The Future of Leokï
Hale Kuamoÿo staff have ambitious
plans for expanding Leokï in several directions. They would like to
add additional features to the system, such as audio-visual conferences.
They want to provide more regular and systematic teacher training so that
educators throughout the immersion program develop both the technical and
pedagogical expertise to full use of the system. After most of the immersion
schools are brought on to the network this year, they hope to gradually
expand the Leokï network into other schools and colleges where Hawaiian
language is taught, and eventually into private homes. One important area
for expansion would be the native speaking community on the small island
of Niÿihau, possibly through creative uses of solar power and satellite
telecoommunictions. Eventually, it should be possible to establish more
cross-Pacific ties, with Hawaiians communicating in Hawaiian and other
Polynesian languages with the Mäori, Tongan, Tahitian, Samoan, and
other Pacific peoples. These steps will be taken gradually though, to make
sure that Leokï first builds a strong foundation as Hawaiian-medium
gathering place for the teachers and students who are striving for native-like
fluency in the kula kaiapuni (immersion schools).
"I ka �ölelo nö ke ola,
i ka �ölelo nö ka make." In the language there is life, and
in the language there is death. Hawaiians have a proud history of taking
advantage of a wide range of media, from song to dance to print, to preserve
and the life of their language and culture. Now they are using the computer
to provide one more powerful voice for language use and revitalization,
and their example can be of potential benefit to other indigenous communities
throughout the world.
