International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (May 2011)

Decolonizing cyberspace: Online support for the Nunavut MEd

  • Alexander McAuley,
  • Fiona Walton

DOI
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v12i4.848
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 4

Abstract

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Offered between 2006 and 2009 and graduating 21 Inuit candidates, the Nunavut Master of Education program was a collaborative effort made to address the erosion of Inuit leadership in the K-12 school system after the creation of Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory, in 1999. Delivered to a large extent in short, intensive, face-to-face courses, the program also made extensive use of online supports. This paper outlines the design challenges – geographical, technological, pedagogical, and cultural – that faced the development and delivery of the online portion of the program. It highlights the intersection of the design decisions with the decolonizing principles that framed the program as a whole, the various and varying roles played by the online environment over the course of the program, and the program’s contribution to student success.

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