Are apps the future of learning? We think so. All the information you need is right there at the tip of your fingers. These days almost everyone has a smart phone with them all the time, so instead of playing a game or watching another video, why not use it to expand
your knowledge?
But once you’ve decided an app is your best bet for learning, where do you start? There are so many options available to us. Well, I tried to do some research and before I could even select an app, I became overwhelmed with the number of websites I had to navigate to read about the available options. Then I found FirstVoices. “FirstVoices is a suite of web-based tools and services designed to support Indigenous people engaged in language archiving, language teaching and culture revitalization.”
FirstVoices is a British Columbia (BC) based non-profit that focusses on preserving Indigenous languages and oral traditions. They offer 2 types of apps: a keyboard app and a dictionary app. The keyboard app, which allows you to type from your phone in one of the 100+ available Indigenous languages, “includes every First Nations language in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, plus many languages in the USA.” The dictionary apps are “interactive dictionary/phrase apps in First Nations languages for Android and iOS. The apps contain text, audio, image and video content and are available as free downloads from the Apple App store and Google Play stores.” Aside from offering so many language options in one place, the FirstVoices website has a resource page with lots of helpful tips for using their products. And they even offer technical support to users!
If you’re interested in using an Indigenous language app, I would suggest starting by taking a look at FirstVoices.