This week, we had the opportunity to listen to dialogue between Jesse Miller and Brad Baker (Twitter: @bradleyrbaker). Brad is a District Principal in the North Vancouver school district. He oversees the Indigenous Education programs in the district and the Safe and Caring Schools programs, and is on the anti-racism committee. Brad is the son of a residential school survivor, and was the first Indigenous educator to be hired in the North Vancouver School District.
Indigenous Voice & Social Media
In Week 3 of this course, we heard from Markiel Simpson, who discussed some of the benefits of social media and the role that it plays in increasing participatory public media systems, namely discourse, advocacy, connection, and communication to invoke social change [27:00-27:50]. These statements were echoed by Brad Baker, as he discussed the important role that social media plays in allowing Indigenous voice regarding truth and reconciliation to be put out through an authentic source [7:00-8:00]. Mainstream media is heavily influenced by the political beliefs of their viewers and listeners. They tell the story that their audience wants to hear, and don’t give the opportunity for Indigenous voice to be heard from a first-hand source.
PLN & Diverse Voices
During their discussion, Jesse tells a story about a trip to the Arctic where he meets a 16 year-old Inuit girl while they are watching the Northern Lights. A colleague chides the girl for pulling out her phone, and she responds with “I run Instagram so people know we exist” (Baker [7:00-8:00]). This anecdote stuck with me, as I have been feeling a little bit embarrassed lately about how little I know about Inuit culture and the Inuuk people of Canada. I first realized this about 8 months ago, and while I have been making a continuous effort to find diverse accounts on my social media to follow and connect with, I feel as though I have barely made a dent in my lack of knowledge. I know that this discomfort is an important part of the process and of my role in reconciliation.
Typical Teacher Network vs The Networked Teacher: A Visual Representation of PLN
Social media and technology has increased PLN opportunities exponentially. A PLN gives us diverse perspectives and insight into the other’s worldviews, support and resources for lifelong learning, and a support network that spans across the globe. Because it is so expansive and individualized, it can be difficult to summarize exactly what an educator’s PLN might constitute. In the text “Emerging Technologies in Distance Education”, Alex Couros gave a fantastic example of the ‘typical teacher network’ vs ‘the networked teacher’ (Veletsianos 124-125). The images give a great visual to the positive impact and benefit of a PLN, and show how educators play an important role in both the consumption and production of content for their PLN.
PLN: Who to Check Out
Brad Baker gave some great social media accounts to check out and incorporate into our PLNs. I have listed a few of them below for anyone interested, as well as a couple of my own recommendations.
Angela Sterritt @AngelaSterritt
Leona Prince @Leona_Prince1
Tanya Talaga @TanyaTalaga
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq @MumilaaqQaqqaq
Pam Palmater @Pam_Palmater
Works Cited
Baker, Brad. “Brad Baker EDCI 338.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 10 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z8iHxW2n4
Simpson, Markiel. “EDCI – 338 MARKIEL SIMPSON.” YouTube, uploaded by MILLER, 1 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsoDHGaXNNs
Veletsianos, George. Emerging Technologies in Distance Education, AU Press, Athabasca University, 2010, https://www.aupress.ca/app/uploads/120177_99Z_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf
Mara Cox 