microsoft

[Keola Donaghy]

Aloha e Mia. You raise a good point. Most of our technology initiatives
have been grant funded. In our case, the Hawaiian language community and
the university are very closely intertwined. It isn't a case of the
University helping the language community - we are a big part of that
larger community. We've been very successful at raising the level of
computer proficiency from our pre-school programs through the university
level, doing localizations, curriculum development, providing online
services and technical support throughout the state, and have been doing
it without having to hire $150 an hour "consultants" to do it for us. I
can't imagine that we would have been successful if we did not have this
dynamic. But it required people from within that language community (at
the time mostly university students, myself included) with the technical
expertise (or a willingness to gain the expertise) to pull it together.

I don't think any tribe or language group would be very successful if they
were not full and active partners, if not taking the lead, in a
collaboration in this area. If it is simply done for them by others, it
would be destined to flop.

Keola



Indigenous Languages and Technology <ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU> writes:
>Is anyone submitting to the AIQ? I really think a bunch of us ought to
>write
>about this. We have a lot of people talking about revitalization, but so
>far, there is a lot a rhetoric. I think this is both because the
>technological support is not there, and also because we aren't having a
>public discussion about the processes, steps, and issues. I see a lot of
>wonderful links provided by the tireless Phil, but I wonder how many of
>these happen because someone at the university gets a grant. How many
>actual
>TRIBES have the technology and expertise to design, develop and support
>their own programs (which I think is Very Important).


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Keola Donaghy
Assistant Professor of Hawaiian Studies
Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani             keola at leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu
University of Hawai'i at Hilo           http://www2.hawaii.edu/~donaghy/
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