Online course instruction, called eLearning, is becoming a popular way for Halton District School Board high school students to enrich their learning experiences, and even help them prepare for post-secondary education.

The Board has been offering eLearning for approximately seven years for Grades 11-12, and one Grade 10 course, but has really seen the online program take off the past two years. An increasing number of students are opting for online courses to supplement their traditional classroom learning, or "face-to-face" learning. eLearning offers course where students interact and learn with their teacher, classmates and electronic resources using any Internet-connected computer. Students complete a variety of tasks set out by the teacher; all courses are offered in English.

“It’s been growing a couple of sections (classes) a year,” says John Phillips, vice-principal of eLearning for the Halton District School Board, noting some courses are available, like Grade 12 college physics, to help students fulfill the knowledge requirements of a post-secondary institution.


This school year, the Board is offering 18 classes – including courses like philosophy and civics and careers – with an enrollment of 600 students. That’s up from 16 and 14 classes respectively during the past two years, In 2011-12, the online course selection is expected to double to as many as 30 total classes.

Online courses are moderated by a teacher who uses interactive models for online learning, like teacher to student or teacher to class. This interaction results in a variety of learning, sharing and collaboration strategies including e-mail, asynchronous conferences (meaning instruction is delivered at one time and the work can be done at a different time), lessons, projects, demonstrations or presentations.

Despite the online aspect of eLearning, students will still interact with peers through various tasks such as group work or electronic discussion conferences.

Online learning generally requires a higher degree of independence and initiative than a typical face-to-face course. To ensure eLearning is right for students, they would talk to a guidance counsellor and complete a suitability profile online.

Phillips says eLearning can be very attractive to students who are elite athletes or are facing health issues that take them away from the classroom.

“Students are looking for flexibility. We feel confident we can meet those needs. Success and credit accumulation through eLearning is pretty similar to the results we see in face-to-face classrooms.”

One of the reasons the Board began offering more online course choices was to serve Halton students who were enrolled in online courses offered by different school boards.

Mary Jane Page is the Board’s full-time eLearning teacher. She’s responsible for two courses – careers and civics and entrepreneurship – offered in six classes. She said the online program has been enjoyable.

“I have always liked the challenge of trying to figure out how you are going to do something to adapt to a different set of students needs and using different technology,” she says. For example, students have to create websites based on class rules. “A lot of students thrive on that challenge.”

On occassion, Page uses YouTube to explain course requirements to engage students. Some students have really excelled through eLearning and expressed a desire to be a tutor, she says.

“I think eLearning is the way of the future with both the technology and the demands on the students. It’s shared with a group of peers who have similar interests, so I think it works well and I think it will continue to grow.”