We have recently submitted a panel presentation entitled ‘Bridging Communities: Research on First Nations Knowledge and Experience’ for the CCA annual conference. The papers are unified by their goal of building bridges between aboriginal communities and academic, re archers and society at large. Morgan Baillargeon, Daniel Keyes, Barbara Freeman and myself will present papers which use a variety of research methodologies, yet share an interest in exploring First Nations communities and communication theory.

After months of planning and preparation, my media-education research finally began at Tahayghen Elementary school in Masset, Haida Gwaii. I decided that I would continue with the work on ‘advertising’ that I had begun in a Burnaby elementary classroom. As I gathered my materials on Sunday night, I was both excited and anxious to bring the lessons that I had developed to new students. While I felt comfortable teaching these very-familiar advertising lessons, I was extremely uncomfortable with their lack of Haida content as well as my role, as a non-Haida, in the development and implementation of culturally inclusive materials…. click here to read more

Though I couldn’t see the prairie skies until the last couple days of the conference it was nice to be back in big sky country.   It was great to finally meet my fellow panel-members and we had a wonderful discussion about research involving First Nations people within British Columbia.

I also had a chance to go to a film series hosted by NAHO (National Aboriginal Health Organization).  Two films stemming from the 2004 International Indigenous Elders Summit (hosted at Six Nations in Ontario) were shown: Jidwa:doh — Let’s Become Again and Onkwa’nistenhsera — Mothers of our Nations, directed by Dawn Martin-Hill (Mohawk, Wolf Clan), Academic Director of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University.  Both were great pieces and would be wonderful tools for analysis in classrooms, both for younger students as well for teachers-in-training.

I am so incredibly excited to finally attend a conference with other media educators! I often end up at conferences slotted in panels with either technology-loving folks or with other educators who, like myself, don’t really seem to fit into the pedagogy of the time. So finally, I will be among peers who know what I am talking about… though using Imaginative Education in the field of media education is new and I may have a lot of explaining to do. But that’s OK… I’m coming equipped with a ‘brief guide’ that I’ve been working on.

I’d like to send a big THANKS to Dr. Marilyn Cohen who has been a tremendous asset in helping me to be heard, even offering me a place in the poster session after one of my panels was canceled. This actually worked out well since I’ve been wanting to make a poster but could never find the time. You can download it here if you like.

Well, off to prepare! I will post again upon my return.

Though the Alliance for a Media Literate America sponsors a National Media Education conference each year, this is the first year AMLA has sought to create a Research Summit providing opportunities for researchers, scholars, and practitioners from numerous fields to share research and ideas about the evaluation of media literacy programs.

This year’s media education conference; iPods, Blogs and Beyond: Evolving Media Literacy for the 21st Century,focuses on the on-going investigation of media literacy as a critical life skill for the 21st century. It also recognizes that evidence-based practice is the best way to improve and advance the field.