Microsoft Case Study
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OntarioLearn.com
Ontario college students go the distance with online learning
It started out with just two online courses and 34 students, but today OntarioLearn.com has exploded into a comprehensive online educational curriculum for thousands of students at 22 Ontario colleges. With enrollment growing significantly and 15,000 students expected to be on board by the 2001/2002 academic year, OntarioLearn.com needed to implement a powerful e-learning platform to handle the demand. Microsoft® technology coupled with Embanet Corporation's project design, development, training and support services proved the winning combination.
Customer
OntarioLearn.com is a consortium of 22 Ontario community colleges that have partnered to develop and deliver 285 online courses with 220 courses under development. Each partner college selects courses from the OntarioLearn.com course inventory that will complement their existing distance education offerings. This partnership approach has allowed member colleges to rationalize resources, avoid duplication and, more importantly, increase the availability of online learning opportunities for their students. Through this virtual classroom environment, students can pursue their educational goals, whether that is the completion of a single course or the fulfillment of a college certificate or diploma. Students living in Canada, the U.S. or anywhere in the world register through one of the partner colleges and can then take courses from their home or office, making learning as convenient as possible. An instructor is available to answer questions, encourage discussion on course topics, and provide feedback.
Specific Challenges
In 1994, Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont., began offering online courses through a local service provider using telephone dial-up modem service. The concept sparked interest from Ottawa-based Algonquin College, and soon Loyalist College's online courses were being offered to Algonquin College's students, too. Shortly thereafter, Algonquin College developed several online courses of its own and made them available to Loyalist College students – and the OntarioLearn.com concept was born. By 1995, seven Ontario colleges were on board and a consortium was formed to set curriculum guidelines.
"We realized we were on to something good," recalls Dan Holland, Chair of OntarioLearn.com and Dean of Business and Continuing Education at Loyalist College "The way people learn would change if we could find a way to become leaders in e-learning."
Dial-up access, of course, was no longer a viable option and in 1996 Niagara College in Welland, Ont., took over server hosting duties. But as demand grew from the original two courses and a small group of students to dozens of courses and hundreds of students, it was essential to create a powerful e-learning platform to handle the incredible growth.
"We needed a platform that was highly available so students could access course material and live help on a 24/7 basis," says Holland. "Because we didn't have the expertise to handle the technical aspect by ourselves, it was essential to find a committed partner who could support our environment. By separating the pedagogy from the technology, we could concentrate on what we do best – offering innovative learning opportunities to Ontario students."
Options Explored
In early 1999, OntarioLearn.com issued a Request for Proposal for a company that could support the online environment. Embanet Corporation ("Embanet") was selected due to its vast experience in the area of online learning and its solid Microsoft software-based platform.
"There was a real comfort level knowing we were dealing with people who had been through this before," recalls Holland. "We're not experienced enough to handle both sides of the equation so Embanet's expertise was crucial. Embanet's involvement at the back-end would ensure a seamless experience for our students."
Technical Roadmap
Chosen Solution
Headquartered in Toronto, Embanet is a leader in converting, developing and delivering courses and training over the Internet. With its suite of integrated e-Course Management Systems, Embanet manages and supports all aspects of an e-training initiative to help institutions decrease training costs, improve employee performance, and maximize productivity. Embanet supports more than 350 institutions, servicing more than one million lifelong learners worldwide.
"Embanet's philosophy is not to create the technology it uses but to collaborate with the best technology companies, customize the products to suit our clients' needs, add our valued service, integrate it into the Embanet formula and offer it to the marketplace," says Jeffrey Feldberg, Embanet's Chairman and Success Builder. "In this scenario, Microsoft provided the foundation, Embanet built the house and OntarioLearn.com filled it with the furniture – the content. It's a perfect triad of collaborators.
"The OntarioLearn.com platform incorporates five Embanet-powered course management systems sitting on Microsoft technology – particularly the Windows® 2000 Advanced Server operating system, a SQL 2000 Server™ database, Internet Information Server (IIS), and Cold Fusion markup language (CFML).
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