Connecting Small Schools

operational

Opportunity Newfoundland and Labrador has more than 80 small, remote schools scattered along a rugged, isolated coastline where resources are limited and enrolment is declining. The government needed a way to provide students with the same learning opportunities available to urban school-children. The province created the Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation in 2001 with the aim of providing “all learners with equitable access to educational opportunities in a manner that renders distance transparent.” Challenges Traditional print-based resources were being replaced by digital content that required reliable and adequate bandwidth. The difficult terrain and the long, sparsely-populated coastline made a wired solution too expensive. Schools did not have the student population required to support specialist teachers for advanced level programs such as chemistry or physics. Innovations Bell Aliant created a frame relay-based side-area network to link schools using the existing telephone circuits so that they could use a broadband connection to get online via a virtual private network (VPN). The service was provided at deeply discounted rates and Aliant used its purchasing power to negotiate other related purchases at a discount for CDLI. Results CDLI delivers senior high school distance education to students in rural, remote and isolated areas of the province. The agency is now able to offer real-time instruction with collaborative features such as instant messaging and a white board. It can also offer delayed time instruction using web-based lessons. The model facilitates a single "e-teacher" to teach from anywhere in the province with simultaneous instruction to several remote schools. The first 62 schools were connected by September 2002, and the remaining 18 schools were added by September 2003. CDLI offers 42 senior high school courses used by 110+ schools, enabling young people to stay with their families rather than having to go away to finish their high school education. CDLI also provides free access to exam review materials in selected public exam courses, plus free “live” online tutoring to students throughout the school year.

High