June teaching and learning resources
A short, curated list of articles, conferences, podcasts, books, whitepapers or videos for teaching and learning professionals.
This month we also have a focused section on decolonization from the Univerisity of Manitoba’s Micheline Hughes, Indigenous Initiatives Educator.
Online teaching and learning resources
Engaging students asynchronously with interactive video
The effectiveness of online learning heavily depends on the level of interaction between instructors and students within virtual classrooms. When students are actively engaged, they have a tendency to perform better and retain information more efficiently. As universities continue to transition towards online education, educators commonly use asynchronous videos and synchronous video conferences as the primary modes of instruction.
How ChatGPT could help or hurt students with disabilities
On the one hand, these tools can function like personal assistants: Ask ChatGPT to create a study schedule, simplify a complex idea, or suggest topics for a research paper, and it can do that. That could be a boon for students with trouble managing their time, processing information, or ordering thoughts.
More students want virtual-learning options. Here’s where the debate stands.
While adult learners have long preferred such flexibility, students and others told The Chronicle that more 18- to 24-year-olds also want online courses and hybrid courses, where they can attend a class in-person one day and virtually the next.
Decolonization resources list from Micheline Hughes
MB Hub would like to thank Micheline Hughes for compiling this resource list and providing options for audio, film, short writings and scholarly works. As decolonization requires us to learn about Indigenous knowledges and realities, not all the resources listed will specifically be about decolonization.
Books
Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit by Marie Battiste (Foreword by Rita Bouvier)
Drawing on treaties, international law, the work of other Indigenous scholars, and especially personal experiences, Marie Battiste documents the nature of Eurocentric models of education and their devastating impacts on Indigenous knowledge.
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joesph
Based on a viral article, “21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act” is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussions on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer.
The Winter We Danced: Voices from the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement
A vivid collection of writing, poetry, lyrics, art, and images from the many diverse voices that make up the Idle No More movement. This collection consolidates some of the most powerful, creative, and insightful moments from the winter we danced and gestures towards the next steps in an ongoing movement for justice and Indigenous self-determination.
Audio
The Secret Life of Canada podcast
Many great episodes but several of note include the following:
S2: The Indian Act What is the Indian Act, and why does Canada still have it on the books? The Secret Life team looks at the roots of this complicated policy, which after 145+ years is still embedded in Canadian identity, from the policy that led to the Act to how it still impacts Indigenous identities today.
S2: Water Can the foundation of Canada be traced back to Indigenous trade routes? In this episode, Falen and Leah take a trip across the Great Lakes.
S3: The Mounties Always Get Their Land (Part 1) The Mountie is one of Canada’s most enduring symbols. Found on souvenirs from keychains to dish towels, our national police force is an icon to the rest of the world. Weird, right?
Warning: Strong language and content.
S3: The Mounties Always Get Their Land (Part 2) – In 1919 almost half the working population of Winnipeg walked off the job in the largest strike in Canadian history. The events that followed led to the creation of a new police force called the RCMP.
Warning: Strong language and content.
Blog
Metis writer Chelsea Vowel’s blog apihtawikosisan has short, accessible blog posts such as Names for non-Indigenous Canadians or Nationhood is a Verb.
Video Games
The path of the Elders was created by Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples of North-Eastern and North-Western Ontario and is available for free. Budget at minimum 1 hour to play. It teaches about treaties and also Indigenous ways of living (e.g., if you behave in ways that do not honour ‘all my relations’ you have a harder time in the game).
Films
Reel Injuns – In this feature-length documentary, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes an entertaining and insightful look at the portrayal of North American Indigenous people throughout a century of cinema. Featuring hundreds of clips from old classics as well as recent releases, the film traces the evolution of the “Hollywood Indian.” Diamond guides the audience on a journey across America to some of cinema’s most iconic landscapes and conducts candid interviews with celebrities like Clint Eastwood, Robbie Robertson and Jim Jarmusch.
Angry Inuk – In her award-winning documentary, director Alethea Arnaquq-Baril joins a new tech-savvy generation of Inuit as they campaign to challenge long-established perceptions of seal hunting. Armed with social media and their own sense of humour and justice, this group is bringing its own voice into the conversation and presenting themselves to the world as a modern people in dire need of a sustainable economy.