Contact North

Last updated

Contact North (French : Contact Nord) is a distance education network in the Canadian province of Ontario, with 112 online learning centres throughout the province. [1] Based principally in Sudbury and Thunder Bay, the network partners with Ontario's 24 public colleges, 22 public universities and 250 public literacy and essential skills and training providers to help Ontarians in over 600 communities across the province participate in education and training opportunities without leaving their own community. [2]

Contents

The organization's student portal helps students and prospective students across the province find information on more than 18,000 online courses and more than 1,000 online programs offered by Ontario's public high schools, colleges and universities. [3]

Contact North also acts as an advocate, catalyst and facilitator of innovation in online and distance learning, [4] as well as assisting in the creation and development of distance education programs in other provinces and countries. [5]

History

In 1986, Contact North was established by the Ontario government to provide fully bilingual access to courses and programs offered by colleges, universities and high schools to residents of Ontario's northern communities. [6] Contact North remains primarily funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

In 1992, through funding from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, almost every secondary school in Northern Ontario was equipped with Contact North audiographic teleconferencing equipment. This equipment gave all schools electronic access to more than 100 other schools in communities across Northern Ontario and beyond. It also allowed high school students a chance to tour museums, galleries, and other organizations electronically, which the student would not otherwise get a chance to visit. Some of these places include Art Gallery of Ontario, located in Toronto, and the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.

In 2007, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities announced the launch of a distance education network to provide access to post-secondary education opportunities for residents of small and rural communities across Southern Ontario. The new network was developed to operate under a model similar to Contact North, and Contact North was asked to help in facilitating the startup of the project. Originally called the Eastern and Southern Ontario Distance and Education Network, the new network became elearnnetwork.ca. [7]

In the fall of 2009 Contact North unveiled elearntube.ca as a video-sharing website for partnered colleges and universities to post media.

Education and training partners

Contact North works with 44 colleges and universities across Ontario. Through a combination of audioconference, videoconference and e-learning technologies, students access programs and courses offered by these partner institutions at its online learning centres. Contact North also supports the delivery of fully online courses by these institutions through a variety of support services to students of these institutions.

Online learning centres

Contact North's online learning centres serve over 600 small, rural, remote, indigenous and francophone communities across the province of Ontario. Each centre has staff who can assist students with the technology or with registering for courses. All centres are equipped with computer workstations, Internet, e-learning, audio conferencing, video conferencing (limited number of communities where this is not available) and web conferencing capabilities.

Online learning centres are located in the following communities:

Related Research Articles

The University of Sudbury is a bilingual and tri-cultural university in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It provides undergraduate programming in both French and English in Religious Studies, Philosophy, Indigenous Studies, and in French in Journalism and Folklore. It was a federated school of Laurentian University until May 1, 2021, when Laurentian terminated its relationships with all of its federated schools as part of the 2021 Laurentian University financial crisis; it was subsequently announced that the University of Sudbury will continue operations as an independent French-language university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Bay, Ontario</span> City in Ontario, Canada

North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military location during the Cold War. The city is located 350 kilometres (220 mi) from both Ottawa and Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ontario</span> Primary Region in Ontario, Canada

Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Province of the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau located mainly north of Lake Huron, the French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Mattawa River. The statistical region extends south of the Mattawa River to include all of the District of Nipissing. The southern section of this district lies on part of the Grenville Geological Province of the Shield which occupies the transitional area between Northern and Southern Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurentian University</span> Mid-sized bilingual university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Laurentian University, officially Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Laurentian offers a variety of undergraduate, graduate-level, and doctorate degrees. Laurentian is the largest bilingual provider of distance education in Canada. The college was formerly federated with Thornloe University, Huntington University, and the University of Sudbury. Laurentian severed the federation during 2021 insolvency proceedings, ending 60-year relationships, and triggering lawsuits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nipissing University</span> Public university in Ontario, Canada

Nipissing University is a public university located in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The campus overlooks Lake Nipissing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudbury District</span> District in Ontario, Canada

The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District.

Canadore College is a college of applied arts and technology located in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, attended primarily by international students. It was founded in 1967 as a campus of Sudbury's Cambrian College, and became an independent institution in 1972. Canadore College has three campuses in North Bay, Ontario, and one campus in Parry Sound, Ontario. Canadore has a full-time enrolment of 3,500 students. The fraction of students who are international, on a student visa, has grown significantly in the past decade, from 5% in 2012-13, to 72% in 2021-22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collège Boréal</span> Francophone college in Ontario, Canada

Collège Boréal d’arts appliqués et de technologie is a French-language college of applied arts and technology serving the Northern and Central Southwestern Ontario area. It is the youngest of the 24 Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, Collège Boréal has a total of 42 access centres across 28 cities in the province, including main campuses in Hamilton, Hearst, Kapuskasing, London, Nipissing, Sudbury, Timmins, Toronto, Welland, and Windsor. Collège Boréal began its operations in 1995 as a postsecondary institution. The students are offered technical programs that helps them gain access to a bilingual labour market. In 2002, Collège Boréal opened a campus in Toronto, taking over the programs and services of the defunct Collège des Grands-Lacs. In 2012, the Toronto campus moved to One Yonge Street, and in 2023 to 60 Distillery Lane in the Distillery District in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Nipissing</span> Municipality in Ontario, Canada

West Nipissing is a municipality in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former towns, villages, townships and unorganized communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambrian College</span>

Cambrian College, established in 1967, is a college of applied arts and technology in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, partnered with private Hanson College of Business, Health and Technology in Brampton and Toronto. It is attended primarily by international students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOSM University</span>

Northern Ontario School of Medicine University is a public medical university in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is mandated both to educate doctors and to contribute to care in Northern Ontario's urban, rural and remote communities, and has campuses in both Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

James K. Gordon is a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Sudbury, Ontario from 1976 to 1981 and from 1991 to 2003, and as a Member of Provincial Parliament for the provincial electoral district of Sudbury from 1981 to 1987. He briefly served in the Executive Council of Ontario, holding the position of Minister of Government Services in 1985.

King's Highway 64, commonly referred to as Highway 64, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting Highway 69 north of the French River with Highway 11 at Marten River, via Highway 17 west of Sturgeon Falls. The route serves several communities along the north shore of the French River and west shore of Lake Nipissing as it travels from Highway 69 to Highway 17. North of Sturgeon Falls, the highway provides a shortcut between Highway 17 and Highway 11 northwest of North Bay.

The Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario is a Canadian political organization of municipalities in the province of Ontario which have significant Franco-Ontarian communities. The organization oversees the maintenance and development of municipal government services in French, and works with other levels of government, as well as organizations in other Canadian provinces, on issues unique to francophone and bilingual communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near North District School Board</span> School board in Ontario, Canada

The Near North District School Board administers public education in an area of Ontario that is includes all of Parry Sound District, plus a northerly portion of Muskoka District and the western portion of Nipissing District. It includes the communities of North Bay, Parry Sound, Mattawa and the Almaguin Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Lake First Nation</span> Oji-Cree First Nations band government

Constance Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nations band government located on the shores of Constance Lake near Hearst, Cochrane District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is directly north of the community of Calstock along a continuation of Ontario Highway 663. Constance Lake First Nation is home to close to 1605 members of Cree and Ojibway with approximately 820 living on reserve. The reserves, Constance Lake 92 and English River 66, total 7,686 acres (3,110 ha) in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nipissing First Nation</span> Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

Nipissing First Nation, meaning "place of little waters", is a long-standing community of Nishnaabeg peoples, who traditionally speak Anishinaabemwin, located along the shorelines of Lake Nipissing in northern Ontario. They are referred to by many names in European historical records, since the colonists often adopted names given to them by other nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Sault Ste. Marie is a city in Ontario, Canada. The third-largest city in Northern Ontario after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, it is located on the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. To the southwest, across the river, is the United States and the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The two cities are joined by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side to Huron Street on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.

Open educational resources in Canada are the various initiatives related to open education, open educational resources (OER), open pedagogies (OEP), open educational practices (OEP), and open scholarship that are established nationally and provincially across Canadian K-12 and higher education sectors, and where Canadian based inititatives extend to international collaborations.

References

  1. Jennifer Lewington, "The Learning Beat Ontario's distance education group on its own". The Globe and Mail , June 30, 1997.
  2. Trish Crawford, "Electronic blackboards and other high-tech wonders allow teachers to reach thousands of students across Ontario's North without leaving the office". Toronto Star , February 10, 1992.
  3. Mark Nusca, "Combining distance learning with quality education". The Globe and Mail , June 22, 1998.
  4. "Path to prosperity: Contact North provides infrastructure to help young people stay in North". Sudbury Star , August 20, 2000.
  5. Rob O'Flanagan, "Sudbury develops distance education program for China". Sudbury Star , November 12, 1999.
  6. Suzanne Bowness, "One-stop shopping for online courses". The Globe and Mail , November 19, 2015.
  7. "Province provides boost to e-learning". Cornwall Standard-Freeholder , June 6, 2009.