Education, Citizenship and Youth
Distance Learning
Manitoba Model for Web-Based Course Implementation
The distributed model of online distance learning enables students to access course credits from various provincially accredited organizations and to use various delivery models to meet Manitoba's graduation requirements. This model is based on learner needs and tends to integrate traditional school resources, such as the classroom and library, with the delivery of online content. Furthermore, this model offers maximum flexibility to learners and teachers with respect to where and when to enter the learning environment.
Students interested in obtaining credits through WBC must be currently enrolled in a Manitoba school. Students are to communicate with their home school as to what is available from within their home school/division. A divisional contact person may help the schools/students find WBC from outside their school division.
Adult learners will need to register with an Adult Learning Centre to see what is available to them in terms of WBC or register for the Independent Study Option.
Once registered in a web-based course, students may access the WBC according to their personal timetable and schedule. In Manitoba, web-based courses are teacher-mediated. Qualified teachers hired by their local school/division have been timetabled to deliver the WBC as part of their regular teaching assignment. Course content, including most of the assessment, is presented via the Internet, so access to the Internet is required for both teachers and students.
The Manitoba model for web-based course implementation and online learning keeps student-learning local and close to home and it builds teachers’ professional learning opportunities throughout the province, as all teachers in every school may be given opportunities to teach and learn in an online classroom environment.
Distance Learning: A Policy Handbook for Schools/Divisions/Districts
The current policy handbook is under revision during the 2008-2009 school year. The original document serves several purposes:
- provide information regarding the role of distance learning within a changing educational environment
- specify the policy for creating and sustaining a distributed model of online distance learning within a managed and cooperative environment
- specify the roles and responsibilities of Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth and its partners in developing and implementing a distributed model of online distance learning
- define a peer review process for online distance learning courses
For more information about the Manitoba Model for Web-based Course Implementation, please contact Donald Girouard at 1-800-465-9915, or for information about web-based course development, please contact Howard Griffith at 204-945-4447.
