Over the past four weeks we have been providing some of the initial sections of the tenth annual State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada report through this blogging medium. Today, the researchers for the project released the 2017 version of the State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada, which is available for download at:
https://k12sotn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/StateNation17.pdf
As noted above, this issue of the State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada report marks its 10th year, and the fifth year of the Canadian eLearning Network’s (CANeLearn) support of this research. The report continues to be Canada’s own benchmark for the expanding use of technology-supported blended and online learning in Canada. The anniversary report continues the traditional incisive analysis of the state of K-12 e-learning in Canada as well as an expanded collection of research briefs and a description of several vignettes providing considerable insight about innovation and new approaches emerging in online and blended practices in K-12 programs across Canada. Full results of the research and work undertaken in this study, including all annual reports and associated papers, are published on the State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada project website (https://k12sotn.ca/). This document provides a synopsis and overview of the published work on the comprehensive website.
Canada provides an interesting exemplar for the rest of the world, given its widely varying population and geography fostering comparisons with other countries/regions of similar population. With two official languages and a growing immigrant population combined with a rich indigenous population, Canadian schools offer online and blended learning programs in English, French, and in some cases Aboriginal languages, leading to comparisons with other English and French-speaking countries and those with significant indigenous populations.
The ‘Brief Issue Papers’ and ‘Vignettes’ published on the website capture some of this diversity of program and populations served. They make for particularly topical reading about the challenges and innovations underway in many places across the country, featuring some of the personalities of the online educators who are blending practice, creating learning programs and environments with a varied mix of classroom and online learning methodologies that increase flexibility and access to learning for students.
The State of the Nation: K-12 E-Learning in Canada report, and its accompanying publications on its project website, provides critical information and insight into how Canadian educational authorities and governments are integrating technology-supported approaches to prepare students for today’s economy and a future society in which the use of technology will be ubiquitous. This anniversary report and website provide a benchmark for educators and offers background, guidance, and ideas for the improvement of policy and practice in online and blended learning. This year’s report was sponsored by Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, Centre francophone d’éducation à distance, LEARN, Virtual High School (Ontario), and Alberta Distance Learning Centre. CANeLearn is a proud supporter and partner of this research, its publication, and the dissemination of its findings and publications.
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