November 2004


School boards explore benefits of connecting via broadband networks

ORION and the award-winning Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) program launched the first of several workshops for Ontario school boards in Thunder Bay earlier this month.



Representatives from most school boards in Northwest Ontario gathered at Lakehead University’s state-of-the-science ATAC centre on Nov. 16 to learn the latest in the benefits of bringing broadband connectivity and technology into the classroom.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, based in Dryden, showcased its connectivity to ORION, while educators from York Region participated via videoconference, interacting directly with workshop participants in Thunder Bay.

Helping to lead the sessions is Janet Murphy, one of Canada’s foremost authorities in broadband-enabled learning. Janet manages the ABEL program for York University’s Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation. She is also the Manager of Innovative Learning Solutions for the York Region District School Board (YRDSB).

As a program that can only be effectively delivered through an advanced broadband network, ABEL makes use of information communications technologies (ICT), including advanced video-conferencing, to provide school boards with access to a set of new learning resources and a professional growth program for teachers.

Students are immersed in authentic learning activities that extend the borders of the class to include interaction with experts outside the classroom and the ability to share knowledge and ideas, in real time, with students in other regions of the province or country.

Also participating in the Thunder Bay session was ORION President/CEO Phil Baker, who highlighted the educational benefits of advanced networks.

Among the examples Baker noted is the Faulkes Telescope project (www.faulkes-telescope.com) which provides students in United Kingdom schools with real time, night-sky access to a research class telescope in Hawaii. Closer to home, the Music Grid (wwww.musicgrid.ca) project was profiled, using broadband to support music education programs for students and teachers separated by vast distances.

In the United States, a broad K-20 initiative (http://k20.internet2.edu) is designed to accelerate use of advanced networks in schools, bringing together Internet2 member institutions, primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, and museums to share content and learning resources across all educational sectors in the United States.

Here in Ontario, the ABEL program is having an impact on the way educators are approaching their work.

Some teachers swear they will “never go back” to their old way of teaching, and report significant improvements in students’ performance and critical thinking skills. Teachers themselves are collaborating, working together to share curriculum activities, building interactive web resources, and accessing experts and mentors. “We are changing schools, we are changing education,” said one teacher, after participating in the ABEL program.

Nearly a dozen Ontario school boards are now are will soon be connecting to ORION. That number is expected to increase in the next year.

“The full value of ORION to learning will be achieved when a larger number of school boards are connected, so they can leverage each others’ learning resources and expertise,” says Baker.

ORION and ABEL are scheduling additional workshops in the months ahead, and expect to announce dates and locations shortly for workshops in the GTA, Southwest Ontario, and in the Ottawa region in the New Year.

The Thunder Bay session, streamed live over the ORION network, is archived and available to view at the ORION website. Copies of the presentations and a small photo gallery are also available, at www.orion.on.ca/events/tbay.html.


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