Students at Focus High School in Montreal, Canada explore material from IsumaTV with help from teacher Matthew Shapiro.
Isuma.tv
at Focus High School
When I researched the
Isuma.tv website for the lesson plan that I would be implementing, it
was the
first time I had visited the site. I wasn't sure what topic I wanted to
cover
with my students, so I had a chance to really explore the site and view a
wide
range of materials.
I decided that I
would try one of the pre-made lesson plans which would allow the
students to
learn and participate in a few traditional Inuit games such as the
legwrestle,
the kneel jump, and the back push to name a few. The students would get a
chance to choose one game, practice, and then teach that game to the
rest of
their classmates. All the while, the students would be learning not only
about
how to play, but what place these traditional games have in typical
Inuit
communities. In the end, the students enjoyed the opportunity to play
these
games and challenge their fellow classmates.
The second part of
the lesson that I had planned consisted of a viewing of the short film
'Tungijuq' coupled with a brief discussion on the film's message about
hunting
and the Inuit belief system. Though some students were initially
disturbed by
the film's content, everyone seemed to have something to say on the
topic. A
very lively discussion ensued whereby some students discussed the merits
of the
Inuit way of hunting while others wondered why the Inuit did not adopt a
more
"western" mode of life.
I was able to screen
this film in two separate classes and received a similar reaction in
both
classes. Some students showed a sense of ambivalence towards the topic-
asking
questions rather than leading the discussion- while others preferred to
listen
rather than actively participate.
I was delighted with
the way the lesson resulted. To be honest, these are areas of knowledge
that I
think are often overlooked, but that the students have an innate
fascination
with.
It is becoming more
and more important to be able to incorporate multiple forms of
multimedia into
our lesson plans. Isuma.tv is perfect in this sense simply because of
how
interactive and how teacher-friendly it is. But for the students to
browse a
website and collect information is not enough. It is essential that the
students feel like they are not only receiving the information, but that
they
are contributing as well. With the ability to upload videos onto the
website, I
think the students can actually achieve this.
- Matthew Shapiro.
