But it’s about more than preserving language. Research indicates that marginalized youth who have strong ties to and knowledge of their heritage are self-assured and perform better in school and society. Knowledge of and literacy in one’s heritage language builds this self-confidence. For Native Americans, storytelling was a means to teach history and traditional knowledge about science, medicine, environment and philosophy. Traditional stories that have gone untold for generations can now be passed on to future generations using this new technology.

Ancient Voices, Modern Tools teaches families, students and teachers how to use technology to develop Native American language materials in all media to support language learners in schools and homes so that the heritage languages can once again become a vibrant component of everyday life.

The program has served 329 people and 130 tribes and taught them to use many different forms of technology (Windows Movie Maker, Media Player, Audacity, GIMPshop, iMovie, iDVD, Language geek keyboard, digital video, computer film editing technology, digital camera, scanning technology).

The parents and grandparents involved in the program understand the value of technology in this race against time to preserve and perpetuate the languages while the elder speakers who hold the knowledge are still with us, making this a truly multi-generational effort.

And, it’s strengthening everyday life. A community in California reported that program participants taught staff in the economic development and health departments in the tribe to create brochures, newsletters and other materials in their Native language. The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma has reported similar results, creating a professional training curriculum for school teachers of its tribal Head Start programs. For more information, visit www.ilinative.org.

ELL staff help adult learners become confident and comfortable with technology by making it a regular part of the ELL curriculum. Through this initial technological foundation, adult learners discover that the ability to support their children’s education is within reach. As learners gain technological skills in class, they become able to access their children’s school records, learn about homework assignments and support their children in finding reliable information sources on the Internet. Learners gain the ability to communicate with educators through online communication tools, ultimately taking an active, collaborative role in their children’s education.

Through ELL instruction, students realize that computer and technological knowledge combined with English skills open doors to further education for their children and themselves. For more information, visit www.neighb.org.

By learning to advocate for their rights and interests, parents become role models for their children.  Using Microsoft Word and e-mail, Even Start students wrote letters and postcards to members of Congress initiating a dialogue about education issues important to them. The school received an award from the National Council of La Raza recognizing the students’ advocacy work. This initial advocacy has led to additional student-initiated activities such as neighborhood petitions and follow-up letter-writing campaigns advocating for families and services. Claudia Ramirez, an Even Start student in the Advanced English as a Second Language class, organized and led a rally to protest against the deportations of immigrant parents of American born children. The “Keep Families Together” rally took place on April 25, 2007, on Capitol Hill. The success of Mary’s Center Even Start program was most recently recognized by a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama in February, her first visit to a Washington, DC nonprofit.

Mary’s Center Even Start Program saw the following outcomes for adult students who had 60 hours or more of instruction in 2007:

• 70 percent improved one level on an adult student assessment (compared to 37 percent improvement rate nationwide)
• 70 percent of the students who had the goal of obtaining or retaining employment accomplished their objective
• 87 percent obtained a library card
• 84 percent attended parent-teacher conferences
• 77 percent increased their typing 3-8 words per minute
• 96 percent of parents demonstrated increases in: contacts with school/child’s teachers, visits to the library or other related field trips, and knowledge of community resources
• 97 percent of parents demonstrated increases in: frequency of reading to/with child, and involvement in child’s future success, and types of reading materials in the home

For more information, visit www.maryscenter.org

The Project Accessible Hollywood Digital Film Festival (PAH-FEST) has been created to educate and engage parents and children in the use of new digital media. Through this new kind of film festival, PAH teaches digital technology skills, fosters community engagement, and promotes the production of fictional and documentary videos, which will be shared and enjoyed globally through the PAH Nation online community. These events engage and educate individuals and communities with little or no access to digital technology, while expanding the knowledge and skill level of those already familiar with the media. Participants acquire confidence in handling cell phones, digital cameras and computers, and learn how to use this technology to teach, tell a story or portray their community. Participants get hands-on experience shooting, editing and posting and sharing their videos with the global PAH community. By actively participating, parents, in particular, learn the value of digital media and visual story telling as an education tool — one that will have an increasing role in their children’s educational experience.

Parents are able to take their new computer and digital media skills with them into their personal and professional lives to conduct research, access important information, communicate more effectively and help their children with their homework. To inquire about bringing PAH-FEST to your community, or for more information, visit www.pahnation.org.

By seeing and using a variety of technology along with their children, parents and guardians become aware that knowledge can be learned and presented in a variety of ways. This provides a deeper understanding of subject matter than traditional learning methods can provide. In addition, parents learn that technology such as iPods, cell phones, e-mail and computer games have educational value when used in the classroom.

As parents work on technology assignments with their children, they build a connection between generations that allows both groups to teach each other. Students who are tech-savvy provide instruction to their parents, while the older generation provides an insight into local and family history. For more information, visit http://fisher.jppss.k12.la.us.