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This is no picnic. Introduction to the Open Learning World. In locating different discoveries, she also must rely on global positioning technology. She is out of classroom, yet, like everyone else, she credits for her digging efforts because the world is open. She has joined a fast-growing species of this planet which first appeared at end of end of twentieth century. This species relies almost exclusively on nontraditional, informal, and on-demand learning. Such a species does not classrooms. As with the physical World is Open book, this e-book extension is dedicated to the memory of Chris Essex (February 19, 1965-April 17, 2007); student, teacher, instructional designer, writer, rocket builder, music lover, podcast partner, colleague, technology guru, and friend to all, who helped show me and countless others the open learning world. On July 25, 2008, a week prior to completion of Archaeology Field Program in Canada, Lily Henry Roberts provides a blog post about her experiences in thick forests of Canada on an island near Hope, British Columbia. It is in that setting where she and her team are studying complex history of a First Nation tribe called Introduction to the Open Learning World Out Here in the Fields Five of us go out to the field every day, while two stay behind at the dig house. This week, we had opportunity to see and travel through land in much same way that Stó:lo people did thousands of years prior to our arrival - on boats and on Fraser River. Almost every feature that surrounds us here in Fraser Valley has a special and unique story tying land to people who depend on it. These stories have been passed down through generations by word of mouth. Our group is working closely with Chawathil and Shxw'ow'hamel Bands of Stó:lo First Nations, and we were fortunate to learn Stó:lo oral history from historian Sonny McHalsie. For best view of Fraser River Canyon, we climbed aboard boats and floated down middle of rushing water. It is here that we saw land way People of River saw it - majestic and powerful, rising up all around us. On river, Sonny spoke of tales passed down by elders, particularly those addressing how world was once chaotic but came to be ordered by Xexa:ls, powerful transformers who made world morally right.They help out with washing and cataloging finds from the previous day's work or assist in processing soil samples and preparing the other finds from the tumulus excavation for publication, a unique opportunity offered by this project. Hearing stories embedded in landscape brings home how our archaeological work at Welqámex connects to past and present lives of people who have lived in Fraser Valley for hundreds of generations. While most field schools only take on students during the data collection phase of the excavation, in Albania we are offering students a chance to see what goes on after the digging is over in addition to the field experience of conducting an intensive survey. |
