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Issue #2
January, 2010

Professional Development

Learn Now BC: Rural Professional Development Online

http://www.learnnowbc.ca/default.aspx

Source: The LearnNowBC.ca web portalcreated by the Virtual School Society
Focus: On line coursesdesigned for BC Educators, parents and students

Summary: This site is a single point of entry to information about distributed (online) learning in British Columbia for students, parents and educators. This method of instruction relies primarily on indirect communication between students and teachers, including internet or other electronic-based delivery, teleconferencing, or correspondence, called Distributed Learning (DL).

Multimedia

Windspeaker Canadian Classroom Edition

http://www.ammsa.com/classroom/index.htm

Source: The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) is an Aboriginal communications society dedicated to serving the needs of Aboriginal people throughout Canada. Incorporated in 1983 under the Alberta Societies Act, the AMMSA has served as the model for Aboriginal communications societies and organizations not only in Canada, but throughout North America.

Summary: Classroom Edition is a regular part of Windspeaker now called “Canadian Classroom“. Each issue of Windspeaker dedicates two pages to exploring some critical issues. The information contained in Canadian Classroom can play an instrumental role in breaking down barriers and increase understanding between individuals, communities and cultures.

Various views on a single issue are presented along with thought provoking questions to encourage dialogue and open communication. Editorial cartoons and photos are utilized to further stimulate thought and dialogue.

Relevant Research

Redefining how success is measured in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Learning Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)

http://ccl-cca.ca/

Source: Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
Focus: CCL has introduced three online, interactive learning tools, accessible from CCL’s website. These online tools provide an opportunity to demonstrate how the Holistic Lifelong Learning Models can be used to identify data gaps, disseminate information to a larger audience and increase access to data and indicators.

Summary: First Nations, Inuit and Métis people have long advocated learning that affirms their own ways of knowing, cultural traditions and values. However, Aboriginal Peoples also desire Western education that can equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to participate in Canadian society. First Nations, Inuit and Métis recognize that “two ways of knowing” will foster the necessary conditions for nurturing healthy, sustainable communities.

Increasingly, Aboriginal communities are administering educational programs and services formerly delivered by non-Aboriginal governments. They are developing culturally relevant curricula and community-based language and culture programs, and creating their own educational institutions.

Related Links

Planning Guide and Framework for Development of Aboriginal Learning Resources

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/planguide/welcome.htm

Source: British Columbia Ministry of Education Skills and Training, Field Services and Aboriginal Education Team
Focus: All Elementary and Secondary grade levels

Summary: The Planning Guide and Framework includes best-practice examples from recent Aboriginal learning resources.

The Guide provides a brief overview of the process of creating a learning resource. It contains advice based on the findings and practice of other, experienced resource developers, and it provides tips on effective organization, research, writing, and production.

The Framework also provides some working materials that community researchers and writers can use to create their resource, including an open ended planning grid that will be helpful to any committee deciding what to include in the material from both historic and cultural perspectives.

Classroom Practice: Secondary

The Atlas of Canada Natural Resources Canada

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/atlas-canada

Source: Natural Resources Canada
Focus: Secondary History, Geography and Social Studies

Summary:The current 50 languages of Canada’s indigenous peoples belong to 11 major language families – ten First Nations and Inuktitut. Canada’s Aboriginal languages are many and diverse, and their importance to indigenous people immense. This map shows the major Aboriginal language families by community in Canada for the year 1996, and it is a part of a series of three maps that comprise Aboriginal Languages. The “get info from map” function provides detailed and specific information for each community.

Classroom Practice: Elementary

Shared Learnings: Integrating BC Aboriginal Content K-10

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/shared.pdf

Source: Aboriginal Education Enhancements Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Education, written and designed to include the support and participation of Aboriginal teachers, Elders, and other knowledgeable members of each school or district’s local Aboriginal community(ies).

Focus: A comprehensive Kindergarten to Grade 10 integrated curriculum which focuses on the diversity, depth and integrity of the cultures of British Columbia Aboriginal Peoples.

Summary: Shared Learning is a comprehensive learning resource for teachers organised by grade level and subject area with Aboriginal content appropriate to specific grades or grade clusters and subject areas. Instructional strategies suggest ways of integrating specific Aboriginal content in the classroom. Resources include recommended and locally developed print and video materials. Teaching Tips that can enhance effectiveness of instructional strategies are included as well as information and statistics on Aboriginal Peoples in BC and Canada in the “Did you Know?” section. “Planning Your Program” offers detailed setup and background information to assist planning and implementing the integration of Aboriginal content into any classroom. Aboriginal Peoples of British Columbia provides a brief history, definition of terms applied to BC Aboriginal Peoples and information about their traditional territories and language groups. A comprehensive set of Appendices include Sample Lesson Plans, Information about Aboriginal Peoples and an Annotated List of Resources.

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