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EDEN - Education delivered on the Net

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Toronto Star Fast Forward Computer Wares for Feb 13/96

Copyright © Myles White, 1997

Education delivered over the Internet -- it had to happen sooner or later, and this month marks the beginning of a project in Ontario that will try to make it a reality. What follows is a bare factual outline of the project. Next week, perhaps with the aid of your letters, I'll have a look at some of the implications.

EDEN, the Electronic Distance Education Network project, has been under development for the past two years by staff at the Orillia Learning Centre. Eventually, the plan is to offer complete secondary school credits to learners anywhere who have a computer and a modem. And they mean, "anywhere." While some students are definitely expected to reside in Ontario, there will be no residency restrictions. "The service will be available, globally, 24 hours a day to anyone who can access the Internet," says the project coordinator, Luke McWatters.

Originally intended as an adult learning centre, the Orillia facility is part of the Simcoe County Board of Education. The centre is a public institution, not a private company, although as you'll see, it takes a somewhat entrepreneurial approach to its EDEN project.

EDEN began with a temporary grant in 1994 from the federal agency, Human Resources Development Canada, to develop a barrier-free electronic bulletin board system (BBS). "It was intended for those who couldn't get access to the school," said McWatters, "and the definition of people facing 'barriers' included those with special needs such as the physically disabled, those who couldn't afford transportation costs or had daycare concerns, those suffering from other social, emotional or psychological difficulties, and even those who wanted to expand their education but were working during school hours."

The federal grant ran out in 1995 and, McWatters reports, "we've sort of muscled on, on our own until recently."

EDEN has just received an influx of funding from four regional school boards that have joined the project. Hamilton, Etobicoke, Cornwall, and York Region school boards have each paid $50,000 for "partnerships." The aim is that the boards will help with curriculum development and provide some teaching staff in addition to funding. In return they'll have access to the service, its course materials and to its technology. EDEN staff are hoping that other school boards will join, too and have developed different levels of partnership (at varying rates) to encourage interest.

Learning on demand

The initial courses to be offered include a pre-requisite electronic access course (more on this below), and several Grade 11 courses (advanced chemistry, introduction to computers, business keyboarding, business math -- using a specially modified version of Excel -- and business word processing).

To date, EDEN staff have also identified several courses they feel are unsuited to the present distance learning environment. English is one ("It's highly interpretive and needs a higher level of teacher involvement."). Hands-on subjects as diverse as science lab work and auto mechanics fall into another category that will require a higher level of school involvement.

"We have several challenges to overcome and we don't have a model to follow -- we're inventing the model," said McWatters. "It's one thing to develop a curriculum for a classroom, but quite another to develop an effective distance education curriculum strategy, particularly if the student is somewhere in Hong Kong.

"We'll have teachers available for feedback and conferencing, but we also have to have software and contents that are as interactive as possible so that real learning can take place. Eventually, the Internet will provide full multimedia in three dimensions. We want to be ready when it does, but we have to keep in mind, that while we can provide the latest in multimedia enhancements, we also need to provide services consistent with the type of hardware our students may have that might not be as advanced as the leading edge."

The Ontario Ministry of Education is watching the EDEN project, but aside from a policy of non-interference, it isn't providing any direct funding. A letter to the project in May of last year from Ontario Education Minister, John Snobelen, lauds its "creative use of technology in the delivery of education to Ontario learners," as well as saying, "I am pleased to see partnerships...developed with the private sector" (such as with IBM).

"In addition," said McWatters, "the Ministry is very interested in some of the possible repercussions of our work, particularly as they fit in with plans to restructure the high school system."

McWatters doesn't see the EDEN project as a threat to teachers or to schools. Instead, he thinks it will provide augmentation in a number of areas. "Teachers will be able to act as coaches and facilitators in a classroom situation," he said. "Because the course material is already available, there won't be any preparation time required and because the material is self-correcting and self-marking, teachers will be relieved of those additional tasks and will be able to concentrate on student development.

"There are benefits for school boards, too. Continuous intake is one. The system also promotes consistent curriculum across the province (or country). Links to the Internet's global library of resources will give access to content a local school might not be able to provide. Aside from reduced costs for facilities and materials, there will be other results -- particularly for small schools where the student population might not have allowed certain courses. For example, if there were only two students who wished to take advanced Grade 11 chemistry, a small school might not have the resources, either physical or staff, to provide it. With EDEN, if the students can have access to an Internet linked computer at the school, they could still take the course.

"Benefits for students include 24 hour access year round, self-paced education (no one need be branded a slow or fast learner), and excellent collaborative learning opportunities."

So what happens if you're interested in using the EDEN project? If you reside in one of the four school districts noted above, you'll be encouraged to enroll through one of them. If not, the project will deal with you directly. The obligatory, non-credit, electronic access course will cost you $250 to take. Each credit course will cost "about $50," said McWatters. You can get more information from the EDEN demonstration web site (http://eden.scbe.on.ca) and there are several points at the site for e-mail contact. The direct e-mail address is robin.hall@eden.scbe.on.ca and you can call 705-325-9279.

This document is protected by international copyright. If you want to read it for your own amusement or give a copy to Uncle Fred, that's okay. If you want to quote any part of it in any medium, for any reason, or if you or your uncle want to make lotsa copies for your friends, you have to ask me first. Okay?

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