Eleven design-based principles to facilitate the adoption of internet technologies in Indigenous communities

Internationally, the internet is a critical component of many projects that aim to improve literacy and build skills in indigenous communities. It is claimed that online platforms provide flexible learning opportunities to suit individual learner schedules and needs, enabling them to learn in \u27anytime, anywhere\u27 environments. However, good intentions and a learning platform deemed suitable by non-indigenous people do not necessarily lead to successful user outcomes. There is a need to understand how Western culture influences the design and implementation of online projects with Indigenous communities and to avoid technological colonisation of the local community. Flexibility, understanding and respect must be at the forefront of projects if they are to be successful. This article suggests 11 design-based principles, derived through design-based research, which guide respectful implementation of internet technologies in indigenous communities

More Hawk, Less Seagull: The Importance of Community-Led SoTL Research

This systematic reflection essay blends research and community engagement with Margaret Kovach’s keynote address at the 2022 conference of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) and with the coauthors’ autoethnographic accounts reflecting on their challenges across Australia and the US in conducting ethically responsible SoTL scholarship. The essay is a call for engagement with community-led projects drawing on Neil Drew’s (2006) metaphor of a seagull, who flies in, takes what it wants, and leaves a mess behind. Two stories provided by the co-authors invite further discussion into the hopeful challenges of conducting community-led SoTL research

Career development learning in the curriculum: What is an academic’s role?

Career development learning (CDL) is an approach to developing student employability that enables students to reflect on and plan their future careers through engaging in activities outside or within their degree. Building on literature arguing for the benefits of integrating CDL within curriculum, this study examines academics’ perceived roles facilitating CDL. Informed by the principles and processes of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), 55 academics were interviewed from one institution, enabling responses to be examined through a common lens of teaching, policy and governance structures. Findings demonstrate that while some participants broadly understood the value of CDL, the term CDL is not well known. Further, while CDL strategies within teaching contexts occur, they are mostly unplanned or dialogic. This paper presents a taxonomy of current practice, featuring 11 diverse roles for facilitating CDL within curriculum grouped as absent, implicit and explicit approaches. The paper offers recommendations for a university-wide agenda for employability that features CDL strategies embedded across core curricula

Beyond the conference: Singing our SSONG

The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) annual conference presents an exciting opportunity to meet with international colleagues from diverse backgrounds and situations to commune on our common interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). As with every ISSOTL conference, the enthusiasm for SoTL was palpable in Los Angeles in 2016. Rich discussions took place, networks were formed, and promises to keep in touch were made. Unfortunately, previous conference experiences have taught us that these good intentions often fall short once the conference bubble has burst and the reality of daily life sets in once more. In an attempt to circumvent this phenomenon, we—seven colleagues from three different countries—embarked on a research project that enabled us to maintain the relationships and fruitful discussions we had initiated at ISSOTL16. We established Small, Significant Online Network Group, or SSONG, inspired by a conference workshop on small significant networks. As a group, we met regularly online using Adobe Connect© and engaged in significant conversations around SoTL that were private, trustful, and intellectually intriguing. This article reflects our experiences in establishing and maintaining the group. We discuss how the group was formed; its alignment with the concept of small, significant networks; and the benefits and challenges we encountered. Four key principles of the group that have emerged will also be discussed in detail, enabling readers to consider how they could adapt the concept for their own purposes

The community strength model: A proposal to invest in existing Aboriginal intellectual capital

Indigenous communities have strengths and wisdom beyond Westernized culture’s recognition and understanding. However, there continues to be significant difference in literacy and life skills between Indigenous and non-Indigenous adults. In this article, I reflect on a project that investigated how technology could best support adult literacy learners in an Australian Indigenous community. The project provided insights into how local people perceive the concept of literacy and the significant role it plays in critical thinking and quality decision making. The aim of my research was to create a set of principles to support adult literacy learners, which could be interpreted and applied on a global level. From this project, a new theoretical framework—the Community Strength Model—emerged. The cyclical model serves as a tool to assist researchers with conceptualizing the collective process of learning within an Indigenous culture, where being true to Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous ways of learning is imperative to successful outcomes. It also provides a structure to facilitate respectful research, which can be adapted for Indigenous communities globally. Keywords: Indigenous culture; theory; synchronous technology; literacy; Indigenous ways of knowin

Creating optimal literacy learning environments using synchronous technologies to support Aboriginal adult learners effectively: a Narungga perspective

Current reports of literacy rates in Australia indicate a persisting discrepancy in literacy skills between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian adults at a time when the literacy demands of work and life continue to intensify. There are many perspectives of the literacy needs of Aboriginal adults, including opinions from the literature, literacy practitioners, and Aboriginal community members themselves. These needs include adult basic education skills such as reading, writing and mathematics education, as well as employability training and the ever-increasing demand for technology competencies. Current and active projects worldwide are attempting to alleviate literacy issues and lessen the glaring skills discrepancy in Aboriginal communities by providing opportunities for flexible learning contexts in online, live-time, and mobile environments. The goal of implementing these synchronous platforms is to provide flexible learning opportunities to suit learners’ busy schedules and needs, while enabling them to learn in “anytime, anywhere” environments. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the literacy needs of adult learners in an Australian Aboriginal community could effectively be supported by the use of synchronous technology. The aim was to develop best practices to support adult literacy learners in Aboriginal communities within this context. The research questions were three-fold. Firstly, the research identified the adult literacy needs in Aboriginal communities as derived from three sources; the literature reviewed, literacy practitioners interviewed, and from discussion with community members. Secondly, the types of supports and technology already in use by literacy practitioners in Aboriginal community settings were examined. Thirdly, and central to the research, was the creation of a set of principles and a model to be applied in similar teaching and learning contexts. The theoretical framework for this research was a combination of three theoretical perspectives; Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, Lave and Wenger’s (1991) situated learning model and Henderson’s (1996) multiple cultural model. The three perspectives, depicted as encompassing circles, became more refined and introspective of the learning landscape of Aboriginal communities as each layer of theory was added. To investigate the creation of an environment that best supports adult Aboriginal literacy learners with the use of synchronous technologies, a research approach that could incorporate practitioner knowledge and community participation in the creation of a solution was desirable. A paradigm that could also provide opportunities to test the solution was needed. For these reasons, the design-based approach (Reeves, 2006) was employed. The process of research when using a design-based approach was undertaken in four phases. Initially design-based research involved the identification of the problem of literacy skill acquisition, and support and technology currently implemented. In the second phase, a collaborative community engagement project was developed as a solution to the problem identified. This was based on the draft-guiding principles drawn from the literature, consultation with literacy practitioners, and the community. The third phase of the research involved three iterations of the project in which the guiding principles were refined and the project reflected and improved at each phase. Finally, in the fourth phase of the research, eleven design-based principles emerged that will guide future research in the areas of online learning and Aboriginal adult literacy learners. This phase also presented an original model that added a further dimension to the assembled theoretical framework. The proposed Community Strength Model offers a conceptual approach to systems of learning in Aboriginal communities, starting with community-based goals and directions, and building shared learning experiences through authentic voice and community strength. Together, these design-based principles and Community Strength Model can inform future directions in curriculum design and teaching approaches for community-based synchronous learning for Aboriginal adult learners

Understanding the need: using collaboratively created draft guiding principles to direct online synchronous learning in Indigenous communities

This article reports on the experience of members of an Australian Aboriginal community as they used synchronous computer technologies to enhance their literacy learning. The aspiration to learn meaningful and relevant literacy and computer skills was discussed in focus groups, as well as the need to articulate the group’s position within the wider community, the value of the wisdom of the Elders, and the importance of the dissemination of traditional language and Aboriginal knowledge. Educational integrity was deeply embedded in the project’s approach to the Aboriginal learning experience, and included ensuring respect for cultural needs and traditions, as well as acknowledging the learners as active participants of their own learning. Successful implementation of the project led to the creation of the Community Strength Model (CSM) based on the premise of Henderson’s multiple cultural model, which incorporates ethnic minority and Indigenous culture as a cultural logic to be respected and included in the development of Indigenous e-learning activities. The process of the project helped to clarify the importance of Indigenous and cultural contributions to the model while approaching new learning experiences using digital technologies. The research provides a set of principles to guide future researchers and practitioners in working with technology in Indigenous communities in integrative ways