Pros and cons of mandatory E-learning courses

BY PAUL JUNOR

On March 15^th, 2019, the new PC-led government made the unexpected announcement that beginning in the fall of 2020, it will be mandatory that all secondary students take a minimum of four E-learning credits as part of their graduation requirement to obtain the grade 12 high school diplomas. This came as a shock to many in the educational sector, as the government did not release specific details in terms of how it would be implemented and how it will be equitable for all students. Subsequently, there has been much discussion, debates and dialogue regarding the many unknowns with respect to this announcement. It has been the focus of ongoing conversations between: teachers, trustees, principals, teachers colleges and ministry officials to unpack what is involved in the delivery of these courses. The government later revised the requirements from four to two courses on November 21^st, 2019.

Ontario currently has an E-Learning Strategy which is a digital education platform that makes available high-quality online courses that students can access no matter what their background, circumstances, learning challenges or residential areas. These courses are available and accessible 24/7. People for Education (led by Anne Kidd) presented a session on “The pros and cons of E-learning” on Saturday, November 2^nd, 2019. The presenters included: Alison (Slack) Barron, who helped to develop Ontario E-learning Beyhan Farhadi, who undertook doctoral research examining the relationship between E-learning and educational inequality, and Maxim Jean-Locus (President of and CEO of Contact North) which runs 116 online learning centres across Ontario providing 600 small, rural, remote, indigenous and francophone communities with access to post-secondary education and training.

Alison mentioned that there are three reasons why E-learning should be used. Firstly, online courses give students in smaller communities access to a larger variety of courses. Secondly, consistency is possible in the design of centralised courses. Thirdly, there is a high completion rate for these courses based on statistical analysis. Beyhan focused on the lack of research surrounding E-learning program implementation and assessment. Important questions were raised that still require answers. These include:

• Who will be consulted to design E-learning programs?
• How will E-learning enrolments be counted in school funding models?
• How will the system support students with no technological access at home?
• How will student privacy be protected?
• How will the Ministry of Education assess the effectiveness of E-learning?

Maxim focused on the ways that education in Ontario can address the Ministry’s E-learning plan. He is supportive of the philosophy of online courses and suggested, “The province’s original goals were aspirational rather than written in stone.”

There have been several responses to the proposed E-learning requirements for high school students.  A survey conducted in May and June 2019 received responses from thousands of secondary students across the province. The Ontario Student Trustees (OSTA) found that 95% opposed the government’s proposed mandatory E-learning plan. In addition, Robin Pilkey (Chair of the Toronto District School Board) wrote a letter to the Minister of Education, Stephen Leece on December 4^th, 2019. He expressed specific concerns. “I want to make it clear that we are not against E-learning but we are concerned about the mandatory nature of this plan, the timing and the general lack of information available for parents/guardians, students and staff.” He was also concerned about students having to select courses for graduation. “We fear that the lack of information on mandatory E-learning courses could harm our students’ achievement and well-being levels and, ultimately, hinder their graduation and post-secondary education plans.” These fears are well-grounded, as the Ministry of Education has responded by saying that they will consult other education stakeholders to acquire more information.

There is no doubt that online courses will be more acceptable. There are real concerns regarding the lack of evidence-based planning regarding the design, implementation, and evaluation of these E-learning courses. It is unrealistic to expect students to take two separate online courses without the proper structures in place to ensure that there is integrity, validity and authenticity to these credits.