Three school boards - representing about 140,000 students - are the latest institutions to connect to ORION. More than 950,000 Ontario students in 20 school boards now have access.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and the Greater Essex County District School Board join a growing number of boards across Ontario connecting to ORION.

Virtual communities and resources are connecting students, teachers and schools to each other and to partners across Canada and around the world, creating dynamic and exciting interactive learning and teaching environments.

"ORION will provide an opportunity to access several educational resources, information services, and content management systems at a higher data rate and lower cost than is practical today," says Dave Miller, Manager of the Ottawa-Carleton board's Business and Learning Technologies Department.

The Greater Essex County board is looking forward to exploring the benefits of being part of the network. "One of our important goals is to more effectively engage students in their learning, and we believe that the opportunities afforded to us by ORION will help us meet that goal in a significant way," says Mary Guthrie, Chief Information Officer.

At the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, access to ORION is seen as helping pave the way to the future. "We know that the full potential of this network is an untapped area for us that will require exploring," says Rose Mousaly, Chief Information Officer. "By joining ORION we have opened up another dimension for our students where they will engage with others across the world and therefore those possibilities are now limitless."

Schools find value in connecting to ORION to enjoy enhanced quality videoconferencing, professional development opportunities, and other programs specifically designed for K-12 students.

By connecting to ORION, schools can connect students in different geographic locations through high-speed videoconferencing; bring experts from universities, colleges, museums and research facilities into the classroom; enjoy lightning-fast access to online learning resources such as multimedia libraries; and offer professional development opportunities, such as discussions and training sessions, for staff and teachers. Meetings can be held by videoconference, thereby cutting down on travel time for teachers and staff that may be located in geographically remote schools.

A number of educational videoconferencing programs exist for elementary and secondary school students, including VROC (Virtual Researcher On Call) which brings scientists into the classroom to engage with students on a range of topics. Several other research and cultural institutions offer specialized videoconference programs to schools, including the Canadian Museum of Nature, Environment Canada, Canadian Space Agency, Royal Botanical Gardens, Center for Science and Industry (COSI) in the U.S., and the Royal Ontario Museum.

Read the release.


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