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A
Made-In-Ontario
Comprehensive Vision
and Strategy for
Technology in Learning
in Ontario
Contact
North/Contact Nord's
Next Steps
We
appreciate that it will take time and effort to develop
a comprehensive strategy for technology in learning in
Ontario, and we are committed to assisting in any way
that we can.
Contact
North/Contact Nord will continue to advance the
collaborative spirit, as we engage over the course of
the next three years, in dynamic, parallel, and equal
partnerships with:
i)
A series of additional private sector organizations that
are leaders in technology. These public - private sector
partnerships will significantly enhance our Network's
ability to support its key stakeholders - Northern Ontario's
colleges, universities, and school boards - and deliver
on the three regional and three provincial contributions
outlined in this submission.
ii)
Other key service providers to Ontario's colleges, universities,
and school boards, including:
1)
Bibliocentre
The
Bibliocentre and its services have the potential to
become an important part of our one-stop shopping model
in our Distance Education & Training Access Centres
by providing local schools and instructors with access
to information and resources of the Bibliocentre. In
addition, in communities without a public library, our
Centres could become the point of access for the Ontario
Digital Library.
We will continue to explore all possible partnerships
in this area.
2)
Committee of Vice-Presidents, Academic, Association
of Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario
(ACAATO)
As
noted earlier in this document, over our fifteen-year
history, hundreds of instructors have received technology
and pedagogical training from Contact North/Contact
Nord. We continue to offer for instructors each
semester such professional development training.
Based
on our experience, we see opportunities to collaborate
with this Committee in areas such as the exchange of
materials, ideas, and best practices in the college
system. Together, we will make a significant contribution
to the professional development of Ontario's instructors
that will be critical to the success of this strategy.
3) Ontario Learn
In
partnership with Ontario Learn, we will continue to
expand our pilot project that provides Internet access
in our Access Centres for residents in small and remote
communities.
In
many small and remote communities in Northern Ontario,
access to the Internet is limited by the lack of infrastructure.
This expansion will allow learners in these small and
remote communities to access Ontario Learn online courses
in their communities at a Contact North/Contact Nord
Distance Education & Training Access Centre.
By
working together, access is no longer an issue for these
learners.
4)
Office for Partnerships for Advanced Skills (OPAS)
As
noted earlier in this document, over our fifteen-year
history, hundreds of instructors have received technology
and pedagogical training from Contact North/Contact
Nord. We continue to offer for instructors each
semester such professional development training.
Based
on our experience, we see opportunities to collaborate
with OPAS in areas such as the exchange of materials,
ideas, and best practices. Together, we will make a
significant contribution to the professional development
of Ontario's instructors that will be critical to the
success of this strategy.
5) TVOntario
We
are currently working with TVOntario to enhance our
current partnership around the TVO Challenge Fund, and
undertake additional joint projects with funding available
from the Challenge Fund or similar funding sources.
These projects will target specific, identifiable needs
(such as skill shortages) and will work closely with
the private sector.
We
are also looking at TVOntario as an important partner
in evolving our Distance Education & Training Access
Centres into one-stop shopping Access Centres. Our goal
will be to make TVOntario materials available in our
Centres.
As
has been our practice prior to embarking on any new initiatives,
Contact North/Contact Nord will evaluate each potential
partnership proposal using the following three criteria:
1.
All joint initiatives must focus on concrete projects
that are either cost neutral or bring additional revenues
to Contact North/Contact Nord.
2.
All initiatives will result in clear, direct or indirect
benefits, in a relatively short period of time, for
Contact North/Contact Nord's stakeholders - Northern
Ontario's colleges, universities, school boards, and
the residents in small and remote Northern Ontario areas
that they serve.
3.
All projects are within Contact North/Contact Nord's
mandate and purview.
Our
goal is to ensure that we make the best and most efficient
use of the resources that we have available to us, and
to ensure that we can deliver the outcomes that are expected.
Contact
us at 1-800-561-2222
Northeast
Regional Coordinating Centre
410 Falconbridge Road, Unit 1
Sudbury, Ontario P3A 4S4
Phone: 705-560-2710
Fax: 705-525-0136
Northwest
Regional Coordinating Centre
1139 Alloy Drive, Suite 104
Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 6M8
Phone: 807-344-1616
Fax: 807-344-2390
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