NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: social sciences, literacy

Objective(s): To develop a partnership with the Gwich’in Tribal Council’s Department of Cultural Heritage that focuses on Digital Content and Connectivity in the North.

Project Description: This project builds on a successful pilot held in Summer 2017 to support an emerging research partnership between the University of Alberta and the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) that focuses on Digital Content and Connectivity in the North. The project partners are jointly developing free two-day workshops on this topic to be held in the Gwich'in communities (Fort McPherson/Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik and Inuvik) in Summer 2018. These workshops focus on different aspects of Indigenous digital literacy (connectivity and content) in the context of the Gwich'in people of the NWT. These workshops, and the participatory development process that is being used to build relevant and appropriate curriculum, also provides opportunities for project partners to conduct research in this area. Prior to the workshops, researchers will conduct surveys and interviews to ask about appropriate forms of digital literacy and relevant regional and local examples of digital innovation. During the workshops, researchers will pilot test two hands-on learning activities designed to engage participants in learning about digital content and connectivity. Follow-up surveys and interviews with project participants will provide evaluation data about the workshops, and enable the team to learn from community members about digital content/connectivity in the North. Data will be provided to inform ongoing research in the area of Indigenous/Northern peoples and digital technologies. Building on the 2017 pilot, the project continues to support the development of Digital Literacy initiatives involving the University of Alberta (U of A) and the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC). It consists of research to expand on pilot digital literacy curriculum and workshop materials, which will be used at 2-day workshops in the Gwich'in communities in mid-late June 2018. Researchers will develop these materials through data collected through an online survey and interviews with key informants. The research team will also conduct interviews with workshop participants, and conduct an exit survey to evaluate the workshop. This data will also inform research outcomes (presentations, papers, etc). Data will be analyzed for key themes regarding thoughts, ideas, attitudes and opinions of digital content and connectivity in the North, using a grounded approach informed by the past work in this area. This project builds on our pilot project held in Summer 2017 in Inuvik. It consists of research and public education activities to be conducted before, during and after free two-day digital literacy workshops to be held in the Gwich'in communities in Summer 2018 that involve Gwich'in community members. These workshops build on our successful pilot initiative. They expand the format to two-day of learning activities, incorporate more Gwich'in-specific curriculum (developed by Crystal Fraser, a PhD Candidate at U of A and Gwich'in community member), and utilize hands-on learning activities (as recommended by participants at the first workshop). The University of Alberta and the Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) are partnering to explore Indigenous approaches to Digital Literacy, with a focus on the NWT. The workshop and associated research (surveys and interviews) focus on digital content and connectivity in the NWT. Community members have an opportunity to participate in the workshops, and to contribute thoughts, ideas and concerns regarding digital content/connectivity in the North. Participants will be Gwich'in community members (youth, Elders, local leadership and technology champions). The project team includes staff from the Gwich'in Tribal Council, who will assist in disseminating project information and results across the NWT. The project's curriculum developer is a Gwich'in community member and U of A PhD Candidate. The research team will have a local facilitator to support planning, logistics and public outreach in the communities. These individuals will help communicate the results of the project. The research team also hope to connect with local and regional media (NWT Native Communications Society, CBC North, etc.) to promote and provide information about the project. The team will provide copies of the workshop format and resources to the GTC. The team are also developing a 'toolkit' to support community broadband development in the Gwich’in Settlement Area, and a process guide to support ongoing development and sharing of open educational resources in this topic area. The team may document the workshops by video and produce a short documentary video, so that remote participants can watch the activities. Research findings that emerge through the workshop will be disseminated in blog posts on the partner websites, through conference presentations, and in journal articles and/or book chapters. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 16, 2018 to December 31, 2018.