Purposes

The purposes of this project were multifaceted.  First, it was to create an example for educators to a place based technological project.  Second, the intention of the project was to instill ownership of learning, cultivate leadership, and to strengthen Alaska Native self-identity through

May 13th:Today was a big day, graduation.  Took this opportunity of having the community all gathered to present this Virtual Museum.  Students opted for me, the teacher/facilitator to introduce this museum since,  as one student stated, “you motivated us with the idea.”  Toward the end of

Introduction

Students from George Morgan Senior High School were tasked with the creation of a museum or cultural atlas for their community and the World Wide Web; a “Virtual Museum.”  Students inquired into, investigated, documented, and preserved information about their communities, “Kalskag”

 

Students enter the classroom before the bell.   The day’s assignment to write a journal entry answering, “What is a museum?” is written on the board.   Students understand the assignment and even though Sarah is not in the room all students begin work.     The room is quiet and orderly and

Background Research

The first term searched in the process leading up to the creation of this master’s project was “empower”.  Having served as a teacher for nearly three years in rural Alaska, the question that keeps coming to me is: “What can I do to empower my students and give them a sense of

Empowerment

Giving students a sense of confidence and self-esteem is an essential part of education.  Unfortunately not all education has reinforced this goal.  Alaska Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools had been used as a tool for, as Smith terms in Decolonizing Methodologies, “

 

 

Alaska Conservation Foundation. Guide to Alaska’s Cultures.  AK Conservation Foundation:  Anchorage, AK.  2004.

 

Ball, Jessica.  As if Indigenous Knowledge and Communities