LearnCanada

Creating an e-learning environment for Canadians

Communications technologies have changed how children receive information and learn. It's only natural that those technologies be applied to how their teachers learn, too.

That was the idea behind the successful project, LearnCanada, which used broadband technologies to build an interactive virtual learning community for Canadian K-12 educators across the country, breaking down barriers of economy, time and place.

This project used CANARIE Inc.'s CA*net 3 to build an e-learning environment for Canadian teachers across the country, breaking down geographic and economic barriers to learning and education, and promoting an innovative learning culture.

Background

The program began in 1999 with funding from the CANARIE Learning Program and ended in September 2002. Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC) was a founding member and remained in a key role throughout the project. CRC's BADLAB™also served as LearnCanada's Network Operations Centre and was used to develop, demonstrate and test new broadband applications and services.

CRC's John Spence, the chair of LearnCanada, was involved in the project from the beginning. A former high school principal, Spence says, "The power of broadband networks lies in connecting people to people, both groups and individuals, for collaborative work around rich media content. The LearnCanada project has opened our minds to the many opportunities that broadband technologies can provide to support the learning of teachers and their students."

Partnership

LearnCanada founding members include: CRC, Industry Canada's SchoolNet, National Research Council, Shaw Communications, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Toronto District School Board, Ottawa Carleton District School Board, Edmonton Public School Board, Avalon East School Board and Conseil Commission Scolaire au Coeur-des-Valées. The lead contractor was STEM~Net (Memorial University).

LearnCanada forged the broadband infrastructure across Canada that was necessary to bring educators together in an e-learning environment. The partners worked together to develop and test commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and customized multimedia tools and middleware for professional development through virtual peer-learning communities. As a result of the project, six school boards from across Canada are connected directly to CA*net 3, and the teachers and students benefit from the access in many ways.

Results

The program successfully demonstrated techniques for enhancing the professional development of Canadian educators. It also facilitated adoption of innovative teaching methods and curricula, and improved dissemination of best practices across the country.

The knowledge acquired by the partners and participants of LearnCanada has valuable application to professional learning and knowledge management within Canadian industry, government and other educational institutions, as well as internationally.

Work continues at CRC on developing and testing technologies that will be used to bring together future generations of Canadians and offer them an equal opportunity to be innovative and to participate in the global economy.

For more information, contact John Spence or Michel Savoie.