British Columbia – State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada

Population: 5,100,000
Number of K-12 Schools: 1,569
Number of K-12 Students: 548,702
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Number of K-12 E-Learning Programs: 69
Number of K-12 E-Learning Students: ~59,000

Note that these profiles are taken from the most recent edition of the report, please review additional annual profiles below.

Governance and Regulation

The Ministry of Education defines distributed learning (i.e., a term used to include both distance and online learning) as a method of instruction that relies primarily on indirect communication between students and teachers, including Internet or other electronic-based delivery, teleconferencing, or correspondence.

The distributed learning landscape has remained relatively stable over the past years. The legislative language in section 3.1 and section 75 (4.1) of the School Act, 2006, as well as section 8.1 of the Independent School Act, 2006, still govern the operation of distributed learning programs. Both pieces of legislation contain similar language concerning the establishment of distributed learning schools “only with the prior agreement of the Minister” and ensuring that students may exercise their rights under legislation to choose distributed learning instruction within a coordinated province-wide distributed learning system. Districts and independent school authorities that enter into an agreement with the Ministry are required to:

commit to meet or exceed the Distributed Learning Standards;
for public distributed learning schools, agree to participate in the Quality Assurance Review process and aligns its website to meet Ministry requirements; for independent distributed learning schools this quality assurance function is conducted through scheduled inspections as set out in the Independent School Act;
ensure it has supports in place to comply with the Ministry policy and standards;
provide training and professional development for teachers, and – for public distributed learning school – employs only teachers who have experience and/or training in distributed learning methodology;
meet policy requirements related to funds for designated resources to parents and learners;
ensure that all learners in the board’s catchment area who are receiving distributed learning instruction from anywhere in the province from a public distributed learning school are receiving appropriate support;
provide records and reports on student achievement as specified by the Ministry;
work to achieve a 100 percent participation rate in Foundation Skills Assessments and Satisfaction Surveys;
provide current and accurate distributed learning contact information to the Ministry; and
each public distributed learning school provide accurate information regarding its Distributed Learning website, courses offered, and contact information to the Ministry by July 31 of each year, updating the information as required.

Finally, the funding for distributed learning is somewhat different than traditional brick-and-mortar schools. For full time students in kindergarten to grade 9 in traditional bricks and mortar schools, school districts are funded one time for a program of studies as at September 30th (students in seats), while students in grades 10-12 are funded per enroled course. K-9 distributed learning schools have three funding opportunities depending on when the students meet eligibility requirements:

September (30th) distributed learning schools receive 100% of per pupil funding,
February distributed learning schools receive 50% of per pupil funding, and
May distributed learning schools receive 33% of per pupil funding.

During the 2018-19 school year, the basic allocation school-age equivalent (i.e., FTE) for students attending a brick-and-mortar school was $7,468 (or $933.50/course), while only $6,100 (or $762.50/course) for a student attending a distributed learning school. Further, Group 1 independent schools receive 63% of the public distributed learning per pupil amount (all independent distributed learning schools in the province have Group 1 Certification).

In 2018 an Independent Review Panel that included four working groups was launched to consult with school districts and independent schools to examine how K-12 education, including distributed learning, was funded. One of the items this Panel was tasked with was assisting the Ministry in determining the best approach to implementing this recommendation.

With the shift to a per-student-based funding model, the Ministry should develop a new policy and program delivery model for Distributed Learning to ensure consistent access to quality programming for all students in the province.

The process is still on-going. However, funding for distributed learning in independent schools was changed at the end of the 2019-20 school year – although those changes will not take effect until the 2020-21 school year.

K-12 Distance and Online Learning Activity

The Ministry tracks student enrolment through the Student Achievement Data Exchange (SADE). SADE collects course level data for every student for all distributed learning schools offering kindergarten through grade 12. School districts and authorities operating distributed learning schools are required to submit this information annually.

In 2019-20 there were 69 district-level public distributed learning schools and independent distributed learning schools that enrolled approximately 59,000 unique students in one or more courses. Additionally, Open School BC also provided provincial content and online hosting services on a cost-recovery model to school districts lacking the capacity or desire to manage their own distributed learning program. Finally, the Western Canadian Learning Network is a consortium of school districts providing online courses and digital resources for use by distributed learning schools in British Columbia, as well as Alberta and the Yukon.

K-12 Blended Learning Activity

Under the current policy, the delivery method is considered distributed learning as long as the student is at a distance from the teacher for the “majority of the time,” which is not explicitly defined. The current funding model in British Columbia does not differentiate between distributed learning and blended learning or between face-to-face and blended learning. However, there are different funding amounts for face-to-face courses and programs, as compared to distributed learning courses.

At present, the Ministry of Education has also not yet begun to gather data on blended learning programs. However, in the 2017-18 school year the Ministry did administer a survey to all 74 distributed learning schools in the province and through this survey learned that 39 of the 58 public distributed learning schools offered some form of blended learning and 13 of the 16 independent distributed learning schools offered some form of blended learning.

Emergency Remote Teaching

Schools closed on March 17, 2020 and remote teaching began on March 27. The Ministry of Education created a resource document and an online learning website, which offered professional learning for teachers. School districts distributed digital devices for families in need of support. No attendance expectations were specified, however, synchronous sessions were encouraged for younger grades and inquiry-based projects for older students. On June 1, the K-12 Education Restart Plan was initiated with enhanced health and safety protocols, smaller class sizes or alternating days for grades K-5, and hybrid models for grades 6-12, who attended one day per week in-class.

Previous Provincial Profiles

History of K-12 E-Learning

K-12 distance education in Canada began in British Columbia in 1919, when the province began offering correspondence education to students living in isolated parts of the province (Toutant, 2003). This centralized system of correspondence education continued until 1984, when the province began to establish the first of nine regional correspondence schools (Dunae, 1997-2008). K-12 online learning began in British Columbia in 1993, with the introduction of New Directions in Distance Learning and the EBUS Academy. By 1994, the responsibility for distance education had largely shifted to individual school districts. Over the past two decades, both public district-based and independent online learning programs have proliferated considerable. Winkelmans, Anderson, and Barbour (2010) provide a comprehensive history of the development of K-12 distance education and e-learning in the province.

References

Dunae, P. A. (1997-2008). Correspondence education. The Homeroom. Nanaimo, BC: Vancouver Island University. Retrieved from https://www2.viu.ca/homeroom/content/topics/programs/corresp.htm

Toutant, T. S. (2003). Equality by mail: Correspondence education in British Columbia, 1919 to 1969. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Winkelmans, T., Anderson, B., & Barbour, M. K. (2010). Distributed learning in British Columbia: A journey from correspondence to online delivery. Journal of Open, Flexible and Distance Learning, 14(1), 6-28. Retrieved from http://journals.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/index.php/JOFDL/article/viewFile/29/26

Vignettes

Collaboration at the Forefront of the Western Canadian Learning Network Society (2018)
BC Teachers’ Federation Task Force On Distributed Learning Recommends On The Work Of DL Teachers (2017)
Abbotsford Virtual School (2016)
The British Columbia Distributed Learning Administrators’ Association (2013)
Educators for Distributed Learning (Provincial Specialists Association of the British Columbia Teachers Federation) (2012)
Vancouver Learning Network Secondary (2010)
Virtual School Society (2009) [No longer exists]
Northern BC Distance Education School (2009)

Brief Issue Papers

Individual Program Survey Responses

*Program*	*Most recent response*	*Medium*	*# of Students*	*# of Teachers*	*# of Courses*
Abbotsford Virtual School avs34.com	2018-19	Online Blended	2,900 online 40 blended	16 full time 6 part time 14 blended	95 online 55 blended
Anchor Academy www.ark.net/	2018-19	Online Correspondence	872	30 full time 5 part time	114 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program
ASCEND Online www.ascendonline.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence	420	~20 full time ~15 part time	~60 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program
Bulkley Valley Education Connection www.schoolius.com/school/1507332162859575/ Bulkley+Valley+Education+Connection	2019-20	Online Blended	600 supplemental 16 elementary 45 blended	2 full time 1 part time	45 (gr. 10-12) full K-9 program
Burnaby Online Program online.burnabyschools.ca	2019-20	Online	2,200 (2018-19)	7 full time 8 part time	70 secondary full K-7 program
Choices DL sd70.bc.ca/school/cdl	2016-17	Online Correspondence Blended	200 FTE distance* 60% students blended	4 full time all blended	40 grades 8-12 full K-7 program
Christian Homelearners eStreams www.estreams.ca	2017-18	Online Correspondence	200	7 full time 3 part time	some grades 10-12 full K-9 program
Coquitlam Open Learning www.sd43.bc.ca/col/Pages/landing.aspx	2016-17	Online Correspondence Blended	~2,500 distance	7 full time 18 part time 3 blended	35+ distance 3 blended
Creston Homelinks homelinks.sd8.bc.ca	2016-17	Online Correspondence Blended	130.5 FTE distance* 130.5 FTE blended*	3 full time 3 part time 6 blended	42 secondary full K–9 program
Delta Access www.deltasd.bc.ca/content/programs/deltaaccess	2018-19	Online	185.625 FTE	15 part time	41
Distance Education School of the Kootenays desk.sd8.bc.ca	2015-16	Online Correspondence Blended	1,000 distance 14 blended	5 full time 3 part time 1 blended	33 distance 1 blended
Diversity by Design DL Academy diversitybydesign.ca	2012-13	Online Correspondence	100	2 full time 7 part time	~80
Ebus Academy ebus.ca	2019-20	Online	1.092 FTE	39 full time 4 part time	29 grades 7-9; 78 grades 10-12 full K-6 program
École Virtuelle CSF ecolevirtuelle.csf.bc.ca/	2014-15	Online Blended	204 online 12 blended	6 part time online 1 full time blended	19 online 1 blended
Education Outreach Program eopmoodle.sd83.bc.ca/	2017-18	Online	~500	2 full time 2 part time	108
eSchoolBC www.eSchoolBC.com	2017-18	Online Blended	3,000 online 3,000 blended	6 full time 6 part time 6 blended	60 online 10 blended
Fraser Valley Distance Education School www.fvdes.com	2012-13	Online Correspondence	~3,500	30 full time 1 part time	~150
The Grove (Cowichan Valley Distributed Learning) www.cowichanopenlearning.ca/dl.html	2019-20	Correspondence Online Blended	125 full time (K-9) 50 FTE (gr. 10-12) distance 125 blended	6 full time 2 part time 3 blended	~60 secondary 125 K–9 program
Hands-On Home-Learning oakandorca.ca/handson/index.html	2014-15	Correspondence (PDFs)	82	12 part time
Heritage Christian Online School www.onlineschool.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence Blended	2,648 full-time (K-9) 590 gr 10-12 full-time 1920 gr 10-12 cross-enrolled 169 adult 345 international 1,972 blended	62 full time 129 part time 88 blended	148 K-9 220 grades 10-12 67 blended
Home Quest homequest.deltasd.bc.ca/home	2018-19	Online Correspondence	73 FTE online 67 blended	2 full time 1 part time 3 blended	10 grades 8-9 full K-7 program
Island ConnectEd K-12 island-connected.sd68.bc.ca/	2019-20	Online Correspondence	211 K-9 597 gr 10-12 full-time 1118 gr 10-12 cross-enrolled	16 full time 1 part time	314
Juan de Fuca Distributed Learning jdfdl.web.sd62.bc.ca/	2015-16	Online Correspondence	2,800 distance 1200 blended	8 full time 22 part time 23 blended	55 distance 26 blended
Kamloops Open Online Learning kool.sd73.bc.ca	2018-19	Online Blended	2,500 distance 500 blended	3 full time 25 part time 20 blended	140 distance 60 blended
Key Learning Centre – NBCDES www.keylearning.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence Blended	425 FTE (2,800 head count) 12 blended	5 full time 2 part time 1 blended	130+ secondary full K–7 program K-1 blended
Kleos Open Learning www.kleos.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence	292 distance	10 full time 13 part time	25 secondary full K–7 program
Kootenay Discovery School www.sd5.bc.ca/school/kds/Pages/default.aspx	2018-19	Online Correspondence	~600-800	1 full time 2 part time	~60
Navigate (NIDES) navigatenides.com/	2019-20	Online Blended	2,109 distance 380 blended	>90 full time ~20 part time ~20 blended	>70 distance full K–9 program blended
Next Step Outreach Program www.nextstepoutreach.com/	2017-18	Online Correspondence Blended	400 online 400 blended	1 full time 1 blended	20 online 20 blended
North Coast Distance Education School ncdes.ca	2012-13	Online Correspondence	~3,400	8 full time	65
North Vancouver Distributed Learning School www.sd44.ca/school/distributed/Pages/default.aspx	2016-17	Online Correspondence Blended	~3,000 distance ~550 blended	8 full time 15 part time 6 blended	57 distance 3 blended
Partners in Education www.sd47.bc.ca/school/pie/Pages/default.aspx	2019-20	Online Correspondence	673	6 full time 14 part time	100+
Pathways Academy www.pathwaysacademy.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence	266	6 full time 12 part time
Quesnel Distributed Learning School qdlonline.com	2015-16	Online Correspondence Blended	150 online 35 blended	2 full time 1 part time 1 blended	25 online 16 blended
Richmond Virtual School RichmondVirtualSchool.ca	2020-21	Online Blended	400 online 1,600 blended	18 full time 1 part time 30 blended	6 online 20 blended
Rocky Mountain Distributed Learning School getsmartbc.ca	2015-16	Online	~350	3 full time	75
Sea to Sky Online School www.seatoskyonline.com	2020-21	Online Blended	650 distance ~1,000 blended	3 full time 2 part time 1 blended	~50 distance 1 blended
SelfDesign Learning Community www.selfdesign.org	2019-20	Online	1886	~65 full time ~100 part time	full K-9 program 73 grades 10-12
South Central Interior Distance Education School www.scides.ca/	2019-20	Online Correspondence	1,300 distance	6 full time 5 part time	198 distance
South Island Distance Education School www.sides.ca/en.html	2019-20	Online Correspondence	~3,400 students	27 full time 9 part time	42 grades 9-12 & full K–8 program
South Peace Distributed Learning dcss.sd59.bc.ca/spc/spdl	2015-16	Online Correspondence	55 FTE*	1 full time 4 part time	16
Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning www.sailacademy.ca	2016-17	Online Correspondence Blended	~2,000 distance	21 full time 300+ blended	80+
Traditional Learning Academy www.schoolathome.ca	2019-20	Online Correspondence Blended	1,200 distance 200 blended	40 full time 35 part time 18 blended	80 distance 22 blended
Vancouver Learning Network vlns.ca/	2016-17	Online Correspondence	~5,000	8 full time 31 part time	~90
Vernon Virtual Learning vlearn.ca	2017-18	Online Correspondence Blended	1,200 distance (248 FTE) 70 blended	7 full time 5 part time	72 secondary & 80 elementary (distance) 5 blended
YouLearn.ca youlearn.ca	2016-17	Online Correspondence	630	6 full time 3 part time	48

* Full-time equivalents, not the total number of students.

To update this information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sotn-program-survey

Inter-provincial and International

If a student in British Columbia took a course from an online program in another province or territory, or even in another country, the student would present him/herself at a local school or distributed learning school and request either equivalency for a credential earned in another jurisdiction or permission to challenge a course for credit based on prior learning or experience. The Ministry’s policy is to allow each school to have their own procedures to guide this process.

At present there is only one school district business company (i.e., SD73 Business Company) that has an agreement with the Ministry to offer distributed learning content to non-resident students. The Business Company is owned by the Kamloops-Thompson School District No.73 but operates at an arms-length and is not able to grant British Columbia credits. A non-resident student who completes a course through the SD73 Business Company would have to go through the process of receiving credit for the student’s course based on the guidelines established in the student’s own jurisdiction, or the BC jurisdiction they register to study in as an international student.

Additionally, there are a few distributed learning programs that have specific agreements in place to serve students in a given jurisdiction. For example, the Northern British Columbia Distance Education School can serve students in the Yukon by special arrangement. The Yukon Department of Education is responsible for recognizing those credits (although the Yukon does follow the British Columbia K-12 curriculum).