New Mobile Units Will Bring STEM Education To Indigenous Youth
SAINT JOHN–Living with Covid-19 the past two years has forced the education system to experiment with the new world of digital learning, with mixed results. Some parents, teachers, and children seem to like this new model, others don’t.
But one thing the pandemic has shown is that not all Canadian children have equal access to new ways of learning. Children suffering from the “digital divide” include kids from low-income houses, those who have disabilities, those who live in rural areas, and Indigenous youth.
“Covid highlighted a lot of infrastructure needs in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, especially with the Indigenous communities,” said Chris Googoo, COO of Ulnooweg, an organization that aims to empower Indigenous communities with advanced education.
The McKenna Institute at UNB, the Joint Economic Development Initiative Inc. (JEDI), and the Ulnooweg Education Centre are teaming up in New Brunswick to fill in that gap for Indigenous children.
The three organizations are creating two mobile learning units that will travel throughout New Brunswick’s Indigenous communities, giving children access to the latest learning techniques and technology.
“It’s important that every New Brunswicker have the opportunity to participate in the digital economy,” said Adrienne O’Pray, executive director of The McKenna Institute, an arm of UNB recently created to advance access to digital technology in New Brunswick.
“In some cases, not all students have access to the technology. We really see it as a way of building bridges between communities and learning together.”
O’Pray anticipates the units will be capable of showing children the latest in areas like data analytics, robotics, and community problem solving.
The program will be piloted first in New Brunswick communities, with the hopes of later expanding into Nova Scotia, PEI, and other areas.
The funding for this bold initiative is coming from the 2021 TD Ready Challenge, which awarded $750,000 to construct the mobile learning units. TD is giving away $10-million in total for those who entered the contest.
O’Pray says Ulnooweg was an obvious choice for JEDI and McKenna for a partner. The Indigenous organization has already achieved results through programs like Math with Dash, Makerspaces, Project-Based Science, and its Enriched STEM Curriculum.
Googoo estimates it will take 12-18 months to get the units on the road. This includes enough time to hold community engagement sessions and time to construct the actual vehicles. Googoo envisions a bus or trailer type of vehicle that will travel between 15 communities, to start. But it’s still early days for the project so the final product could change based on community feedback.
The Ulnooweg COO notes that the mobile learning centres will be a leg up in incorporating Indigenous land-based knowledge as well; something that is difficult to do through online learning.
“You can’t necessarily teach that online, so our process has been to integrate a lot of the land-based education into our curriculum,” he said.
Another advantage is allowing children to access advanced education techniques without having to constantly travel to the bigger cities.
“A lot of families don’t want to go to urban centres like Moncton or Fredericton or Saint John to go and experience STEM education,” said Googoo.
Googoo recounts how excited he was as a child when the old library busses or vans would come by with new books for the students to read. He hopes today’s children will get the same thrill when they see these new, advanced, mobile teaching units come to town.
“Our goal is to really inspire kids and get them excited about STEM,” he said.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].