Getting Started - "See What We See"

Welcome to Our People, Our Climate - Let Us Show You What We See, an 8-week online work-placement module developed by ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre (iSDC) for Nunavummiut, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas and the University of North Dakota.

This YESS youth learning and work experience program is meant as a companion to the Our People, Our Climate Course, and will provide you with weekly content and assignments to complete, so that you can get the most out of your work placement.

This course was made possible through funding by the Climate Action Fund, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the National Science Foundation (USA) to bring foundational learning for Inuit, Nunavut youth and residents on climate change and issues for ongoing learning and employment.

Each module walks you through the process of documenting climate change with visual media (photography, videography, drones), with a particular focus on creating professional images and film. You will address the Inuit experience of a rapidly changing natural environment, and the economic and human impacts this has created for your communities, and provide evidence of how people are coping with and adapting to the reality of a warmer planet.

While Canada is doing its part within the global backdrop of greenhouse gas carbon targets to work toward reducing our impact, the cumulative effects that have been underway since the Industrial Revolution of the 1880's is increasingly being seen, experienced and analyzed for action to mitigate further impacts to our Arctic environment, biodiversity and traditional way of Inuit life.

We cannot turn back the clock, but we need to document the climate change we see, and share the evidence with the world, through effective images and film. The skills you acquire in this course will not only allow you to contribute to government and policy organizations, but also provide a starting point for working as a professional photographer or documentary filmmaker. The final product of this course is a portfolio, or collection of images and film, that you can use to promote your talents and sell your visual work. 

How to Work Through This Companion Module

The platform you are using is called Desire2Learn Brightspace. It is the same online learning systems used by many universities. In fact, D2L is a Canadian company based out of Waterloo, Ontario. The system also works with researchers to ensure that learners who have low vision and need Accessibility functions, can learn well through this platform. If you use the Accessibility features, please let us know in your evaluation how they worked for you, or areas for improvement.

D2L is quite simple to navigate. As you can see in the top banner above, there is a link to My Brightspace: that is your Homepage. The top banner bar also has links to Content, which is the Table of Contents for the course.  There is a Calendar (often used with students that are registered in several courses to see when all of their assignments or notices are due); Quizzes and Grades, to see what their current grades are after completing their activities.

To move through the course, start on Getting Started, and at the bottom of each page you will see an arrow directing you to the next page.  

This walks you through each page in order (or back if you need to review). However, you can just press on the left-hand Table of Contents module tabs as well to bring you to the pages. When you've read a page, it will show a check mark.

You need to read/view each page, and watch videos, before being able to continue to the next section, so don't hop back and forth. Just complete the course in order.

Videos

There are a few videos throughout the course, which are important to watch. Watch them carefully and take some notes because there may be information in the Quiz for that unit!

Quizzes

There are 3 short assignments in this course, but you need to achieve 70% as pass marks.  Don't worry, you have 3 chances to get a 70% if you don't success the first times. If you are having trouble, the instructor will be able to work with you to see which questions are challenging, and we can discuss them. Keep an eye out for your quiz feedback from your instructor!

Final Portfolio

The real heart of this course is having you look around your community after learning all about climate change and how to document it, and using your phone camera, or any other camera you may have access to, to create professional evidence of the climate change you see.  

What would you like others to see, or to learn about the climate change you see around you? How will you tell your story?

You may want to take pictures of thawing permafrost soils around you, and how roads or buildings are moving because of it. You may want to show a thermometer and the local temperature it displays on an unusually warm day in the summer. You may want to interview an elder about his or her memories about climate and weather. Can they tell stories about what the climate used to be like, compared to today? Or you could interview local hunters about changing migration patterns of animals. 

In this course, you will learn from a professional photographer about how to take a good picture. You'll hear from filmmakers about how to create a short documentary film. And you'll find out how to use drones to show the landscape around you. For your final assignment, you will show others what you see, and create a collection of images and videos to share with the world. Upload it as the culmination of your learning!

Contacting the Instructors

Walking you through this course are Olaf Kuhlke and Alec Johnson, Guest Instructor, and Helen Roos, Lead Instructor at ilinniapaa.

They will be assisted by Eric Anoee, J.J. Kelley and Timothy Pasch. 

Olaf and Helen will be monitoring your account daily to see how you are progressing. Since this is a 3-week course, we need you to dedicate your time to completing it.  

As you can see WAY up at the top of the page, there is an email tab. 

You can email Olaf at okuhlke@d.umn.edu or text him at (218) 269-1104.

Alec can be reached at alec@acjohnsonphoto.com or (651) 278-4582.

Helen can be reached at helen@ilinniapaa.ca or text (867) 222-9570.  

We are all here to make sure you are enjoying the course; learning something new; and not getting frustrated in the technical bits. This is a credit course from the Indigenous Certification Board of Canada (ICBOC) and ilinniapaa Skills Development Centre, but let's have fun with it.  

Enough of the administrative "stuff" - let's getting learning. Atii!