Skip to main content
Simon Fraser University
Assistant Director, Internal Communications
SFU News Editor

Nathalie Sinclair working with young child
Previously published in SFU NEWS Aboriginal Supplement December 2015 and in SFU News on December 23, 2015.

SFU mathematics education professor Nathalie Sinclair has been working with the Ojibwe and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations to translate her early-numbers mathematics app into their languages. Called TouchCounts, the free app lets children use their fingers, ears and eyes to more easily learn to count, add and subtract.

The app is very different from traditional drilling and repetition games. Instead, it lets children create and manipulate their own numbers. For example, when they tap once on an iPad screen, up pops one circle with the numeral 1 depicted in it. At the same time, they hear the word “one”. “The idea is to help children make a correspondence between the quantity, the symbol, the touch and the sound,” explains Sinclair. “If they touch the screen once with one finger, they see one circle and the numeral 1, and they’re hearing the word. If they tap the screen with two fingers simultaneously, they’ll see two circles—one with the numeral 1 on it and the other with the numeral 2, and hear the word “two.” Every time they touch the screen, they get the next number in the sequence.” Sinclair, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Tangible Mathematics Learning says, “You can see the learning happening right before your eyes.” The idea of translating the app into First Nations languages struck Sinclair during a visit to Fort Frances, Ontario last year with a team from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She went along to try out TouchCounts with children at the Aboriginal Headstart program and present it to their teachers. While she was playing with the kids and demonstrating the app, one of the educators started repeating the numbers in Ojibwe.

With the prompting of elder Nancy Jones of Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, she realized TouchCounts needed to be translated into Ojibwe. “With the help of Jason Jones, the Ojibwe language curriculum coordinator for the Rainy River District School Board, I was able to record Lee, Jason’s young nephew, saying the words in Ojibwe, and when I returned to SFU we started working on the prototype.”At the same time, she began exploring how to approach B.C. First Nations about translating the app, and met with the First Nations Education Steering Committee. “They liked the idea and the project. Early-number learning and language revitalization is pretty much a dynamite combination.” Next, Sinclair presented TouchCounts to educators attending an Aboriginal mathematics day at UBC where Elisa Cha, a teacher from Zeballos Elementary Secondary School, expressed interest.So Sinclair and Nick Jackiw (the lead software designer and application programmer) travelled to the tiny village on Vancouver Island’s northwest coast last May, with the guidance of language coordinator Victoria Wells. They discovered the school had tremendous technology resources, and that the students were very accustomed to using iPads. “The kids loved the app,” she says. “They were curious and took great pleasure in making big numbers.”The app is designed to feature children speaking the numbers. But getting children to say the numbers at the same pitch and volume in a consistent way is not easy, and it’s all the more difficult when they are just learning to speak in their First Nations language. And since so few people speak these languages, there are concerns about whether the words are being pronounced correctly. In Zeballos, Wells helped Sinclair and Jackiw find 10-year-old Aliya Mack to record as many words as she could, but they only made it to 30. They are planning to return in January 2016 to record the rest of the numbers with Mack, who has been practicing. Sinclair says one of the most interesting aspects of the project has been discovering how differently the Nuu-chah-nulth and Ojibwe languages structure their numbers, which reveals subtle differences in the way different cultures conceive the concept of number. “That is a big goal of doing this work too—to preserve different ways of thinking about numbers.”

    Beyond the Blog

    • Sinclair would like to hear from other First Nations interested in having the app translated. Her email is: nathsinc@sfu.ca

    • To try out the free app, download it from the App Store (search TouchCounts) visit the website at www.touchcounts.ca

    • See the app in action on YouTube

    Simon Fraser University
    Assistant Director, Internal Communications
    SFU News Editor
    visibility  58
    Dec 17, 2015

    You Might Like These... Indigenous SFU Community Stories, Professional Development, Life Experience, Personal Development, Career Exploration

    Mike, author
    Indigenous Stories: Mike, SFU Alumni

    "I have no solid plans for the future and I love it...I know that every experience that I have had, every failed plan, was really an excellent mistake that gave me the skills I need to handle any situation that gets thrown my way in the future."  Read Mike's story of career exploration, and how to handle constant change.

    william lindsay smiling
    William Lindsay on Persistance

    “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence”. Through my life’s experience I can certainly attest to the truthfulness of these words.I hope lessons for others can be found in them. Hence, “Press On” friends and make your own dreams a reality! Read more about William Lindsay's journey and how they overcame life challenges. 

    rudy smiling
    Rudy Riemer/Yumk | SFU Department of First Nations Studies and Archaeology

    "I grew up in Squamish BC, learning from elders and knowledgeable community members about Squamish Nation culture.  Many of my fondest memories are walking to downtown with my grandpa, sitting at my grand uncles kitchen table and going up the river to fish. During these formative years I was always careful to listen to what they had to say." 

    You Might Like These... Indigenous SFU Community Stories

    SFPIRG Logo
    SFPIRG: Truth-Telling and Decolonization

    The Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group is a student-funded and student-directed resource centre dedicated to social and environmental justice. SFPIRG is founded on a set of values that have been developed by students who care about social and environmental justice, and include a commitment to the work of ending all forms of oppression.

    Marianne Ignace
    First of Traditional Languages Apps Ready for Testing in New Year

    Marianne Ignace has an ambitious plan. Within the next five years, she hopes to have developed language-learning apps for speakers and learners of some 12 First Nations languages in B.C. and Yukon.

    Carmen smiling
    Student Success Story: Carmen van Soest

    "I hope to be someone that other Indigenous youth can look up to, and a person that others can count on in my everyday life. And hopefully I can get into Law school so I can help Indigenous peoples fight for their rights." Read Carmen's story of overcoming adversity, and their reason for continuing their education.