How can Nunavummiut use Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit to guide our lives on-line?
Before jumping into our work together for this course we were asked:
"Which side are you on?"
In other words, in my own work as an educator, what biases do I bring to the table when with respect to technology? Do I view the Internet as dangerous and divisive? Or as a tool to connect and build community? This is something all educators must ask ourselves, as it makes up part of the hidden curriculum of our classrooms and schools. However, as a white teacher of Inuit youth, I must consider not just my personal biases, but also how they align with Inuit Quajimajatuqangit.
Personally, I fell in love with technology the second I discovered video games.
As an autistic kid, I often struggled to feel connected to my peers. I loved spending time with others, but I wasn't into the same kind of play as most kids. I didn't like chaos or noise and I spent as much time organizing my toys as playing with them. I was constantly saying or doing something "weird" without meaning to, which especially with other kids, often meant being ridiculed without understanding exactly what I had done wrong, or how I could behave more "normally" in the future. The hidden curriculum of social interactions that seemed intuitive to most people was not intuitive to me. So I often elected to play on my own; it was lonelier, but easier.
Enter the Nintendo NES.
This little gaming console had a massive impact on my life. Suddenly I had:
A framework for social interaction that had clearly defined rules
Something I was good at that other kids actually thought was cool. I was still weird, but now I had this one safe topic of conversation and low-stress activity I could rely on to help me make friends.
It was transformative. For me, technology represents an opportunity for connection, collaboration and acceptance.
How can I use my enthusiasm for technology to help my students become better digital citizens, using Inuit Quajimajatuqangit?
image source: http://www.fractuslearning.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/digital_citizenship_print.png
Inunnguiniq: Becoming Capable, Online
Inunnguiniq is the Inuit concept of making a capable, whole, human being who is able to use their skills to contribute to the common good of their community. It is the shared responsibility of all adults in a community to support and guide young people in the inunnguiniq process, which in today's age must include guidance in how to be a good digital citizens as well.
One article that felt in alignment with these values was Fostering Digital Citizenship in the New Normal of Online Schooling, which focussed on using technology in ways that help encourage the "so-called ‘softer skills’ of empathy, social-emotional competence, kindness" in concrete ways for K-3 students. This helped me think about how I could begin these discussions with our high school kids.
Next Steps
Pinnguaq has many lessons that incorporate gaming and hands-on learning - some of which have even been developed specifically by and for Nunavummiut!
I think this lesson on inunnguiniq I shared on Twitter would be wonderful place to start these discussions around digital citizenship from.
I would go through it as is, just making sure to keep digital life as part of the discussion for each of the Guiding Questions. Definitely something I will try with my kids when I'm back in the classroom!
References
Camp Stomping Ground. (2019, May 29). What is the Hidden Curriculum? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/7uGsaj2HLpo
Sprung, B., Froshchl, M., & Gropper, N. (2020). Fostering Digital Citizenship in the New Normal of Online Schooling. Teachers College Columbia University. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2020/september/fostering-digital-citizenship-in-the-new-normal-of-online-schooling/
Tagalik, S. (2012). Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: The role of Indigenous knowledge in supporting wellness in Inuit communities in Nunavut . Retrieved from National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health Publications: https://www.ccnsa-nccah.ca/docs/health/FS-InuitQaujimajatuqangitWellnessNunavut-Tagalik-EN.pdf
Tagalik, S. (2012b). Inunnguiniq: Caring for Children the Inuit Way. Retrieved from National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health Publications: https://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/docs/health/FS-InunnguiniqCaringInuitWay-Tagalik-EN.pdf
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