No. It’s being rushed, which will harm students

The Ontario Ministry of Education is not introducing online courses in the right way. Requiring four online courses over four years starting in 2020-2021 is overly ambitious as a starting point.

Taking time to address concerns related to access, support for at-risk students and research into the quality of learning achieved via online courses would go a long way toward a more effective introduction.

Ever since sweeping educational changes were announced in the spring, there have been concerns about many aspects of the plan, including the elearning requirement.

In order to access online courses, students need to have good equipment and reasonable online access at school and/ or home. Schools already struggle to provide enough equipment and some have instituted “bring-your-own-device” policies to help with that.

While announcing funding to improve internet and cellphone service in rural and remote communities, Laurie Scott, Minister of Infrastructure stated, “Too many people, especially those living in rural and remote communities, do not have access to reliable internet access … It means they can't work from home, stay connected to family and friends, or access public services, such as health care and education.”

The funding is good news, but likely won’t change much before students are expected to start their online courses. The government acknowledges that rural and remote communities are severely disadvantaged when it comes to internet access and just announced a plan to address this. The right thing to do would be to co-ordinate the requirement for online courses with these improvements.

There is nothing stopping students from taking online courses if they wish. This year, People for Education reported on e-learning as part of its Annual Ontario School Survey. According to Connecting to Success: Technology in Ontario Schools, the province’s e-learning strategy was launched in 11 pilot school boards in 2006. “Until 2019, these courses were primarily for students who could not attend physical classes due to personal or timetabling issues, or for students who wanted to take classes not offered at their home school.”

Principals found “students are keen to sign up for e-learning courses, but at times struggle with the self-discipline these courses require.”

The report also cited research “that the lowest achieving students consistently perform worse in online courses than in face-to-face classes.” Currently, about 5 per cent of students are enrolled in online courses. How will schools be able to provide support when 100 per cent of students are required to take them in order to graduate? The right thing to do would be to have an effective plan in place before they start.

Online courses can be convenient and broaden options when schools can’t provide them. However, some question whether online learning is good learning.

When I asked my son’s teachers about taking online math or science courses over the summer to lighten his academic load the following year, I was cautioned that they had found some students who had taken prerequisites online were not as well prepared. Ultimately, I was advised that if my son wanted to take an online credit, he should consider a subject he didn’t plan to continue studying.

Another red flag was raised when I researched online math course providers and found the answer “Possibly” to the question “Will a university look at an online credit differently?” on the Q&A section of one website.

Determining which courses would be the best candidates for quality online learning before requiring four as a condition of graduation would be the right thing to do.

I’m doubtful the concerns related to access, support for struggling students and the quality of online learning can be adequately addressed before the 20202021 school year. If the rollout is not done effectively and students find themselves struggling to complete these courses, it will be the most demoralizing for the most disadvantaged students. Why take the chance?

Starting with one mandatory course after the connectivity issues for rural and remote communities have been addressed would be the right way.