New Horizons- Looking Beyond
I was now confident in using Web 2.0 tools in my own practice, but it was time to start thinking about values and goals of technology-based learning within communities at large. Was technology 'good' for everyone and for 'every' purpose? It was time to look beyond to new horizons and assess the impact of technology within Indigenous populations. Could technology be used by Indigenous populations to reclaim culture, as well as serve as a way to communicate identity and history?
My final project in ETEC 521: Indigenous Collective Memories, explores the use of Indigenous expression to diffuse and store collective memories in Cyberspace. Based essentially on my blog research, I have examined and analyzed how, and why Indigenous communities use the Internet as a culture-mediating technology. I have also looked at if, and how the Internet provides a space for the promotion of Indigenous self-identity and self-determination.
My project focuses on Indigenous people in Canada, and as such my exploration of this subject is far from exhaustive and in no way constitutes a definitive answer. Rather, this project has helped me explore and arrive at some form of understanding and appreciation concerning the diffusion of Indigenous Peoples’ collective memories in Cyberspace.
My project explores the challenges and opportunities for Indigenous communities who use the Internet to engage in their own cultural practices and representations. My MET experience has taught me that computers best support certain cultural ways of knowing, but have a tendency to diminish others. So with this in mind, I explored how some Indigenous people have learned to use culture-mediating technology to support and promote their own cultural groups and moral traditions, despite the challenges they face.
I invite you to explore the project in its entirety: Indigenous Collective Memories or view certain segments that may be of interest to you.This project is in itself a transformative journey.
For easier navigation, I have grouped my exploration of this theme under various angles; first looking at how Indigenous communities promote politics over the web, then how they link their communities together. I also examine
self-representation and identity-making through art, more specifically through the art of story-telling and the power of audio. I also examine limitations and challenges, as well as provide my reflection and conclusion on the subject.
Please join me on my reflective journey, which explores Indigenous People’s Collective Memories in Cyberspace.
By working on this project I learned that people practices, values and technologies within a particular local environment need to be considered. As an educational practitioner I need to define my teaching and learning practices and the values I bring to learning environments. I now know the importance to move beyond using technology just as a ‘tool’, but rather to think of the relationship technology has developed with both student, teacher and how this interacts with the world around us.
My project focuses on Indigenous people in Canada, and as such my exploration of this subject is far from exhaustive and in no way constitutes a definitive answer. Rather, this project has helped me explore and arrive at some form of understanding and appreciation concerning the diffusion of Indigenous Peoples’ collective memories in Cyberspace.
My project explores the challenges and opportunities for Indigenous communities who use the Internet to engage in their own cultural practices and representations. My MET experience has taught me that computers best support certain cultural ways of knowing, but have a tendency to diminish others. So with this in mind, I explored how some Indigenous people have learned to use culture-mediating technology to support and promote their own cultural groups and moral traditions, despite the challenges they face.
I invite you to explore the project in its entirety: Indigenous Collective Memories or view certain segments that may be of interest to you.This project is in itself a transformative journey.
For easier navigation, I have grouped my exploration of this theme under various angles; first looking at how Indigenous communities promote politics over the web, then how they link their communities together. I also examine
self-representation and identity-making through art, more specifically through the art of story-telling and the power of audio. I also examine limitations and challenges, as well as provide my reflection and conclusion on the subject.
Please join me on my reflective journey, which explores Indigenous People’s Collective Memories in Cyberspace.
By working on this project I learned that people practices, values and technologies within a particular local environment need to be considered. As an educational practitioner I need to define my teaching and learning practices and the values I bring to learning environments. I now know the importance to move beyond using technology just as a ‘tool’, but rather to think of the relationship technology has developed with both student, teacher and how this interacts with the world around us.
Culture and Communication in Virtual Learning Environments
ETEC 565G: Culture and Communication in Virtual Learning Environments, allowed me to investigate how online environments are culturally shaped, and thus how people communicate with each other to interact and construct meaning. I felt this course really built nicely upon my ETEC 521 learning, as I continued to examine the meaning of ‘intercultural’ in a technological context. As I explored my initial ideas on culture many questions arose, such as: Does the process of human communication change within online formats? Are there dynamics of intercultural communication that can be applied within online formats? Does our definition of culture change according to our worldview?
Through three Hands-On assignments, I was able to explore these ideas. In the first assignment I explored the origins of cultural symbols and their significance by taking a closer look at saluting within military culture. In the second assignment, I examined how education at university level represents a cultural challenge in India based on the digital gap, as well as the unfamiliarity with online systems and pedagogies that certain segments of the population face. And in the third assignment, I considered how Facebook is used as an online social media space. As such, I did a short ethnographic study of how one individual uses Facebook to create and sustain relationships.
Please view the guided tour of these blog assignments, which gives an overview of my learning experiences.
Through three Hands-On assignments, I was able to explore these ideas. In the first assignment I explored the origins of cultural symbols and their significance by taking a closer look at saluting within military culture. In the second assignment, I examined how education at university level represents a cultural challenge in India based on the digital gap, as well as the unfamiliarity with online systems and pedagogies that certain segments of the population face. And in the third assignment, I considered how Facebook is used as an online social media space. As such, I did a short ethnographic study of how one individual uses Facebook to create and sustain relationships.
Please view the guided tour of these blog assignments, which gives an overview of my learning experiences.
Hands-On Assignments
In ETEC 565G, I also introspected on my online culture and specifically focused on how culture applies to text-based, asynchronous forums. My reflections demonstrate my fascination for understanding how culture influences online
communities of learning, and as such how individuals experience learning.This idea grew into a research proposal entitled: Exploring the Cultural Impact on Communication and Learning within Asynchronous, Higher-learning Online Forums.
Having spent most of my MET journey exploring how to make online learning communication forums more organic and holistic in nature, to now examine how culture impacts communication and learning within these same online environments seemed a natural progression. I believe that critically examining the ways in which cultural assumptions and communication patterns influence learning is quite important and could influence the way online communication forums are designed, and how instructors facilitate. Since these forums are meant to foster communities of inquiry where participants construct meaning through sustained communication, (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000) and that student-to-student interactions are critical to elearning (Anderson, 2004), one could argue that it is very important to study how communication forums inform learning.This research proposal has helped me better understand and gain insight into my own intercultural communication patterns, and thus hone my cultural intelligence as I prepare to facilitate online courses. From an educational perspective, I hope to convince Academia that a study on the impact culture has on communications and learning within text-based higher-learning online forums is a worthwhile
endeavor.
communities of learning, and as such how individuals experience learning.This idea grew into a research proposal entitled: Exploring the Cultural Impact on Communication and Learning within Asynchronous, Higher-learning Online Forums.
Having spent most of my MET journey exploring how to make online learning communication forums more organic and holistic in nature, to now examine how culture impacts communication and learning within these same online environments seemed a natural progression. I believe that critically examining the ways in which cultural assumptions and communication patterns influence learning is quite important and could influence the way online communication forums are designed, and how instructors facilitate. Since these forums are meant to foster communities of inquiry where participants construct meaning through sustained communication, (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000) and that student-to-student interactions are critical to elearning (Anderson, 2004), one could argue that it is very important to study how communication forums inform learning.This research proposal has helped me better understand and gain insight into my own intercultural communication patterns, and thus hone my cultural intelligence as I prepare to facilitate online courses. From an educational perspective, I hope to convince Academia that a study on the impact culture has on communications and learning within text-based higher-learning online forums is a worthwhile
endeavor.