Sam Odrowski
Students at Mine Centre School celebrated the launch of a coding program called “MicroWorlds JR” that is available in Ojibwe to help students develop an interest in coding and their indigenous culture.
MicroWorlds JR, designed for pre-readers to Grade 4, will be available at all of the Rainy River District School Board’s schools that offer native as a second language.
The focus will be on Mine Centre and McCrosson-Tovell at first but programming eventually will branch out into Robert Moore and J.W. Walker here, as well as Donald Young School in Emo.
“For some students that are learning at home, this gives them a good chance to sharpen up their skills at school [and] maybe learn a couple of new words they haven’t heard before using the program,” noted RRDSB Ojibwe language co-ordinator Jason Jones, who collaborated with TakingITGlobal and LCSI to develop the program.
It also is important to note this is the first-ever coding language available in Ojibwe.
The program is easy to learn and simple to use with “child friendly” symbols, easy controls, and comprehensive audio help.
MicroWorlds JR is meant to help children develop an interest in coding as well as promote creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking skills, and logic.
“With coding in the future for a lot of Canadians, this might give them a jump-start in that direction,” Jones remarked.
“Maybe that’s a field they might want to go to in the future.”
The program is in Rainy Lake dialect so students are learning about their local indigenous language, which can be extremely empowering for them, Jones added.
“It can make students feel proud that their language is in the program and that it’s all in Ojibwe,” he explained.
“This is the year of indigenous languages from the U.N. so that helps a lot, too, and is perfect timing for it to come out.”
Jones helped develop the program through consulting a number of community experts and elders to seek the most accurate Ojibwe translations.
For instance, he worked with his grandmother, Nancy Jones, who provided recordings for the audio assistance built into the MicroWorlds JR program.
MicroWorlds JR also features art from Anishinaabe visual story-teller Nyle Johnston, which was featured in the Art Gallery of Ontario last summer.
Students utilize Johnston’s art as they design their projects in the coding software, offering them an opportunity to create interactive cultural stories and games.
“We’re just trying to utilize all that vast beautiful knowledge that exists around here and help incorporate that into these images, and just kind of get that next generation really interested in not only their teachings but the language and kind of break down some of those barriers,” Johnston explained.
“I just want students to be curious and ask questions.”
MicroWorlds JR was made possible through TakingITGlobal’s and LCSI’s Code to Learn Initiative, which was funded by CanCode that has been supported by the federal government’s investment of $50 million to support digital skills development.
To access MicroWorlds JR in Ojibwe, visit www.codetolearn.ca where it can be downloaded free of charge for Windows or macOS.
