Niltze (Hello) NITEPers!
Welcome to the Mentoring Circle. I am Daniel Gallardo your Digital Peer Mentor. I am a Mestizx cuir (queer) from Mexihco. I am Nahua and P’urhépecha on my father’s side of the family and on my mother’s side of the family, I am of settler ancestry, Berber-Andalusian and French. I am a doctoral student in Educational Studies and have been part of the NITEP family for the last 3 years.
I began my teaching journey as a math teacher and will always be one at heart. For the last 12 years, I have been working with curriculum development for social and ecological justice and continue doing that work today. In this mentoring circle, I will share and support you with digital resources created by Indigenous folx, virtual community-based learning, decolonizing activities, culturally sustaining tools and ways to enhance digital learning with experiential resources that include Indigenous knowledge systems.
Looking for that digital resource tip you saw in the bulletin a few weeks ago? Here you will find it! Every week we will feature digital resource tips from the student bulletins, as well as additional links and tools you may find useful.
Unfortunately, I am not an I.T. tech or an academic tutor, but UBC has amazing resources that can further help you!
- For comments, questions or additional mentoring support contact Daniel
- If you need additional I.T. support, click here
- If you need additional academic support, click here
March 27, 2023: AMAZE provides medically accurate and age appropriate Sex Ed for youth through an amazing video series.
AMAZE is a series of sex ed videos that recognize child and adolescent sexual development as natural and healthy. They envision a world in which young people everywhere are supported and affirmed, and the adults in their lives communicate openly and honestly with them about puberty, reproduction, relationships, sex and sexuality. This week in the mentoring circle, we feature fun, animated videos empowering healthy relationships worldwide, with all the answers you want to know about sex, your body and relationships. Read this week’s full tip here
March 20, 2023: Stand Up 4 Human Rights during the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination with digital resources to fight racism!
Did you know that March 21st is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination? On this day in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against apartheid. After the tragic events, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate racial discrimination. In 1979, the UN decided that a week of solidarity with the people struggling against racism and racial discrimination would be organized annually, beginning on March 21st… Read this week’s full tip here
March 13, 2023: Create a virtual classroom bulletin board and add numerous media resources with Padlet!
Padlet is a real-time collaborative web platform in which users can upload, organize, and share content to virtual bulletin boards. It supports a wide variety of file types and allows you to embed content from anywhere on the web, including YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, and 400 other apps. As an educational digital platform, Padlet allows us to create single or multiple walls that are able to house all the posts we want to share and even create a presentation from those same posts with the click of a button. This week in the mentoring circle, we examine this online noticeboard that helps digitize content and facilitates group collaborations… Read this week’s full tip here
March 06, 2023: Move beyond the gender binary by creating inclusive spaces with the help of fabulous digital resources!
On every continent, a variety of cultures have recognized, revered, and integrated more than two genders for all of recorded history. Prior to the colonization of Indigenous land and the introduction of western European social constructs, gender diversity was widely accepted and celebrated in many cultures around the world. The construction of a gender binary has shaped modern societies, and the idea of gender fluidity and expression has unfortunately been suppressed, yet there are some cultures that still honour these ancestral ways of being today… Read this week’s full tip here
February 27, 2023: Avoid Death by Powerpoint! Take your presentations to the next-level with the power of storytelling using digital resources.
Today’s post is dedicated to playfully shunning one of the most used digital tools for student learning in modern times: PowerPoint! A software that has become essential to teaching. At some point in our classes, we may find ourselves sitting down in a darkened room, looking at a large white screen, waiting for some technical difficulties to be solved, squinting our eyes to understand the small words, taking weird pictures of the screen as slide after slide pass by, making it impossible for you to read everything and pay attention at the same time… Read this week’s full tip here
February 20, 2023: On Wednesdays We Wear Pink! #Lifteachotherup🚀 and raise awareness about anti-bullying by taking kindness to new heights.
Pink Day Shirt = Anti-Bullying Day! This Pink Shirt Day, and every day, take your kindness to new heights by lifting each other up! When we lift each other, we see past the things that separate us and see instead, the things that unite us. This week in the mentoring circle, we learn about how we can help stop bullying in communities across the province using digital resources from the Pink Shirt Day website to become Upstanders and join Pink Shirt Day on February 22nd, 2023, by wearing pink! Read this week’s full tip here
February 13, 2023: The environment is the third teacher! These five incredible schools completely reimagine learning environments.
There are various factors that affect students learning – who is teaching the class? who is learning alongside each other? And also where is the learning happening? Numerous educators view the learning environment as the third teacher. A learning environment can either enhance students’ comprehension by creating a safe and culturally sustaining space of exploration and reflection or it can detract students from grasping what is being taught. This week in the mentoring circle, we will learn more about the meaning of the third teacher and witness five incredible schools that completely reimagine learning environments. Read this week’s full tip here
February 6, 2023: Honour and promote the legacy of Black people with insightful digital resources! ✊🏾
February is Black History Month! Every February, people across Turtle Island participate in Black History Month events, festivities and activities that honour the legacy of Black people in our communities past and present. We take this time to celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black folks who, throughout history, have done so much to make the world culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous. This week in the mentoring circle, we gain insight into the experiences of Black people and the significant contributions they have made to the world. Read this week’s full tip here
January 30, 2023: Together, we can conquer cyberbullying using ReThink – a digital technology that detects and stops cyberbullying before the damage is done!
Bullying can occur in many places and as the digital sphere continues to expand and online technology becomes part of our daily lives, bullying online is part of it too. Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones. Together, we can conquer cyberbullying using Rethink – a digital technology that detects and stops cyberbullying before the damage is done! This week in the mentoring circle, we explore a call-to-action to end online hate and raise responsible digital citizens. Read this week’s full tip here
January 23, 2023: Teachings In The Air is an Indigenous health and wellness podcast hosted by Elder Gerry Oldman. Be inspired, motivated, and empowered to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.
Teachings In The Air is an Indigenous health and wellness podcast hosted by Elder Saa Hiil Thut Gerry Oldman aiming to inspire, motivate, and empower Indigenous peoples to be sound in mind, body and spirit – because that’s what healthy means. In the podcast, Elder Gerry explores issues relating to Indigenous men’s health and wellness, such as healthy masculinities, relationships, parenting, addictions, intergenerational trauma and healing, resilience, innovation and much more. Read this week’s full tip here
January 16, 2023: Think Indigenous is an initiative to inspire educators to think about education through an Indigenous knowledge lens.
Think Indigenous is an initiative that seeks to support programs, innovations, and education that focus on Indigenous knowledges. For Nakota/Nehiyaw educator Chris Scribe who is the Executive Director and Founder of Think Indigenous, Indigenous knowledges are an embodiment of life, it’s all levels of understanding relative to the area in which we live. This week in the mentoring circle, we are inspired to look at education through an Indigenous knowledge lens with wonderful digital resources to Think Indigenous. Read this week’s full tip here
January 09, 2023: A new dawn is upon us – Two of the most compelling voices in Indigenous storytelling join forces for Indigenous freedom through radical resistance.
Happy 2023! Welcome back to the mentoring circle – today we witness the work of two of the most compelling voices in Indigenous storytelling, as they join forces for Indigenous freedom through radical resistance. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a renowned Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, artist, musician, poet and writer, who has been widely recognized as one of the most compelling Indigenous voices of our generation. In collaboration with Michif (Metis) interdisciplinary artist and Indigenous filmmaker Amanda Strong, they have created astonishing pieces of art through animated music videos and short films that focus on Indigenous resurgence. Read this week’s full tip here
December 05, 2022: Let’s continue Learning for Justice! Follow a road map guided by social justice standards for anti-bias education using digital resources.
Learning for Justice seeks to be a catalyst for racial justice working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. Their digital educational resources—articles, guides, lessons, films, webinars, frameworks and more—help foster shared learning and reflection for educators to create an educational space where students can harness collective power and take action on issues about social justice. This week in the mentoring circle, we follow a road map guided by social justice standards for anti-bias education using digital resources that support our learning for justice. Read this week’s full tip here
November 28, 2022: The Critical Role of Digital Mentorship – Teaching in a World surrounded by “Fake News”.
In the age of information, the internet and digital technology have changed the boundaries of education. Finding information online is a great tool for student-led learning, but also a dangerous one. Before our students can access the power of digital information, they need to understand how it can also mislead and manipulate their thinking. Although access to digital resources remains an important equity issue, digital information has never been more popular, making digital literacy an essential subject in the school curriculum. With the rise of “Fake News” in our everyday life, this week in the mentoring circle we ask – how can we tell the difference between fact and fiction? Read this week’s full tip here
November 21, 2022: We Matter is a digital place that brings messages of hope and strength for Indigenous youth to support each other through hard times.
We Matter is an Indigenous youth-led organization dedicated to Indigenous youth support, hope and life promotion. Their work started with a national multi-media campaign in which Indigenous role models, youth, and community members from across Canada submit short videos, written and artistic messages sharing their own experiences of overcoming hardships, and communicating with Indigenous youth that no matter how hopeless life can feel, there is always a way forward. This week in the mentoring circle, we explore a digital place where people across the country share messages of hope and positivity reminding us that We Matter! Read this week’s full tip here
November 14, 2022: Yellowhead Institute generates digital resources about critical policy perspectives in support of Indigenous self-determination & Land Back.
Yellowhead Institute is an Indigenous-led research and education centre based in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Institute privileges Indigenous philosophies and amplifies Indigenous voices that provide alternatives to settler colonialism in Canada today. The Institute generates critical policy perspectives in support of Indigenous self-determination and Land Back. This week in the mentoring circle, we look into critical and accessible digital resources offered by Yellowhead Institute to support the reclamation of Indigenous land and life. Read this week’s full tip here
November 07, 2022: Meet Indigenous activists who are using digital media to share their voices and fight for Indigenous rights!
Despite being some of the most impacted groups by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, and systems of inequality and exclusion, Indigenous people protect 80% of biodiversity left in the world and only make up around 6% of the global population. Indigenous youth are demanding their communities’ rights be respected and their voices included in all decision-making that impacts their lives and futures. To celebrate Indigenous youth’s agency and drive, this week in the mentoring circle we highlight the work of 6 young Indigenous women who are leading the way in fighting for a more sustainable future. Read this week’s full tip here
October 31, 2022: The National Film Board of Canada features over 5,000 productions and many include educator resource tools and digital study guides.
A film can open your heart and mind at the same time. As you are watching you are receptive to a range of experiences and emotions in a short amount of time. This week in the mentoring circle, we will explore a video streaming resource that is available through UBC Library — NFB Campus (National Film Board). With over 5,000 films, including documentaries, animations and interactive productions, NFB showcases films that take a stand on issues of global importance including stories about the environment, human rights, international conflict, Indigenous issues and more. Read this week’s full tip here
October 24, 2022: Be inspired to do the best you can! Google Earth partnered with Kenyan storyteller Wangari Maathai to give a voice for trees.
As we continue to witness the effects of climate catastrophe, we may find ourselves feeling hopeless. In the face of continuous world problems and injustices, it can be difficult to know what to do. Every time I find myself feeling very overwhelmed or powerless, I remember the story of the hummingbird, as told by celebrated Kenyan environmental activist, women’s rights advocate, and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai. Watch the story of the humming narrated by Wangari Maathai in this beautifully animated clip from Dirt! The Movie. Read this week’s full tip here
October 17, 2022: Visit Four Directions Teachings to learn about Indigenous knowledges from five diverse First Nations through a stunning digital resource!
Four Directions Teachings is a visually stunning audio-narrated digital resource for learning about Indigenous knowledges from diverse First Nations in Canada. Inside their website, teachers and educators may select any combination of videos representing the traditions of the five First Nations – Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk and Mi’kmaq – and further explore their chosen focus with the help of the accompanying age-appropriate lesson plans. This week in the mentoring circle, we will visit Four Directions Teachings to learn what this beautiful digital resource offers. Read this week’s full tip here
October 10, 2022: Take Me Outside Day is almost here! Join virtually to learn from amazing Indigenous speakers and explore outdoor learning using digital resources.
Take Me Outside is a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness and facilitating action on nature connection and outdoor learning in schools across Canada. They believe in a future in which spending time outside playing, exploring and learning is a regular and significant part of every student’s day. They also work collaboratively with other organizations, school boards and individuals to encourage children and youth to spend more time outside through various projects and initiatives. This week in the mentoring circle, we will explore Take Me Outside Day and review their digital programs which are simple, fun and accessible to all. Read this week’s full tip here
October 03, 2022: Listen to FirstVoices! The First Peoples’ Cultural Council has developed an online environment that connects Indigenous knowledges to digital technology.
The First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC) provides leadership to strengthen and rebuild systems disrupted by cultural genocide through the revitalization of Indigenous languages, arts and cultural heritage. FPCC is a provincial Crown Corporation formed by the government of British Columbia in 1990 to administer the First Peoples’ Heritage, Language and Culture Program. As Indigenous cultural heritage and the living expression of Indigenous identities are integral to the health of all members of Indigenous communities, their mandate is to assist B.C. First Nations in their efforts to revitalize their languages, arts and cultures. This week in the mentoring circle, we will review two wonderful resources the FPCC has created. Read this week’s full tip here
September 26, 2022: On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation we wear orange! Listen, witness and honour Phyllis Webstad’s Orange Shirt Story.
Last year, the federal government passed legislation to mark September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This National commemoration is designated as an opportunity to honour residential school survivors, their families, and communities, and acknowledge that the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process. This Friday, join UBC’s intergenerational march to commemorate Orange Shirt Day which aims to be educational and supportive to the Indigenous community on campus and beyond. Educational activities will allow younger participants to connect with the original inhabitants of the land and honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, through personal reflection and wearing an orange shirt! Read this week’s full tip here
September 19, 2022: MOA From Home – Stay connected with Art virtually! MOA encourages us to keep art, culture and heritage from the comfort of our homes.
As education continues to adapt to the new realities of digital engagement, The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) provides virtual ways to stay connected with art. While we move through this digital era, having access to art from anywhere can give us daily doses of culture and delight. MOA encourages us to keep art, culture and heritage in our daily life by expanding our minds and keeping our spirits high. This week we will explore just a few ways that we can connect, learn online and experience MOA From Home. To start our exploration, let’s take a Virtual Tour of the Great Hall! Experience a 360° virtual tour of the stunning Great Hall and read more about the massive carvings that fill it. Read this week’s full tip here
September 12, 2022: Explore the UBC Learning Technology Ecosystem – Learn about the services and learning technologies available at UBC to improve your academic experience!
Ximopanolti! Welcome, NITEPers! Today we start a new academic year where many of us will be learning remotely or enrolled in online courses. As you adapt to online ways of learning, remember to be patient with yourself as technology offers many advantages but also occasional setbacks, like figuring out how new applications work or troubleshooting technical issues. This week we explore the UBC Learning Technology Ecosystem to help you set up technology, learn effectively online, find the digital platforms used at UBC and get support no matter how online courses are presented. Read this week’s full tip here
August 22, 2022: Canvas 101! The orientation session you were looking for. Canvas helps users focus on the content being delivered, rather than the system delivering it.
Canvas is UBC’s learning management system. It is designed to connect learners and instructors in a natural way, emphasising user experience, by using clean graphics, a simple layout, and logical language. Canvas is known for its user-friendly online environment and ability to easily connect both in and out of the classroom. Canvas’ student-centred learning environment includes basic LMS functionality for managing courses, sharing documents, submitting assignments, assigning grades, ePortfolios, and peer reviews in both Discussions and Assignments. This orientation session is designed to give you a basic overview of the features and functionality of Canvas and help you build your confidence using the digital platform! Find the Canvas Orientation Session here
April 04, 2022: Celebrate storytelling through the art of drag! Drag Queen Story Hour is opening hearts and minds with beautiful stories & fabulous storytellers.
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) was created by Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions, under the leadership of Juli Delgado Lopera and Virgie Tovar, in San Francisco, as well as through the guidance of queens like Ona and Lil Miss Hot Mess. DQSH started out as drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores and grew into a global phenomenon! DQSH offers literary and creative programming for kids and teens of all ages led by drag queens, kings, and creatures all over the world. Read this week’s full tip here
March 28, 2022: Dechinta has created digital resources that celebrate and discuss land-based education in the North.
Dechinta is the only fully land-based university accredited program in the world, and the only program explicitly mandated to serve Indigenous people. As Dechinta is the Wıı̀lıı̀deh word for bush or being in the bush, the university imagines a future of cultural revitalization through a reconnection with the land. Dechinta delivers land-based programming led by Indigenous experts, professors, artists and knowledge keepers, rooted in Indigenous knowledge, practices, philosophies and ethics. They believe in supporting self-determining and sustainable Northern communities rooted in Indigenous Knowledge and values. Read this week’s full tip here
March 21, 2022: 10 Indigenous TikTokers to Follow! The Indigenous community on TikTok is using the digital platform to educate people on Indigenous issues and perspectives.
The Indigenous TikTok community is using the digital platform to educate people on Indigenous issues and perspectives. Indigenous creators are nurturing a digital space on TikTok to not only educate and entertain but also address critical issues like the harmful legacy of the Indian residential school system and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2-Spirit People (MMIWG2S). As it is very important to have Indigenous stories and culture at the forefront, TikTok has given the microphone to Indigenous youth to be an effective digital tool for social advocacy… Read this week’s full tip here
March 14, 2022: Decolonizing Teaching Indigenizing Learning has digitally gathered Curriculum Bundles designed by Indigenous educators.
The Decolonizing Teaching Indigenizing Learning website has been developed to support teacher candidates, in-service teachers, and faculty as they move towards implementing Indigenous education and pedagogies into their curricula. The website centres Indigenous pedagogies and values Indigenous knowledge as fluid and interconnected. Decolonizing Teaching Indigenizing Learning was made possible by many hands, minds, and hearts. The content and design were a dynamic process between Dr. Shannon Leddy and Kiera Brant-Birioukov. The heartbeat of the website is the Curriculum Bundles, which were designed by Indigenous educators across BC – many of whom are NITEP students… Read this week’s full tip here
March 07, 2022: Become Story-ready with the Gift of Q’um Q’um Xiiem also known as Dr. Jo-ann Archibald – Indigenous Storywork!
Start your journey to become Story-ready with the gift of Indigenous scholar, author, and bushwhacker in the advancement of Indigenous education, Q’um Q’um Xiiem also known as Dr. Jo-ann Archibald. The gift she has provided is a basket of digital resources through a website to learn about Indigenous Storywork. Dr. Jo-Ann Archibald is member of the Stol:lō Nation and the former associate dean for Indigenous Education and director of the Indigenous Teacher Education Program (NITEP). She is also Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia. and the author of Indigenous Storywork: Educating the Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit… Read this week’s full tip here
February 28, 2022: STEM + C – Using Culturally Situated Design Tools to Learn Heritage Algorithms from Around the World
Math is cultural! Indigenous peoples around the world have contributed to many of the mathematical applications we know today. The problem is that the extraction of knowledge from Indigenous cultures has been obscured from many of our modern understandings of mathematics. Restoring Indigenous algorithms- the mathematical way in which Indigenous people express their perspective of the world- is key to decolonizing curriculum and sustaining Indigenous perspectives. Inside cultural designs, for example, one can appreciate mathematical concepts embedded with Indigenous ways of knowing. Read this week’s full tip here
February 22, 2022: The Xwi7xwa Library echos the voices and philosophies of Indigenous peoples through its services, collections, and programs.
UBC Library is a globally influential research library that provides collections, both physical and digital. UBC Library is a vital support for research, learning and teaching excellence, with more than six million volumes, the library has a specialized centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship – the Xwi7xwa Library. A library that holds collections and services that reflect Indigenous approaches to teaching, learning, and research. X̱wi7x̱wa is pronounced ‘whei-wha.’ X̱wi7x̱wa means “echo” in the Squamish language, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim. Read this week’s full tip here
February 14, 2022: Pink Shirt Day 2022 – Raising awareness about bullying by taking your kindness to new heights #Lifteachotherup🚀
When we lift each other, we see past the things that separate us and see instead, the things that unite us. As people continue to embrace their cultures, identities, and true selves in more open and direct ways it is key to: #Lifteachotherup🚀 and have greater acceptance, respect, and inclusion for everyone. Please join Pink Shirt Day on February 23rd, 2022 by wearing some pink and learn about how you can help stop bullying in communities across the province at the Pink Shirt Day website by being Upstanders. Pink Day Shirt = Anti-Bullying Day! This Pink Shirt Day, and every day, take your kindness to new heights by lifting each other up! Read this week’s full tip here
February 07, 2022: Navajo Traditional Teachings – Elder Wally Brown shares Indigenous ways of knowing through digital stories to preserve Navajo culture.
Navajo Traditional Teachings strives to teach culture untouched by anthropologists and archaeologists. Their teachings are based on a pure understanding of the Diné language and oral history passed down from generation to generation. Inside this Indigenous educational website, we won’t find popular theories about Navajo’s traditional teachings and retelling of stereotypical portrayals of Indigenous peoples. Navajo Traditional Teachings motto is: “Without Identity, There is no power”; preserving Navajo (Diné) culture is their mission and they do that by sharing Indigenous digital stories told by Elder Wally Brown. Read this week’s full tip here
January 31, 2022: Indigenous Education Digital Resources: From toolkits and reports to guides and frameworks, find resources that can be interwoven in curriculum design.
To support the aim of decolonizing learning and Indigenizing teaching, the curriculum requires much more than just adding Indigenous content. Since the imposition of the western education system in Turtle Island, we have mostly learned and prioritized settler ways of thinking. Decolonizing and Indigenizing the curriculum requires us to bring Indigenous ways of thinking, being and learning into course design in a holistic way. This week we feature digital resources that will help us take action to integrate Indigenous worldviews into curriculum development and how these can be interwoven in curriculum design and our everyday classrooms practices. Read this week’s full tip here
January 24, 2022: The Truth About Maps: Learning with digital maps can bring discussions of colonization, land rights, language, and Indigenous history.
Making accurate world maps is mathematically impossible as maps are flat representations of our spherical planet. The world is a sphere which makes it impossible to draw it on a flat surface without distorting it in some way. In the video below, watch Johnny Harris cut open a plastic globe to understand just what it takes to turn a sphere into something flat. This activity is great for students to understand the struggle to make a flat map out of a globe and the trade-offs that occur when a projection that distorts certain attributes while preserving others, is chosen over another. Read this week’s full tip here
January 17, 2022: Empower the Spirit! Using a collection of digital resources that support teachers weave Indigenous ways of knowing in classrooms and schools.
Empowering the Spirit is a collection of digital resources curated to increase awareness and understanding of First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories, perspectives and ways of knowing. The collection of tools, videos and websites found within Empowering the Spirit lend support to teachers and school leaders as they endeavour to weave Indigenous knowledge systems into their current practice. In celebration of the important connectedness of learning and the natural world, and in appreciation of the Indigenous peoples who were this land’s first keepers, the turtle icon of Empowering the Spirit serves as a symbolic guide to help navigate their site… Read this week’s full tip here
December 13, 2021: Are you ready for digital GLOBAL STORYBOOKS!? Use these storybooks to promote multilingualism and to celebrate diversity in our classrooms!
Storybooks Canada is a free open educational digital resource that supports multi-literacy and multilingual learning in homes, schools, and communities. Including multilingual literacy is a culturally sustaining approach that can make all students feel included and valued. Part of the Global Storybooks project aims to promote multilingualism in Canada by making 40 stories from the African Storybook available with text and audio in the major immigrant and refugee languages of Canada as well as Indigenous languages. Celebrate diversity in the classroom with fabulous digital stories through their continuous development of the literacy portals: Indigenous Storybooks and Global Storybooks, more translations are starting to come up. Read this week’s full tip here
December 06, 2021: Listen to Indigenous voices! Indigenous podcasts have emerged as a tool to decolonize the airwaves.
Since the colonization of Turtle Island, Indigenous peoples were treated as if the lack of written documentation – in favour of oral storytelling – nullified their knowledge and worldviews. The oral methods Indigenous peoples used to record stories and pass down knowledge through generations faced erasure by assimilation policies that sought to indoctrinate Indigenous children and made them be ashamed of their traditions and culture. For Indigenous peoples to govern themselves they have to govern their stories and the ways of telling those stories… Read this week’s full tip here
November 29, 2021: NGĀ MOTU! Discover the world of Te Ao Māori with Minecraft: Education Edition. Educators around the world are using Minecraft to ignite learning in a digital way!
Looking to play video games while learning from Indigenous perspectives? Minecraft is a game that allows kids to create, explore, imagine and contextualize their surroundings in a digital way! Minecraft: Education Edition is an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination. Minecraft: Education Edition is a game-based learning platform that offers educators a digital way to engage students and ignite their passion for learning! Read this week’s full tip here
November 22, 2021: Experience math in a completely new way by exploring two websites: Math Catcher Through Digital Storytelling & Radical Math for social justice.
The Math Catcher Outreach program aims to promote mathematics and scholarship in general by encouraging elementary and high school students to recognize how math is used in everyday life and how it forms the basis for many of our daily decisions and life-long choices. The storytelling, pictures, models, problem-solving, and hands-on activities encourage young people to enjoy math and help dispel the myth that math is boring and abstract. The Math Catcher program is a science outreach initiative at Simon Fraser University run by SFU faculty and staff members and students who volunteer their time towards the program. Read this week’s full tip here
November 15, 2021: You Can Amplify Student Voice! Engage and empower every voice in your classroom or community by recording and sharing short, awesome videos together… with Flipgrid!
Flipgrid is a free online video platform that offers students a place where they can share and reflect on ideas with other students and with their teachers. Flipgrid provides the perfect space for students to take part in classroom discussions and to share their thoughts and hear their classmates’ ideas. It is easy to use for teachers and students. Teachers post topics to initiate the conversation and students respond with short videos. Students join Flipgrid with a code provided by the teacher without the need for them to remember user names and passwords. Projects can be password protected to comply with schools regulations and to deal with any privacy concerns. Read this week’s full tip here
November 08, 2021: Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (GTDF) a digital workspace that aims to identify and de-activate colonial habits of being, and gesture towards the possibility of decolonial futures.
Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures (GTDF) is an arts/research collective that uses their website as a workspace for collaborations around different kinds of artistic, pedagogical, cartographic, and relational experiments that aim to identify and de-activate colonial habits of being, and to gesture towards the possibility of decolonial futures. The experiments presented on the GTDF website are not for mass consumption. In some contexts, the exercises proposed by GTDF may be extremely helpful in moments of personal or collective crises, in other contexts, the same exercises can push some people into spaces where they might need personalized guidance to process what is happening. Read this week’s full tip here
November 01, 2021: The First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) developed the Learning First Peoples Classroom Digital Resources
The First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) is a policy and advocacy organization that represents and works on behalf of First Nations in British Columbia. FNESC has a mandate to support First Nations students and advance First Nations education in BC. FNESC was founded in 1992 by participants at a provincial First Nations education conference at the Vancouver Friendship Centre. That visionary group of people determined the need for a First Nations-controlled collective organization focused on advancing quality education for all First Nations learners. Read this week’s full tip here
October 25, 2021: Keeping Our Traditions Strong: The National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education (NCCIE) website connects communities with each other to share their stories about Indigenous education.
The National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education (NCCIE) is hosted by First Nations University of Canada, which has a 40-year history of being Indigenous-owned, operated, and controlled. The Centre is grounded in principles of respect, reciprocity, and relationship, which are understood in Indigenous ways and honoured according to Indigenous protocols and practices. The NCCIE website features many digital resources to connect communities with each other and share their stories about Indigenous education across Turtle Island and the world. Read this week’s full tip here
October 18, 2021: Mapping reconciliation – Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada is a powerful education digital tool with interactive resources
The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada is an educational resource created by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, published by Canadian Geographic, and funded by the Government of Canada. It was created to address calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, among them the development of culturally relevant curricula for Indigenous students. Its content includes information about Indigenous lands, languages, communities, treaties, and cultures, and topics such as the residential school system, colonization, racism, and cultural appropriation. Read this week’s full tip here
October 12, 2021: The SOGI UBC Transformative Education Speaker Series Presents, Kanaka Maoli wahine artist/activist/scholar Dr. Jamaica Osorio
This Wednesday, October 13th the SOGI UBC Transformative Education Speaker Series presents a talk with Dr. Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, titled Kū Kiaʻi Aloha: Protecting Maunakea and Birthing Decolonial intimacy in an Emerging Generation of Aloha ʻĀina Activists. Dr. Jamaica Osorio is a Kanaka Maoli wahine artist/activist/scholar born and raised in Pālolo Valley to parents Jonathan and Mary Osorio. Heoli earned her PhD in English (Hawaiian literature) in 2018 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Currently, Heoli is an Assistant Professor of Indigenous and Native Hawaiian Politics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Read this week’s full tip here
October 04, 2021: Five Moore Minutes! with Shelley Moore Inclusive Education is not more work, it’s different work!
Five Moore Minutes is back for season 4! Created by Shelley Moore, a currently SSHRC funded Ph.D. candidate here at UBC. Shelley Moore is a highly sought-after teacher, researcher, consultant and storyteller. Her research and work has been featured at national and international conferences and is constructed based on theory and effective practices of inclusion, special education and curriculum. Inspired by a little bowling video…her website Five Moore Minutes features videos dedicated to empowering schools and classrooms to support ALL Learners! Read this week’s full tip here
September 27, 2021: On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation we wear orange! Listen, witness and honour Phyllis Webstad’s Orange Shirt Story.
In June of this year, the federal government passed legislation to mark September 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This National commemoration is designated as an opportunity to honour residential school survivors, their families, and communities, as well as acknowledging that the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process. Last month, UBC’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Santa J. Ono, encouraged all members of the UBC community to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, whether through personal reflection, education and awareness activities or by participating in Orange Shirt Day! Read this week’s full tip here
September 20, 2021: MOA presents – The Musqueam Teaching Kit: xʷməθkʷəy̓əm: qʷi:l̕qʷəl̕ ʔə kʷθə snəw̓eyəɬ ct – Musqueam: giving information about our teachings
As you begin your journey at UBC, it is important to take some time to learn about the history of the land UBC Vancouver is situated on and its original inhabitants, the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation. As we recognize and respect the traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories, it is important that this recognition of Musqueam territory and our relationship with the Musqueam people don’t appear as just a formality. Read this week’s full tip here
Let me know what else would you like to see. Below are some possible future posts:
- Earth Day
- Prezi Follow-up
- Origin of Everything
- Two-Spirit Digital Resources
- RISE
- Ecological Digital Resources
- Aboriginal Worldviews and Perspectives in the Classroom: Moving Forward
- Digital Learning and Engagement Resources (Voki, Kahoot, Menti, Slido, Kaltura, Padlet, Decktoys, Quizlet, Plickers, Socrative, Poll Everywhere, Piazza, Perusall, Slack, Kaizena)
- Edx MOOC’s
- Sustainable Mathematics & Stats
- Domain of Science
- Minecraft Next Level: Coding
- Digital Bibliography
- Mental Health Literacy
- Digital Resources for Peer Learning
For comments, questions or anything else you would like to know about digital resources please contact Daniel