The University of New Mexico (UNM) and Boston University (BU) propose a pilot program that develops curriculum combining Native American culture and art with a high-technology, computer-rich environment as a vehicle to engage Native American students in computer and computational science. The project employs the Access Grid (AG), virtual reality technologies, and BU's Deep Vision Display (DVD) Wall to create a culturally and technologically compelling educational experience. The AG will be used as the communication infrastructure to create a cyber-classroom between UNM, the Jemez Department of Education and BU, as well as the primary mechanism for collaboration between the researchers in the three states. The development of a culturally relevant, virtual reality experience displayed on the DVD wall will be a centerpiece of the curriculum, serving as a motivation for the computer science goals of the project. The project targets high school and college students who will take a two semester course, cross-listed and cotaught by faculty from Computer Science and Native American Studies. A summer camp will introduce the high school students to computing and prepare them for the course. The students will be supported with study groups, mentoring, and monthly socials. They will have access to Native American faculty, and a Native American artist assisting with the project. The proposed project also has outreach events and activities at BU, UMN, and Jemez Pueblo. These events and shows of the student work are intended to influence the larger community, change the image of computing in culturally relevant ways, and attract the Native American students to computer science and careers.
The project creates a new model, based on a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, that incorporates Native American pedagogy, culture and virtual aesthetics, computational applications (digital media, VR, 3D animation, DVD wall, and AG), and computer science concepts. The model is implemented as a new curriculum partnership between Computer Science and Native American Studies. The curriculum will be delivered to both undergraduates and high school students, hopefully inspiring many of them to pursue a degree in computing.
