About Us
Our Mission
Storytelling is embedded in the fabric of Indigenous cultures. It is a way for Tribal Elders to teach children about core values.
Storytelling shaped around math and science can empower the young to become our future scientists.
InDigiCom
Today InDigiCom is an adventure in informal and interactive Science, Technology, Education, Arts, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEAMM) education. Our small team comes from a variety of walks of life, but we all share the same goal—to share our passion for STEAMM education with children. InDigiCom is built from inspiration from and for Indigenous populations and children, not only to provide an opportunity for Indigenous students to perceive themselves represented in a modern and scientifically based story, but also for all students to have an opportunity to experience and learn from the wisdom and knowledge of Indigenous storytelling.
The name InDigiCom includes a number of ties.
InDigi – for Indigenous…because Indigenous storytelling is what inspires us.
Digital – for the comic’s digital presentation…we believe in a world that provides easy to access and use digital resources.
Com – for Community…because we learn and grow from you, our community!
Com – also for Communication…because we are both communicating our story and aiming to gain experience and growth from opportunities to speak with our users.
Inspiration. Indigenous. Innovation.
We view this project as YOUR comic and we want all our readers to feel engaged and represented by the stories, characters, and opportunities for learning and adventure. As this project is actively evolving and growing, we invite you to connect with us.
InDigiCom was born through funding provided by the National Science Foundation as part of the Engineering Research Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN) at the University of Arizona, Wyant College of Optical Sciences. CIAN hosted a robust education system supporting diverse populations of students for ten years—ranging from K-12 and higher education.
In 2015 an innovative and creative idea was born! The “Optics Adventures Comicbook.” These comics aimed to provide students with an engaging and approachable character who could share a zest for learning about STEM and connect with student readers. This was when CHIP came into the picture! CHIP stands for “Communication Highway Using Integrated Photonics,” inspired by the center’s scientific goals in integrated access networks and photonics. The first issue of the comic takes the reader on an exciting adventure through time to meet scientists of the past and learn how they contributed to the field of optics.
Read the First ComicToday, CHIP is back at it and has made some new friends! They’re on a journey of discovery, connecting them with other adventurers while learning about scientific and mathematical concepts along the way. Each issue of the comic is directly inspired by a Next Generation Science Standard. The long-term goal of the project is to provide a searchable database of stories tied to NGSS standards that teachers can use to provide lessons based in storytelling rather than standards—while still meeting the needs of national education standards.
Imagine a world where the standards are met by the natural progression of the adventure in a story.