by Wayne State University
The Keeywaytinook tribe in northern Ontario, Canada, couldn’t afford a high school, and its youth, some as young as 13 years old, had no option but to live in unfamiliar communities to attend school. But this option sparked a culture shock among some students that impeded their ability to learn and was even fatal in some cases. To address the issue, the tribe developed an online high school to provide its youth with distance learning that actually kept them closer to home. Michael Barbour, Ph.D., assistant professor of instructional technology at Wayne State University’s College of Education and a resident of Windsor, Ontario, has spent the past three years conducting an ongoing study to evaluate ways in which Canadian students, like those in northern Ontario, are benefitting from the use of technology as a tool to provide distance learning. The purpose of the study is to examine the legislation, policy and regulations that govern K-12 distance education in Canada. During this three-year period, he has been awarded two grants from the International Association for K-12 Online Learning to support his research.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/wsu–twt041311.php
Share on Facebook