BC's Dynamic E-Learning Community: April
26th, 2002
By
Paul Stacey
According
to the report "The New National Dream - Networking the Nation for Broadband
Access" (available from Industry Canada's web site http://www.ic.gc.ca)
In
1999 Canada became the first country in the world to connect all its schools
and libraries to the Internet.
Of
the G7 countries (Canada, France, Italy, U.K., U.S., and Germany) Canada ranks
first in telephone and cable penetration.
When
all the factors for national connectedness are taken into account -
availability, price, reach, and use, Canada emerges as the second most
connected country in the world. The United States ranks first but Canada is
ahead of all other G7 countries as well as Australia, Sweden, and Finland.
Canada
ranked first in the world in Internet use in 2000 with 428 users for every
1000 people.
We
are a wired country!
The
New National Dream report identifies four key areas where broadband use will
transform existing services and applications:
-
e-business
-
e-learning
-
e-health, and
-
e-content
Of
these four areas British Columbia is nationally and internationally known for
e-learning innovation and leadership.
BC
has been home to early e-learning innovators like Murray Goldberg founder of
WebCT http://www.webct.com. WebCT has evolved
from a small research project to a full blown commercial product now used by
over 2,200 institutions and millions of students in 77 countries.
Murray,
continuing his entrepreneurial ways, is now working on a new e-learning product
- Silicon-Chalk http://www.silicon-chalk.com.
Silicon-Chalk is software that enhances the educational value of laptops in and
beyond the classroom.
BC
has long-standing e-learning companies like Chancery,
Serebra and
Bridges
as well as new start-ups and emerging players like Recombo
and Now International. These
companies are developing and are marketing e-learning products and services
around the world.
BC
universities and colleges were early adopters of online education. Today
virtually every institute, college and university in the province offers online
courses.
Some
institutions such as Royal Roads University (www.royalroads.ca)
design and deliver entire degrees using e-learning approaches.
Even
more heartening is the collaboration between institutions. Thirteen of BC's
colleges have collaborated to develop and deliver sixteen online courses as an
Applied Business Technology certificate program. (www.c2t2.ca)
On
the research side BC is home to many prominent e-learning researchers including
Drs. Tony Bates, Tom Calvert and Linda Harasim. For the past six years Canada's
National TeleLearning Centres of Excellence www.telelearn.ca
was headquartered out of Simon Fraser University involving thirty Canadian
universities in a national e-learning research program.
BC's
universities and colleges are increasingly providing degree and certificate
programs in e-learning. Programs include:
The
University of British Columbia's recently announced Master of Educational
Technology (MET) program. MET is a totally online graduate-level program
offered by the Faculties of Education at the University of British Columbia
(Canada) and its partner institution, Tec de Monterrey (Mexico). www.met.ubc.ca
Royal
Roads University's Master of Arts in Distributed Learning program www.royalroads.ca/oll/madl/default.htm
Capilano
College's Online Learning program offered through its Continuing Education
division www.capcollege.bc.ca
In
an effort to locally pull together this vibrant community an eLearning
Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed with the New Media BC Association www.newmediabc.com.
Since
August 2000 the eLearning SIG has been working to:
-
foster
a community of e-learning professionals and companies, and to develop this
community into a recognized centre of excellence
-
offer
networking opportunities
-
leverage
collective resources and strengths to ensure BC's e-learning companies
achieve their business objectives quickly and cost effectively
-
research,
develop and implement the best in e-learning
-
promote
and effectively position BC e-learning companies in Canada and around the
world
-
influence
provincial and national e-learning policies
-
create
an inventory of e-learning industry providers in BC and their associated
support infrastructure
-
educate
the greater public about the benefits and challenges of e-learning
Made
up of an energetic and enthusiastic bunch of volunteers from BC's e-learning
community the SIG has pulled together a major Corporate
eLearning Conference for May 9th at UBC Robson Square.
This
event has an incredible cross-section of BC e-learning talent and companies
sharing their expertise and showcasing their e-learning initiatives. For anyone
interested in e-learning whether you are in a small, medium, or large business
this will be the e-learning event of the year.
The
conference features corporate e-learning leaders sharing ideas and insights via
three themes:
Theme
1 - E-Learning 101
If
you are just getting in to e-learning and want an overview of the whole
e-learning space this theme is for you. Speakers will explain terms, present
trends and statistics, overview the market space, and provide the orientation
you need to make your way forward with e-learning.
Theme
2 - Tools and Techniques
This
theme will satisfy those who want to stretch their understanding and know-how at
a more intermediate to advanced level. Speakers will explore pros and cons of
learning technologies, discuss evaluation criteria for selecting learning
technology, demonstrate leading edge synchronous and asynchronous tools, explore
instructional design issues, and e-learning's leading edge.
Theme
3 - Case Studies
This
theme presents first-hand accounts from companies already doing e-learning.
Attendees will benefit from the lessons learned, success stories, as well as dos
and don'ts of e-learning's early adopters.
I'm
looking forward to the party after the Conference. All attendees are invited to
a Dinner Mixer at the Urban Well in downtown Vancouver from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
following the conference.
Once
a year or so an event moves your understanding of e-learning forward - provides
a glimpse into not only what is, but what is possible and what is coming. The Corporate
eLearning Conference May 9th at UBC Robson Square is shaping up to be just
that event.
Look
forward to seeing you there.
Paul
Stacey is the Canadian Correspondent for LearningWeek Live http://www.learningweek.com
an interactive webcast from New York featuring stories about the people,
technology, and business of learning. Contact: Paul
Stacey
What Do You Think? Talk Back To Paul Stacey
E-Learning: An
opinionated monthly column exploring the current use,
future potential, and commercial value of e-learning in
BC’s high tech sector.
E-Learning
Archive: An index and links to all the E-learning columns Paul has written
for T-Net going back to April 2000.
