Barbour, M. K. (2016, October). State of the nation: K-12 e-learning in Canada. A presentation at the annual BlendED Alberta conference, Edmonton, AB.

1. State of the Na*on:
K-12 E-Learning in Canada
Michael K. Barbour
Touro University, California

2. Methodology

3. State of the Nation:
K–12 Online Learning in Canada
®
Written by
Michael K. Barbour,
Wayne State University

4. http://k12sotn.ca

6. Na-onal Overview - Ac-vity

7. Na-onal Overview - Ac-vity

8. Na-onal Overview - Ac-vity

9. Newfoundland and Labrador
• Single province-wide online program housed within
the Ministry
• No language in the Educa&on Act, as well no policies
or regula-ons specifically related to K-12 distance
educa-on
• Ministry does track the method of delivery that
students complete their courses through the K-12
School Profile System

10. Newfoundland and Labrador
• 947 students registered and 1718 course
registra-ons in 38 different courses
represen-ng 115 different schools
– ~7% increase
• Asynchronous course content, as well as
tutorial materials, available to all students and
teachers
– Do not track blended usage

11. Nova Sco-a
• Province-wide programs housed within the
Ministry
• 11 provisions included in the collec-ve
agreement between the Government of Nova
Sco-a and the Nova Sco-a Teachers Union

12. Nova Sco-a
• Correspondence and online programs
– 15% decrease from previous school year
• Some tracking of blended learning
– Google Apps for Educa&on: 54,000 ac-ve accounts
– blended learning plaVorm: 27,500 ac-ve users

13. Prince Edward Island
• Ministerial Direc-ves No. MD 2008–05
– applies to courses delivered during the regular
school day
– broadly defines distance educa-on and outlines a
series of beliefs about the nature of distance
educa-on instruc-on

14. Prince Edward Island
• No distance programs
– u-lizes program in NB
– 50% decrease in level of par-cipa-on
• Does not track blended learning

15. New Brunswick
• Policy handbook - different for both the English
and French systems
– Outlines responsibili-es of a variety of individuals at
the Ministry, district and school level to ensure the
orderly implementa-on of the distance educa-on
program
– Also includes school officials such as a registrar and
local site facilitator, there are specific responsibili-es
outlined for both distance educa-on students and the
parents of students who are enrolled in distance
educa-on programs

16. New Brunswick
• Slight increase in the number of students
learning at a distance
– Less than 5% growth
• Tracks the number of students using the
provincial system for blended learning
– Small increase in Anglophone system
– Significant increase in Francophone system (1511 to
4258 students)

17. Quebec
• Educa&on Act makes no reference to distance
educa-on
• Since 1995 school boards have held the
primary responsibility for distance educa-on
policies and regula-ons

18. Quebec
• Société de forma-on à distance des commissions scolaires du
Québec (SOFAD)
– 29,386 adult students
• Leading English Educa-on and Resource Network (LEARN)
– distance learning to ~8,500 English-language
– close to 36,500 students for blended learning
• Écoles en réseau (ÉER)
– 5000 students through use of Knowledge Forum and various synchronous
tools
• Beauce-Etchemin School Board
– Offered remedial and full--me online courses

19. Ontario
• Ministry provides:
– Learning management system
– Course content
– Student informa-on system
• To use school board’s must agree to provisions
in the Provincial E-Learning Strategy: Master
User Agreement

20. Ontario
• Tracks online enrollments in provincial LMS
– Enrollment in LMS might not mean course
enrollment
– Steady increase year to year (~52,000-~54,000 plus
~20,000 ILC and ~7,000 private school students)
• Tracks blended learning enrollments in
provincial LMS
– Significant involvement (237,930 unique logins)

21. Manitoba
• Public Schools Act says Minister of Educa-on
can approve courses of study, including
correspondence and other courses
• Manitoba Educa-on and Advanced Learning
has issued handbooks for each of the three
distance learning op-ons
• Ministry pilo-ng virtual collegiates

22. Manitoba
• 2,577 enrollments in the Independent Study
Op-on
• 389 enrollments in Teacher Mediate Op-on
• 6,500 enrollments in the Web-Based Course
Op-on
– Overall decrease in level of par-cipa-on
• Does not track blended learning

23. Saskatchewan
• In 2009 the Ministry devolved the responsibility
for distance educa-on to the school divisions
– No specific policies or regula-on
• Saskatchewan Distance Learning Course
Repository

24. Saskatchewan
• Ministry reports 3,405 unique students enrolled
in distance learning
• Based on responses from 5 of the 21 programs
to the Individual Program Survey there appeared
to be at least 5,665 students
• Researchers es-mated there to be about 15,000
students engaged in K-12 distance educa-on

25. Alberta
• No specific policies
• Mul-ple ini-a-ves to establish policy
– Beginning in 2007 there were consulta-ons around a
distributed learning framework
– Consulta-ons on the 2011 Inspiring Ac&on in
Educa&on ini-a-ve
– Two-year review of distance educa-on programs and
services offered in the province by an external
consul-ng firm

26. Alberta
• Es-mate there to be ~20 distance learning
programs serving ~70,000 students
– e.g., ADLC served ~40,000 students
• No guesses on blended learning ac-vity

27. Bri-sh Columbia
• Legisla-ve language
– sec-on 3.1 and sec-on 75 (4.1) of the School Act,
2006
– sec-on 8.1 of the Independent School Act, 2006
• Key features include:
– Funding model
– Financial audits
– Professional development quality reviews

28. Bri-sh Columbia
• 60 public distributed learning schools
• 16 independent (or private) distributed
learning schools
– enrolled approximately 78,500 unique students in
one or more courses
• No tracking of blended learning ac-vity

29. Yukon
• Educa&on Act, 2002 allows Minister to provide
distance educa-on courses and charge fees for
students to access those courses
– Since 2003 distributed learning courses at no cost to
students up to the age of 21
• Individual Memorandums of Understanding
(MOUs) that it signs with each individual
distance learning programs

30. Yukon
• Aurora Virtual School: 58 students enrolled
• BC DL schools: 48 grade 8-12 students and 65
K-7 students
• ~250 students enrolled in online courses offered
by their own schools
• 379 students enrolled in blended learning
op-ons

31. Northwest Territories
• Educa&on Act, 2009 allows various
educa-onal bodies to “authorize, supervise
and evaluate the use of distance learning
programs in the provision of the educa-on
program”
• Individual Memorandums of Understanding
(MOUs) that it signs with each individual
distance learning programs

32. Northwest Territories
• distance learning pilot with five small
community high schools located across three
regional boards of educa-on
– ~40 students
• 112 students were enrolled in Alberta
Distance Learning Centre
• Does not formally track blended learning

33. Nunavut
• Educa&on Act, 1999 allows various
educa-onal bodies to “authorize, supervise
and evaluate the use of distance learning
programs in the provision of the educa-on
program”
• Individual Memorandums of Understanding
(MOUs) that it signs with each individual
distance learning programs

34. Nunavut
• No internal programs or pilots
• Uses Alberta Distance Learning Centre
– 96 students enrolled in 186 different courses
• Does not formally track blended learning

35. Federal Programs
• No specific policies or regula-ons beyond
provincial policies and regula-ons
• Beginning in 2014-15, no longer enter into service
agreements directly with e-learning programs

36. Federal Programs
• Does not track distance or blended learning
• Mul-ple programs
– two in Ontario
– one in Manitoba
– one in Alberta
• Consistent level of par-cipa-on
– ~2,000 students

37. General Trends

38. Trends – Beoer Data

39. Trends – Beoer Data
• 26% response rate in 2011
• 14% response rate in 2012
• 21% response rate in 2013

40. Trends – More Research
• beyond a small number of descrip-ve and/or
overview pieces, there is very liole research
• BCTF - an effort to understand what K-12
distance, online and blended learning mean for its
members and the nature of their work life
• MUN - two federally funded ini-a-ves:
1. the Centre for TeleLearning and Rural Educa-on
2. the Killick Centre for E-Learning Research

41. Trends – Suppor-ve Unions
• NLTA partnered with the CDLI to create a Virtual Teachers
Centre to use the infrastructure and exper-se of the K-12
online learning program to deliver online professional
development
• several teacher unions have invested in research into how
teaching at a distance differs from teaching in the classroom,
and what impact that has on the workload and quality of life
of their members who teach at a distance (e.g., ATA & BCTF)
• NSTU has 11 provisions related to distance educa-on in its
contract that focus on teacher cer-fica-on, workload issues,
defini-on of a school day for DE, school-based supervision
and administra-on of DE students, DE class size, professional
development, and governance of DE programs

42. http://k12sotn.ca

43. Your
Ques-ons
and
Comments

44. Associate Professor of Instruc-onal Design
Touro University, California
mkbarbour@gmail.com
hop://www.michaelbarbour.com