ED MEDIA 2003 (conference)

[Susan D. Penfield]

Hi -
I've just returned from the Indigenous Language Institute conference in Alburquerque
-- lots of interest in tech stuff and many groups working with various types
of technology (some, like Choctaw using web-based formats for distance education,
several developing CD's and lots more video materials being included).

 One of the most interesting projects to call attention to is being done
in British Columbia (about 32 endangered languages there). The website to
visit is called 'First Voices.com' --check it out! It offers an archiving
tool and is specifically designed for utility to tribal members to do their
own work on their own languages...it also offers a great way to develop language
games.
S.

>-- Original Message --
>Date:         Sat, 9 Nov 2002 13:47:45 -0500
>Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology <ILAT at listserv.arizona.edu>
>From: Eric Brunner-Williams in Portland Maine <brunner at NIC-NAA.NET>
>Subject:      Re: ED MEDIA 2003 (conference)
>To: ILAT at listserv.arizona.edu
>
>
>Hey Phil,
>
>Comments in-line.
>
>> The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity
>
>This is where I've been. Email and usenet used to be 7-bit, aka ASCII, then
>8-bit in places, with the iso2022 and 8859-* sets of character standards,
>and now domain names, hence email addresses, urls, newsgroup names, etc.,
>remain stuck in ASCII (English or pseudo-English). Some things move forward,
>some get stuck in the Unicode trap, and some remain 7-bit ASCII fossils.
>
>> Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat
>
>If memory serves, Micheal Wilson ran a political campaign in his tribe using
>email and the web to develop a voter block. There are Cree lists, the Abenaki
>list, and others too. There _used_ to be a natlang list, but the non-native
>list owner shut down the list and kept the membership priavte, sigh.
>
>> Multimedia support of language & culture
>
>Ed Bassett did his AA at Southern Maine Tech doing a MM CD for Passamaquoddy,
>he got his 2nd CD out about 2 years ago. Windows specific, but nice.
>
>> Exploring language with digital resources
>        ?
>> Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance
>        ?
>
>> Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements
>
>See above. You can play with pictures, a la HP's largess to an Inuktitut
>school, or use ASCII, or use something ideosyncratic, a la SIL's BJECree
>(which I think is a reasonable choice), or attempt to use Unicode.
>
>> Oral tradition meets voice dictation
>
>I've been meaning to get to this, I've got 50 CDs of oral material (Abenaki)
>that I should get into better format(s). I'll take suggestions from anyone.
>
>> Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking
>
>If UofA wants to pick up the phone charges, I'll be happy to walk everyone
>through setting up a VoIP testbed. The last one I set up was between Maine,
>Chicago, and Beijing (PRC).
>
>> Asynchronous, reflective discourse
>
>I've no idea what this means. I'll wait. Maybe it will come to me.
>
>> On-line dictionaries and language development
>        ?
>
>If anyone wants pointers to the work I know something about, drop me a line.
>
>Kitakitamatsinopowaw,
>Eric

Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D.
Department of English
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721