Learner’s Guide

Interactive Ochre
Toolbox 907

Supporting cultural awareness training

nationalvetcontent.edu.au

National VET Content Management, National VET E-learning, © Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Education), 2014.
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Department’s logo, any material protected by a trade mark and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au) license.

Contents

Introducing Interactive Ochre	4
Introducing the Learner’s Guide	4
General overview of Interactive Ochre	5
Who should use Interactive Ochre?	5
Ngapartji-Ngapartji	5
The Core	6
Organising structure and key features	7
System requirements	8
Approach to assessment	10
How does Interactive Ochre work?	10
Activities	16
Conclusion	17

Introducing Interactive Ochre
Interactive Ochre is a multimedia resource that is designed to assist you to build your knowledge of cultural awareness and to be able to apply cultural awareness in your workplace and community. The resource is designed particularly to help you understand and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Introducing the Learner’s Guide
Interactive Ochre has been designed to encourage you to explore all the media and the interfaces. You can use this guide as you explore or you might like to leap in and find your way around yourself.
The Learner’s Guide has been written to give you some information about the types of resources and activities in Interactive Ochre. You might like to read the whole guide or pick out the sections that are most relevant to you.

The Learner’s Guide is divided into three sections:
•	general overview of Interactive Ochre
•	approach to assessment
•	how does Interactive Ochre work?

General overview of Interactive Ochre
This section of the Learner’s Guide contains an overview of Interactive Ochre and includes information on:
•	who should use Interactive Ochre
•	Ngapartji-Ngapartji
•	the Core – central values and beliefs
•	structure and key features of the CD
•	description of tools and supporting documents.
Who should use Interactive Ochre?
Interactive Ochre is designed as a resource to support training in cultural awareness that can be appealing to learners of all ages. The multimedia is entertaining and is designed so that you can delve into the content as far as you want to.
The suggested activities and assessments are aimed primarily at workers in the public service who are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but you may find them useful tools to help you expand and apply your knowledge in your own community and workplace, whatever that may be. 
Interactive Ochre can be used in a stand-alone mode for use on your own. It can also be used as a supporting resource for group presentations where you have a presenter to guide you through the content and to contextualise the material by providing local stories that enrich the experience and bring it into a real life context.
Ngapartji-Ngapartji
Interactive Ochre is based upon Ngapartji-Ngapartji (pronounced Nup-art-gee, in the Pitjantjatjara language), which means ‘working both ways’. Intercultural relationships are partnerships where we learn from each other by working both ways.
The following points provide an Aboriginal perspective on how Interactive Ochre can promote Ngapartji-Ngapartji.

Building intercultural partnerships
You may find that in your cultural awareness course there is input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and that you are asked to work on projects where you apply what you have learned to your workplace. 

Sharing public knowledge and respecting private knowledge
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, there are some culturally sensitive issues that are the private business of individuals and groups and must be respected as such. Public knowledge is knowledge that is in the public domain and is known by everybody. Interactive Ochre is about public knowledge. 
You may also have the opportunity to talk with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who will share with you some of their stories and experiences and give you insight into the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in your area. 
Integrating the traditional and the contemporary
Interactive Ochre has been described by Aboriginal people as an example of ‘Contemporary Dreaming’ – Tjukurpa. This is demonstrated in the way the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experience is interpreted through music, lyrics, video and animations that combine contemporary and traditional expressions of culture. In this way, both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal users can relate to the content and use it with meaning. 
The Core
Interactive Ochre has been widely accepted by Aboriginal people because it captures central values and beliefs that can be described as ‘the Core’. The Core is identified as Tjukurpa, Walytja, Ngura, and Kanyini.

Tjukurpa (pronounced J-gr-pa, Pitjantjatjara): Dreaming
Tjukurpa is the religious interpretation of the profound bonding of people to one another, to their country and to the species of animals and plants inhabiting it. It is continually renewed by its expression in song, dance, verbal narratives or creation stories and re-enacted continually in ceremonial journeys. 

Walytja (pronounced Walch-ar, Pitjantjatjara and Luritja): Family
Walytja is the system of extended kinship, the organisational scaffolding for social roles and authority, and the pathways of distribution and communication.

Ngura (pronounced No-ra, Pitjantjatjara and Luritja): Land
Ngura is the country to which people belong, which they may use but in ways that are always subject to obligations of care, including celebration.

Kanyini (pronounced Kun-yun-nee, Pitjantjatjara and Luritja)
Kanyini means to have, to hold, to care and is a verb that reflects a commitment, a full engagement, vitalising again and again all that went before and all that will go after.
The recognition of Tjukurpa, Walytja, Ngura, and Kanyini is a key to Interactive Ochre’s appeal. It is authentic: this authenticity is reinforced by the concepts and content, and their translation into song and lyrics. Also much of the art work for Interactive Ochre has been initiated and developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Organising structure and key features
The structure
The content of Interactive Ochre is structured in the following five sections
•	History
•	Traditional Perspectives
•	Working with Aboriginal People
•	Racism
•	Moving On.

Each section is designed as a self-contained multimedia experience that allows you to explore the concepts at your own pace. There is no fixed order, so you can start with the section that is most interesting to you and move from section to section, drilling down into the content as far as you choose. Links to each section appear on the main menu.
The Splash Page
The home page of Interactive Ochre has links for you to check whether your computer has the required software installed to run the product, guides, acknowledgements and copyright information. There are also downloable documents to help you as you work through the resource.
The links include:
•	Presenter’s Guide
•	Learner’s Guide (This guide)
•	Technical Guide

There is a link called ENTER which takes you to the main menu of Interactive Ochre.

The Home page - Main Menu
The main menu of Interactive Ochre has links to take the learner and presenter to all sections of the resource, including:
•	content sections –  History, Traditional Perspectives, Working with Aboriginal People, Racism, Moving On
•	Making It Happen – a collection of suggested activities and assessment tasks

At the top right corner of the screen, there is a global menu bar that is available to you at all times and that contains the following navigation and information tools:
•	Home - Link to the main menu.
•	Warning, to alert you to the use of visuals and audio of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
•	Documents
o	Guides and documents
•	Presenter’s Guide
•	Learner’s Guide (This guide)
•	 Technical Guide
•	References
o	Content documents, including
•	History
•	Traditional Perspectives
•	Racism
•	A Workplace Guide 
•	Newsflash – the Headlines
•	Moving On
o	Lyrics for songs, including
•	Newsflash
•	If But Maybe
•	Serious Minds
o	Suggested activities and assessments, including
•	What Do You Know? - quiz
•	What Do You Know? – quiz answers
•	What Do You Think?
•	What Do You Feel?
•	What Would You Do?
•	Putting It into Practice. 
o	Map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups across Australia. 

System requirements
The following minimum computer system specifications are required for viewing the Interactive Ochre CD-ROM efficiently:
Platform
•	PC with Windows 7, a 1GHz processor and 1GB of memory (RAM).
•	Macintosh with Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), a 2GHz processor and 2GB of memory (RAM).
•	iPad with iOS 7.
Web browser
•	Firefox 36 (all platforms)
•	Chrome 41 (all platforms)
•	Internet Explorer 11 (Windows)
•	Safari 7 (Mac OS X and iOS)
Other
•	Screen resolution: 1024x768
•	Word processing program such as Text Edit (Mac) or Microsoft Word (PC) to open RTF documents.

Approach to assessment
Interactive Ochre is not aligned to specific Training Package competencies, so assessment is optional and will be negotiated between you and the presenter of your course. 
Activities have been included in the ‘Making it happen’ section that can be used as assessment tasks if required. Please see page 16 for a detailed description of suggested activities. 

How does Interactive Ochre work?
Interactive Ochre presents content in five sections and has an additional section for suggested activities. This part of the Learner’s Guide gives an overview of each section and explains how you can get the most out of using the resource.
In each section, you have the opportunity to explore the content at a number of different levels. At Level 1, the multimedia presents a piece of entertainment: a song, an animation or a story. You can choose to simply watch the media element from start to finish.
At Level 2, you may choose to view more information; it may be more detail on an historical event, or more insight into thoughts and feelings in a racism scenario. These may be presented as text, video or slideshows.
If you want to go further to Level 3, you can choose to open the relevant content document to read on screen or to print. The content documents have been developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in collaboration with the production team and so provide a deep and detailed insight into the perspective of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Four of the sections also include video clips of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people talking about their own experiences. These have been selected to relate specifically to the content for each section and offer you an insight into the many and varied contexts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia.

History
Content
The History section presents an overview of the history of Australia from the point of view of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is not intended to provide a complete history, but rather to give an insight into key events that have shaped the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It begins with references to what is known of the history and lifestyle of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people before the arrival of settlers from Europe and continues with snapshots gathered from across Australia that build a picture of history since settlement. An important aspect of the content of this section is the focus on the impact of government policies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the tracing of the evolution of policy development.

Interactive elements
The History section is presented as an interactive timeline. Visually, the interface of the History section has been developed using elements from contributing Aboriginal artists and has the rich look and feel of traditional art.
Level 1
You can select a date to view content from the timeline. The information timeline moves down the screen. Each date is accompanied by an image, a brief description of the event and a map showing the location of the event. 
Level 2
By clicking on a date or image you get a larger view of the image and an expansion of the written information about the event. You can also get to this detailed information by clicking on the ‘More Information’ button on the screen.
At various points in the timeline there are links to video clips of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are talking about how historical events have affected them. 
Level 3
If you wish to access more detail, you can click on the ‘Documents’ button in the global menu bar. This opens a screen that allows you to scroll through and read or print the entire content document for the History section. 

Traditional Perspectives
Content
The Traditional Perspectives section introduces you to the importance of traditional lifestyles to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to the continuing impact and importance of traditional culture for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in contemporary society, whether or not they live in a traditional setting. The content covers four major topics that are important in building an understanding of the relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with their traditional culture:
•	Land and Sea
•	Language
•	Dreaming
•	Lore.

This section of Interactive Ochre is designed to give an introductory insight into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional culture. It is important to note that, in keeping with the underlying design principles, the material presented in this section is public knowledge and so does not delve deeply into aspects of Dreaming and Lore that are private business.
Interactive elements
The content of the Traditional Perspectives section is presented by four avatars. The interface has been developed using symbols used in Aboriginal art.
Level 1
You can click to play the entire presentation. The four avatars appear in turn as animations of Aboriginal people who speak directly to you about the topic they are presenting. As they speak, their words appear as closed captions and a series of related images animates in a screen. The narration is interspersed with tracks of traditional Aboriginal music that has been composed to complement the content of the topics.
Level 2
Below the presentation are image thumbnails from the presentation, some information about the image and an excerpt from the content document that is particularly relevant. When the user clicks on an image for more information they also get the full image.
In addition, for each of the areas of content, there are links to related video clips of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people talking about the impact of traditional culture on their lives.
Level 3
If you wish to access more detail, you can click on the ‘Documents’ button in the global menu bar. This opens a screen that allows you to scroll through and read or print the entire content document for the Traditional Perspectives section. 

Working with Aboriginal People
Content
The Working with Aboriginal People section is based on two content documents. The first, A Workplace Guide, introduces a series of cultural understandings that underpin communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the workplace. The second, Newsflash – the Headlines, explores in depth some of the social and historical issues that impact upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This section of Interactive Ochre was the first to be developed in the infotainment model and is structured differently to the other four sections. It contains two songs that express different aspects of the content.
Newsflash highlights many of the social and historical issues that impact upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in contemporary society. It is presented as an animation that is fully interactive.
If But Maybe gives you insight into the feelings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they respond to many situations that they experience in contemporary life. This song is presented as a music clip and does not have interactive elements. The song provides a good starting point for reflection and discussion about the experiences of people from different racial backgrounds in contemporary Australian society.
Interactive elements
When you enter the Working with Aboriginal People section they have a choice of viewing Newsflash or If But Maybe. Level 1 interactivity is available for both Newsflash and If But Maybe. Levels 2 and 3 are available in Newsflash.
Level 1
You can click to view the entire song and animation. At this level, the lyrics of the song are displayed across the bottom of the screen and you can opt to have the lyrics on or off.

Level 2
Below the presentation are image thumbnails from the presentation and more information. This slideshow shows the lyrics of the current verse or chorus along with some underpinning information about the issues raised.
Level 3
To access more detail you can click on the ‘Documents’ button in the global menu bar. This opens a screen that allows you to scroll through and read or print the entire content document for the Working with Aboriginal people section. 
Racism
Content
The Racism section deals with racism as defined by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and introduces you to different types of racism including:
•	overt or open racism
•	covert or hidden racism
•	systemic or organisational racism.

The content document is structured to develop clear understanding of the different types of racism, to outline examples of racism in the workplace and in the general community, and to highlight the importance of Equal Opportunity legislation in protecting people from racial discrimination.
Interactive elements
The Racism section is presented as a series of narrated scenarios that show Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in situations where they experience racism. These scenarios are played out in public places including:
•	department store
•	motor vehicle registration office
•	hospital
•	police station
•	nightclub.

When you enter this section, you are presented with an image of a street scene with a number of different buildings in it. Some of the buildings are links to animations of stories about racism. You can roll your mouse over the buildings to see which ones are active, click on the building to start the animated scenario that takes place in that building.
There is also a link that will take you to the definitions of racism and to a menu of video stories about racism.
Level 1
Once you have selected a scenario, you can watch the scenario play out in full. A single voice narrates the scenario with subtitles and the animation shows the events unfolding. Occasionally the animation pauses to show you the character’s thoughts. These contain possible underlying thoughts and feelings that characters may be experiencing. 
Level 2
The second menu button takes you back to the street where they can access definitions and stories of racism. Each finger of the hand is a link. These links are to the different types of racism including:
•	overt
•	covert
•	systemic
•	discrimination.

If you click on stories, you can choose a video story of a contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person telling their experience of one of the types of racism.
Level 3
If you wish to access more detail you can click on the ‘Documents’ button in the global menu bar. This opens a screen that allows you to scroll through and read or print the entire content document for the Racism section. 

Moving On
Content
The Moving On section looks towards the future and the content expresses the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they reflect on the following topics: 
•	Youth and Education
•	Healing and Health
•	Culture
•	Employment
•	Working Both Ways.
Interactive elements
The Moving On section is similar to the Working with Aboriginal People section as the it is based upon an animated song. The song, Serious Minds, picks up the themes of the content document and is animated with images that represent both work of contemporary Aboriginal artists and images of historical and social significance.
Level 1
You can choose to view the song in its entirety. At this level, the words of the lyrics are displayed on the screen and you can opt to turn them on or off.
Level 2
The second level menu buttons takes you to more information on each of the five topics in this section. Within these pages there are also links to Story Videos of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people speaking about each of the five topics in this section.
Level 3
If you wish to access more detail, you can click on the ‘Documents’ button in the global menu bar. This opens a screen that allows you to scroll through and read or print the entire content document for the Moving On section. 

Making it happen
The Making It Happen section is where you will find suggested activities. Apart from the quiz, this section does not involve interactivity, but gives you links to a series of documents that outline activities that you can do on your own or as part of a group.
Activities
What Do You Know? 
What Do You Know? is a quiz activity. The quiz is available as an interactive quiz on the CD-ROM. You might use this activity as: 
•	a classroom activity to generate group discussion
•	an individual self-test to test underpinning knowledge
•	a test to assess underpinning knowledge.
How Do You Feel? 
How Do You Feel? is a creative activity, suggesting various forms of expressing a response to the content of Interactive Ochre. These include such forms as song, music, storytelling, poetry, painting, sculpture and other visual arts, dance or other appropriate creative forms.
The activity outline suggests some processes for brainstorming, concept development, prototyping and editing, and final presentation. 
This activity is included as a means of highlighting the importance of cultural expression and is appropriate in a cultural awareness resource because of the strong links to music, visual art and dance in ATSI communities.
You might use this activity as:
•	an individual activity as a response to the content of Interactive Ochre
•	a group activity in the creation of a communal response
•	a starting point for collaborative creative projects between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal people.
What Do You Think?
What Do You Think? is a reflective journal. The reflective journal activity encourages you to think about the content, to understand and analyse it and to apply it to your own situation. There is a series of questions that guides you through these steps.
You are introduced to a number of different methods for keeping a reflective journal, including keeping a written diary, keeping a visual or audio diary and using an online blog (a web-based journal that allows you to develop an online journal of text, sound and image and to share that with a selected audience).
You might use this activity as: 
•	an individual activity for personal development
•	a learning journal for communication with your presenter about progress throughout the cultural awareness course
•	a source of material for How Do You Feel? and Putting It Into Practice activities.

What Would You Do?
What Would You Do? is a scenario-based activity that links to the racism scenarios in the Racism section. The activity is designed around those scenarios and a number of others. You are asked to reflect upon the scenarios and to develop your own responses. These range from personal responses to responses that are appropriate for application into the workplace and are underpinned by knowledge of relevant legislation.
Your presenter may contextualise the activity by including some scenarios that are particularly relevant to your geographical location, industry and workplace context or other relevant contextual information.
You might use this activity as: 
•	a guide for your individual response, or a source for material for the How Do You Feel? activity
•	a written assessment
•	a group discussion.
Putting It Into Practice
Putting It Into Practice is a work-based activity project. This activity brings together your knowledge and understanding of cultural awareness and asks you to report on the application of your learning into your own workplace. 
This activity gives you guidelines on how to present a report and supporting folio of evidence on the application of your learning to your work context. This involves you in reflecting upon the content of Interactive Ochre and analysing your own interactions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the light of this experience.
Some examples of work-based projects may include:
•	design and implementation of a public health campaign in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community
•	planning, promotion and coordination of an event for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
•	incorporation of cultural awareness issues into the practice of ongoing work tasks.
You might use this activity as: 
•	an assessment task
•	a guide for professional development 
•	a team building exercise.

Conclusion 
Interactive Ochre is a rich resource that is designed to support learning in cultural awareness. While it presents important and challenging concepts and deals with sensitive material, the use of multimedia allows you to explore the material at a pace and level that is most appropriate for you. 
The team hopes that you enjoy Interactive Ochre and that it assists you to develop and apply your knowledge of cultural awareness.

Toolbox contact details:

Flexible Learning Toolbox Help Desk
Phone: 1300 736 710
Email: Toolboxhelp@flexiblelearning.net.au
Website: flexiblelearning.net.au/Toolbox