Myera Virtual Farm: Linkages to Provincial Manitoba Curriculum
Note: This is the third report in a series.
The following report seeks to build on the previous two reports and further explore the implementation and potentials of the Myera Virtual Farm. This third report is a curriculum scan and recommendations related to potential educational linkages to the existing Myera Virtual Farm environment and the Manitoba curriculum. As of December 2023, the Myera Virtual Farm is in a developmental stage with basic instructions, where students are able to complete simple tasks and move via virtual portals through a variety of levels representing stages in a circular farm local to the Manitoba environment. This current stage of development allows for significant opportunity to tailor virtual instructions and student interactions to include local Traditional Knowledge as well as government-authored learning objectives.
The intent of the Myera Group partnerships is to explore provincial curriculum based in Canada as well as internationally, at a variety of grade levels. As a result of the existing virtual infrastructure being linked to the Manitoba environment, the scope of this report will be limited to focused scan on the Manitoba, Grade 9 and 10 Science curriculum (2000) and Grade 11 and 12 Biology (2000). These particular grade levels are being identified, in part, as a result of recommendations from the previous Mini U Observation report, which indicated greater student satisfaction and engagement with youth who were over 12 years old (Myera/BU CARES, 2024).
Suggested Citation:
Hack, M., Watson, E., Lam, M., Spence, S., Poitras-Pratt, Y., Hardy, B., Forsythe, F. (2024). Myera virtual farm: Linkages to provincial Manitoba curriculum. Brandon University Centre for Applied Research and Education in Indigenous, Rural, and Remote Settings (BU CARES). https://www.bucares.ca/publications/curriculum-connections
The Myera Project is a joint collaboration between Myera, Inc., Brandon University Centre for Applied Research and Education in Indigenous, Rural, and Remote Settings (BU CARES) and the Rural Development Institute. The intention of this collaboration is to explore the opportunities to develop culturally-relevant STEM curriculum and education initiatives that may leverage extended reality technologies to promote community development, wellness, and food sovereignty in Indigenous communities. This report seeks to identify recommendations for utilizing extended reality technologies in education.
• Myera Group
• Function Four Ltd
• Brandon University Mini University (Mini U) program
• The Center for Applied Research and Education in Indigenous Rural and Remote Settings (BU CARES)
• The Rural Development Institute (RDI)
• Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt, University of Calgary Research Excellence Chair
• Dr. Laura Forsythe, University of Winnipeg
This project would like to acknowledge funding from Myera Group, Inc., Brandon University, BU CARES, Rural Development Institute, Function Four, Ltd., an Indigenous software development firm, the Protein Innovations Supercluster, the Southeast Resource Development Council, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Challenge.