many of the illustrations in the story are interactive and link you to other sites for even more info.

http://sd71.bc.ca/sd71/edulinks/firstnat/Lessons/storytel.htm

This is a detailed unit plan for teaching storytelling entitled Discovering Yourself. It was designed by Judy Wilson and Robyn Dickinson. It combines the curriculum for Social Studies, English Language Arts and Personal Planning. The unit can be adapted to any grade level. It is well laid out and easy to follow with a list of useful resources.

http://bctf.ca/bcssta/links/firstnations.htm This is a very basic site prepared by the BCTF (British Columbia Teachers Federation). There are no frills here, just a list of sites you can go to to find information you may be looking for. It contains two basic categories of resources: general resources and archival resources Under General Resources you can find such links as Provincial Exams where you can find past provincial exams and keys and information on provincially examinable courses. It still baffles me that the teachers work very hard to provide students with a well balanced curriculum where they are exposed to a wide variety of collaborative learning, storytelling and oral presentations, yet the provincial exams only test then on the written aspect of their knowledge. The site also contains links to such sites as Canadas Digital Collection with 400 web sites related to Canada's history, geography, science, technology, and culture.

There is also and Aboriginal Cultures and Traditions: Storytelling (they actually misspelled cultures as cultures). But if you go to the link, it will take you to the Digital Collections which they already provided a link for. This should have been a link which directly took you to the storytelling and not another list of sites. Under the Archival Resources you have two choices: the National Archives of Canada and the Hudsons Bay Archives. Overall, a good starting point but a cumbersome way of organizing information.

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/main.htm

This is a British Columbia Archives Presents the Amazing Time Machine site. On the left hand side, the site includes a list of 11 links which include: Families in BC History, Communities in BC History, First Nations Art in BC, The Cariboo Gold Rush, Mulitculturalism, Social Institutions, First Nations BC, Economy and Technology, BC Resource Development, and Art in BC History. There is also a Teachers Corner link. This is a very simple site but with some good resources if you have the time to spend looking at all the links since there is no search option.

http://www.e-library.ca/education/best-practices/pdf/Sunchild%20elearning.pdf This is an article on Community-Based Learning Opportunities for Aboriginals, Winner, 2005 which provides details on a case study on the Sunchild E-Learning Community Model. This is a well organized and easy to navigate article. The bookmarks on the left hand side list

each subheading in the article. In 1999, the Sunchild E-Learning Community was established to develop and deliver high-quality education aimed exclusively at the educational needs of grades 9 to 12 Aboriginal students in 12 First Nations communities across Canada.

http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/lisel-mueller/why-we-tell-stories/
This poem is to me the essence of why the internet is such a valuable tool. Searching for story telling articles on the web led me to this page. It is just one poem not much to review but I felt I should include it because it made such a profound impact on me, and really defined where I wanted to go with my final paper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fHJW_rHwRQ Stories of hardship, how people rely on each other, and perils of acting impulsively. The Starvation Story I found this Youtube video on a whim when I searched for First Nations Story. There are many First Nations stories done as videos. I feel this makes YouTube a very powerful resource. This was a story of hardship and how people must rely on each other. It exposes the folly of pride, as the hunter refuses food from neighbours to feed his family. It also speaks to how the larger group can be affected by the actions of one individual. In this case, the fathers daughters die of starvation because he will not accept help when he needs it. It is done in in a First Nations language that was not identified, but subtitles were provided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZRHUEP7XfA&feature=related The Legend of Cant Kill Food I found this YouTube video very interesting because it is a recording of an elder telling the story in his own language. Subtitles are included, and actors are used to present the story, but the elder is shown repeatedly through the video, which gives the story a real face, like one is learning the story at the foot of an elder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIyCDr_ojV4 Here is a video from a Native rap group called Tru Rez Crew. The song is called Im a Lucky One. The group is from the Six Nations. This is a wonderful piece of self empowerment. While the video is clearly well produced, the poetry and the power of the lyrics suggest a resurgence of the story telling genre. Although they borrow heavily from the rap genre, this story is something unique. They are using modern means to tell their story and honour their parents. To paraphrase, Those who rose above it, chose to love us, and gave us a kick in the butt when we need it.

During the reading, I encountered concepts that suggested that Aboriginal people are defined by the land where they lived. The further suggestion was that since the Internet is landless, they would have difficulty connecting over it. This is clearly not the case in this video. Images of land, family, and life experiences on a reservation make it all the more powerful.

http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=272&layout=html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX2_QUPMFrE Performed by a Native from British Columbia, who goes by the name GTech, this video was clearly self produced. The lighting is bad, the sound is poor, but the important thing is that this young person has the opportunity to speak his mind in a forum where people will hear. It is interesting to see that he has 1,821 views, although this video is clearly of low visual quality. I think this speaks volumes about the breadth of audience these young people can find for their message.

http://www.camh.net/Publications/Cross_Currents/Summer%202008/eldersspeak_crcusumme r08.html Generation to Generation: When aboriginal Elders Speak, Youth Listen This is a short article on the Center for Addiction and Mental Health site. It talks about elders spending time with children in foster care. One particular example relates a story of an elder taking a group of foster children on a medicine walk through a forest in Duncan, B.C. A six-year-old girl hurt her ankle playing in the forest. She wrapped her ankle in a healing fern she had learned about from the elder. This is just one example of how powerful the connection between the elders and the children can be and shows how much it is missed when that connections has been severed. The medicine walk is hosted by the Surrounded by Cedars, an aboriginal child and family welfare agency in Victoria, BC. This day-long excursion and the lessons it taught are an example of the valuable role that aboriginal elders can play in ensuring that the future of youth includes a strong link to the cultural knowledge and traditions that will ground them in their identity as aboriginal peoples. The site also provides links to various mental health sites.

http://ainc-inac.gc.ca/bc/proser/fna/ed/ed_e.html

This Indian and Northern Affairs Canada site is a typical government site with all the government insignias and format. The first thing that stands out is how bland and boring it is. The only benefit this site provides is the links to other sites of more value. It is a page of government double speak and bland, pointless entries.

http://www.fnesc.ca/

This is the First Nations Education Steering Committee website. I found this site to be very interesting and valuable because it gave a good overview of existing program for aboriginal students in BC. The committee is located in Vancouver. The site is easy to navigate with clear, well defined and intuitive user interface. I found the search window did not work when I tried it, returning a cryptic message about insufficient quota. This is too bad, because I think there is a lot of valuable information buried deep within this site.

http://www.edukits.ca/aboriginal/culture/grade1/teacher/resources.htm Aboriginal Youth Identity Series: Culture and its Meaning This is an excellent site of lesson plans and resource books from Grade 1 to Grade 12. The stated purpose of the site is to explore culture and its meaning with regards to Aboriginal people. The plans are said to be Aboriginal but they tend to focus on the Blood Indians. I would have liked to have seen the scope of this large body of work to be broadened. The site is from Alberta and although the stated goal is to be inclusive, I feel that it would be difficult to adapt the curriculum to be relevant to people living outside of Alberta.