inacolThis press release from iNACOL was issued at some point yesterday.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             CONTACT:    Francie Israeli
November 09, 2011                                                                                                (202) 207-1132
fisraeli@johnadams.com

CANADIAN DISTANCE LEARNING ON THE RISE, ACCORDING TO NEW REPORT

Offers Guidance to Facilitate Adoption of Technology and Improve Training

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) – A new report on online learning in Canada indicates that distance learning continues to grow and is now available in all thirteen provinces and territories.

The annual report, the fourth in the series, State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada, was released today by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) at the Virtual School Symposium (www.virtualschoolsymposium.org), iNACOL’s annual conference, November 9-11 in Indianapolis.

“Canada was one of the first countries to embrace technology and the Internet to deliver distance learning courses to students in remote locations, and growth of online learning in Canada has been significant,” said iNACOL President and CEO Susan Patrick.

The report finds that the total number and proportion of K-12 students enrolled in distance education has increased from year to year, with British Columbia leading the way with the most structured regulations and highest number and highest percentage of student participation.   Other jurisdictions reporting notable growth were Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

“Unlike in the United States, K-12 online learning is still primarily seen as a substitute when face-to-face learning is not feasible or not available,” notes the of the report, Michael Barbour. “However, this is beginning to change in many urban centers and more populous provinces where online learning is seen as an alternate way to deliver education to students that have not had success in the traditional school environment.”

In addition to provincial and territorial profiles, this year’s report also begins a comprehensive survey of 242 individual programs or jurisdictions offering K-12 distance education.

The report was written and developed by Wayne State University Assistant Professor Michael K. Barbour and published by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.   It is available on iNACOL’s web site at  www.inacol.org/research/docs/iNACOL_CanadaStudy_201111.pdf.

About iNACOL

iNACOL is the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association based in the Washington, DC area with more than 3,800 members. iNACOL is unique in that its members represent a diverse cross-section of K-12 education from school districts, charter schools, state education agencies, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities and research institutions, corporate entities and other content and technology providers (www.inacol.org). iNACOL is host to the annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS). VSS 2011 is being held Nov. 9 – 11, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN (www.virtualschoolsymposium.org).

Canadian Distance Learning On The Rise, Acorrding To New Report

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