Tech Tools: Stop Motion Animation

Stop motion animation is a tool for visual storytelling that uses still images to create a moving image. Stop motion movies can be as simple as a few consecutive frames that form a story-board to an intricate film with thousands of frames a minuet. A classic example of stop motion that many may be familiar with is claymation: forming characters from clay and photographing them through a range of positions to create action. The popular series Wallace and Gromit is an example of this technique.

Of course, Wallace and Gromit is stop motion created by a studio of trained technicians, but the same stop motion principles apply to this film as would be used by students in the classroom. A camera is set up in a fixed place and the characters are moved around in front of it with one photography being taken at selected intervals (the smaller the interval the faster the action) to create motion. The characters that create motion can be either 3D models, or can take the form of an image that is developed in front of the camera and sped up to create a progression.  Here is an example of a stop motion video I made with drawing and painting. This video combines portions of stop motion with video to create a more dynamic experience.

 

The flexibility and creative potential of stop motion make it an excellent tool for students to express them selfs and show their learning. Because it is often an in depth process to make a stop motion film, it also lends itself well to collaboration between students, with individualized roles such as camera person, director, cinematographer etc within a group. Below is an example of a stop motion animation made by a whole class at Gidgalang Kuuyas Naay Secondary School in Haida Gwaii. The animation uses readily available materials like cardboard and paper and tells the story of Taaw, a local landmark on Graham Island. This video is an excellent example of the power of stop motion animation. It is simple, creative, collaborative approachable and fun way to breath life into any story. These students have made it relevant by using it to tell the story of their own place and culture in their own language. With the right tools, training access to equipment and time I think all students could tell their story in this medium.

Teaching Tools for Language Nests

This week I looked into the concept of the Language Nest. The concept of language nests originates in New Zealand with the  Te Kōhanga Reo , an initiative to maintain the strength of Maori language and culture through immersive educational environments. This concept has been adopted by many Indigenous nations in British Columbia including the ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School in SD 63.

The First Peoples’ Cultural Council provides resources for opening a successful language nest program. These resources include games, activity and curriculum, and have been compiled by several successful language emersion projects across B.C.

One of the most interesting tools I found on this site was wordless books. Wordless books can be used for storytelling in any language, and leave the narrative open to interpretation and expansion by the reader and listener. This is an excellent tool in the language nest context because different learners may have different levels of proficiency in the language but will be able to engage in the story simultaneously. Wordless books can be found at many book stores, but the FPCC recommends the the following.

http://www.fpcc.ca/files/PDF/Language/Language_Nest/Wordless_Books_2016.pdf

Wordless book can also be made by students for this context. This is particularly exciting to me as an art teacher and social studies teacher, and it is here I can see myself using this tool in my teaching. The potential for cross curricular engagement where students make a book in art that is relevant to their lessons in the socials class or a language program gives students agency over their learning. Being able to create your own book allows students to direct their vocabulary learning in a direction that interests them. It also allows them to connect the language to their own experience and interests, and provides a personal connection to the learning across subjects. The FPCC also provides a guide for making your own wordless book linked below.

http://www.fpcc.ca/files/PDF/Language/Language_Nest/Wordless_Book_Set_Workshop_Generic.pdf

 

Virtual Reality

A few days ago I tried virtual reality for the first time. A friend showed me the ropes at the UVic digital commons and I was able to enter a new world. I was most interested in the applications of virtual reality to visual art, which is my primary teaching area. Drawing in virtual reality is already exploding, and now I can see why. The experience opens up a new understanding of how a line can function in space. There is a famous quote by painter Paul Klee. It goes: “Drawing is like taking a line for a walk”. Drawing in Virtual Reality allowed me to literally take a line for a walk, and walk over around and through that line.

me drawing in 3d

I started with drawing by making a room around myself, and furnishing it with objects. I could move around the room and the objects because they occupied the same space as my body. My drawing was therefore as physical as a sculpture, but permeable as it was still depicted in contour.

I could see this technology being hugely useful in secondary art class – and very very good fun. Drawing in 3d would be a good way to teach students about perspective, which can sometimes be dry and challenging. This technology could also bridge the gap between drawing and sculpture, as the product is experienced as both. This program could also allow students to draw new worlds in a way that is more immersive than every before experienced. I love how intuitive the technology was, complete with haptic responses to the marks. This would be easy for students to learn and would open doors to new art forms we likely cant even comprehend.

Secwepemc Language Game

This week I looked at the resources compiled by Chief Atahm School in Salmon Arm. The school is an immersive language school and has programmes in Secwepemc from Kindergarden to professional development. I learned about this school from a colleagues from the area, who passed on an article in the Salmon Arm Observer linked here.

As well as providing classes in Secwepemc, Cheif Atahm school creates curriculum resources for Secwepemc teaching. You can visit their excellent website here .  It is heartening to see such a commitment to language learning and teaching both online and in person.

Image from the schools home page linked here

Some of the tools Chief Atahm school has on their website include the following: A Secewpemc language game, books in the language, and curriculum packs for purchase from k-12. The game was one of the only free resources, so thats what I gravitated to.

The brief interaction I had with the games was positive. It is simple match and guess technology with audio and visual aids. I think this tool is excellent when paired with in person instruction, so that children have immersion that can put vocabulary into context. Though I do not live in this territory, It is important to know where I can access examples of lessons that integrate indigenous languages as a future teacher. These lessons could hopefully be altered to the specific territory I end up working in, with the consultation of administration and the community.

First Nation’s Technology Council

This week I took a diversion and investigated the First Nation’s Technology Council. This is a resource for all things related to Indigenous Technology, and describes itself as follows:

The First Nations Technology Council is an Indigenous-led organization that serves all 203 First Nations communities across British Columbia, working to ensure that Indigenous peoples have full and equitable access to the tools, training and support to maximize the opportunities presented by technology and innovation. The Technology Council sees the strengthening of local Indigenous economies and the empowering of Indigenous innovators as contributing to Indigenous self-determination and nationhood. These efforts can serve as a tangible form of reconciliation as we work towards a shared and sustainable future in Canada.

-reference here

The FNTC came into existence in 2003, and works in partnership with First Nations to train members for digital citizenship. The FNTC also fights for digital equity for Indigenous communities and people. I was pointed to this resource by Dr. Irvine and felt compelled to spend time with it because of the importance of it’s mandate. It is my opinion that access to digital citizenship is an increasingly fundamental right for all Canadians. Because many remote Indigenous communities might not have the infrastructure for high speed internet, access to digital citizenship becomes entangled with issues of colonialism. The additional barriers that some Indigenous people may face to becoming digital citizens therefore becomes an issue of reconciliation, and in my opinion should be treated with the appropriate urgency.

In regards to the FNTC’s applications for the classroom, I found their page on “best practices” useful.  This is a general list of considerations for engaging Indigenous communities with tech tools, including the excellent report “Nurturing the Learning Spirit of First Nation Students: The Report of the National Panel on First Nation Elementary and Secondary Education for Students on Reserve”. I was also excited to find the First Nation’s Knowledge Network, an online tool for information sharing across first nations communities.

It is one of my goals to work as a teacher in a remote BC community. It is very likely that this community may be dominantly Indigenous. The tools that the FNTC provides will be invaluable to my preparation for that goal. It is my hope that I can communicate the importance of digital equity to all my students moving forward and build a conversation and spirit of advocacy around this issue.

 

 

Tech Inquiry: First Voices

I have cast a wide net in my search for Indigenous language learning tools. My search has lead me to several resources, some that are language specific and others that have much broader mandates. Today I will share one resource and my ideas for it’s potential application in the classroom.

1. First Voices 

Screenshot from First Voices homepage here

First Voices is a centralized database of Indigenous Language learning tech tools. Languages are listed alphabetically in an interactive grid (pictured above). Each language has a dedicated home page and branching pages titled: learning the language, photographs, games and kids portal. Learning the Language provides the user with interactive links to words, phrases, stories, songs and the specific alphabet used in each context. These categories are populated with written, phonetic and spoken components and occasionally have images to accompany vocabulary. There are also links to specific keyboards for each language, which can be downloaded for android and IOS devices.

First Voices Keyboard for iPhone

Perhaps most excitingly, many of the languages have learning apps that use a flashcard method much like the popular app Duolingo. The most local language app to the Victoria area is SENĆOŦEN, the language of the W̱SÁNEĆ  (Saanich) people. I downloaded the app and spent some time with it. Immediately I was struck by the ease of the format, a choice between random flash cards spoken and written in SENĆOŦEN or an English to SENĆOŦEN search engine. The app functioned much like a digital dictionary, with the addition of a spoken aid and a graphic for each word.

First Voices app for SENĆOŦEN. Screenshots from my phone.

I think this would be a very practical tool for students to have at their disposal in the classroom. The pronunciation element of the app is vital, as it allows students to immediately speak the word in mimicry. As useful as this app is it is a basic tool, it does not move the learner beyond vocabulary building. It is important that Indigenous languages are integrated holistically into schools, where students learn about Indigenous languages as the soul of Indigenous culture, and connect the language to the land. This app provides an excellent supplementary tool to a more robust language lesson in SENĆOŦEN, and has many applications for practice and memorization.

 

Tech Inquiry: First Steps

In this inquiry project I want to investigate identify and familiarize myself with tech tools that can bring indigenous languages into the classroom. I am interested in how indigenous language learning can connect students to place, build community in the class, and be applied to all subjects. I am also interested in how learning elements of the indigenous language can help teach the First Peoples Principles of Learning in the classroom. My goals with these project are these:

1. Identify and collect as many tech tools as I can find for the Lekwungen language.
2. Use these tools and provide reviews and potential uses in learning and teaching.
3. Expand my search to a selection of other indigenous languages according to where I might like to work.
4. Learn a selection of Lekwungen words and share them with my community.
5. Expand into adjacent tech and non tech tools such as video / film resources in indigenous languages, video conferencing with other language speakers or learners, and visual aids for indigenous language learning for the classroom.