When Opportunity Knocks: Who is Ready to Leverage Mandatory eLearning Credits to Grow Student-Focused Ed Systems?

As outlined in its March 15, 2019 public announcement , the Ontario Ministry of Education will require secondary students to complete a minimum of four e-learning credits, of the total 30 credits required, to the receive an Ontario Secondary School Diploma. With these changes Ontario will now exceed, by three credits, the minimum one e-learning credit requirement of Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, and Arkansas. There are no minimum e-learning credit requirements in any other Canadian provinces. These changes will be phased-in, beginning in the 2020-21 school year.

There is a pressing need for Ontario school districts, students and parents to understand what the application of the minimum requirement will actually look like, both provincially and locally. This is particularly relevant given the varying degrees of e-learning course design, student participation, levels of success, and competing data sets used by school districts to assemble and understand these outcomes.

On September 9, 2019, the Ontario Student Trustees' Association (OSTA-AECO) released its report entitled “eLearning: The Students' Perspective”. The report summarizes the results of a survey that was conducted between May and June, 2019 with 6087 student responses specific to the topic of eLearning and the minimum credit requirement. It is notable from this Report that:

• 83% of student respondents indicated facing challenges while taking e-learning courses,
• 45% indicated that they find it difficult, or very difficult, to manage their time effectively to do the e-learning work, and
• 83% indicated they have concerns with taking e-learning courses in order to graduate.

Education leaders understand that Ontario school districts will need to proceed, not from a perspective of mere compliance, but from informed action that will support the needs of all students and staff. This is about meeting the minimum e-learning credit requirement as an integrated process instead of a program delivery. School districts are also recognizing that, in short order, they will need to develop the necessary protocols to access and apply critical information that will drive their respective e-learning plans for 2020-21 and beyond.

Understanding and responding to the capacity of students, as individuals, to embrace and succeed with e-learning will be critical to this process work. We know, as evidenced by the OSTA-AECO survey, that a number of students will require help to improve their readiness for a successful outcome to the minimum e-learning credit requirement. Who are these students and what are their e-learning readiness needs? How can districts bridge the gap between student and staff perceptions and ability to embrace e-learning?

Integral to the approach of school districts to develop and implement their e-learning plans will be an effective cross section of student voice. More than simply developing student readiness status reports from staff perspectives, the personalized information and perspectives of students will also need to be accounted for in the e-learning process.

There are many ways for school districts to proactively receive, review and apply student voice in the e-learning process. For example, in advancing it’s online learning requirement for high school graduation, an Online Learner Readiness Rubric is available for schools in the State of Michigan to understand the readiness of students to successfully complete on-line courses. Could some school districts go even further by connecting student e-learning readiness with their self-regulation/social emotional learning initiatives?

The point is, managed strategically, the minimum e-learning credit requirement holds the potential for systematic growth through the development of personalized service structures. At the root of the process is using information not to seek answers, but to ask more questions. An inquiry approach keeps student perspectives at the forefront so that curiosity can be leveraged to promote student and teacher sharing, rather than compliance, to the learning process.

School districts can take a leadership role by developing an e-learning readiness strategy that understands and responds to the differentiated needs of students to successfully meet the four e-learning credit requirement. In turn, this will empower a reexamination of the processes used to receive and apply ongoing information with increasingly larger personalized student and staff development processes.

Opportunity is knocking. Let's begin now to creatively use this moment as meaningful change for 2020-21 and beyond.