Our story : telling it

Research has already shown that Australian Indigenous communities are socially and economically disadvantaged. Cultural dispossession has also been identified as a key factor in the disengagement of young Indigenous people from their success in education and careers. Digital video, multimedia, and the Internet are potentially powerful tools that enable students to design and publish their own projects about meaningful real-life topics for a worldwide audience via the Internet. However, the lack of access to these technologies and appropriate training for teachers of Indigenous students may exacerbate the disparity between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians.This project aims to assist the transmission of Indigenous culture through the use of technologies, thereby enhancing the educational outcomes for Indigenous students. 'Our Story-Telling It' will culminate in the production of a CD-ROM and website that will help teachers and Indigenous students anywhere in Australia to design and build multimedia projects about their local Indigenous community and to publish them on the Internet. The testing of training resources and CD-ROM materials was conducted during 2001 and early 2002, and feedback has been extremely positive. Both the processes and products of the project emphasise collaboration with stakeholders at all stages of the project and the building of networks that support the continuance of learning communities around the telling of the local Iindigenous story. This paper gives the background, theoretical framework, and methology of the project. The project CD-ROM, and further results and conclusions will be presented at the conference.