Noelle Pepin presented us with the opportunity to integrate beading and the binary code. It was an amazing experience! I get compliments on my necklace all the time.

I chose the word purpose because I have found purpose in my teaching, why I am teaching, and the reminder to continue with purpose every day!

The teaching perfectly summarized the spirit of the First People’s Principal of Learning in the BC Curriculum. It is hands-on beading that is entertaining, builds a conversational piece, and shows students the binary code. The restriction of the necklace also shows the students actively the rules of “space” in data saved using binary. It was a great conversation with my peers to understand a new digital language that it is usually unavailable in our reality but only digital, but now in our hands!

My Indigenous friends and I from various First Nations communities have discussed how there is a fine line that might be crossed by the introduction of Indigenous culture that is being adapted and then resold to them as part of education. This is a topic of discussion that has perplexed everyone I ask. It is important to remember the intention of why we teach something and to not appropriate culture. We can avoid this by asking the people who are part of that culture to present it to our students or at least for permission from the community we intend to quote. The least we can always do is to mention where it comes from and how it is practiced. Some of these communities have not had the chance to practice their culture and we need to remember the privilege it is to share these spaces with them.