The Ontario eLearning Consortium (OeLC)
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The OeLC (Ontario eLearning Consortium) is a grassroots partnership of Ontario School Boards that began 2005.
The OeLC is comprised of a collective of Ontario School Boards, each of which has entered into mutual agreement to open their eLearning courses to all students throughout member boards without a course fee. Currently, the Consortium supports 47 member boards (23 Public and 24 Catholic) representing students who reside in both metropolitan and rural areas throughout Ontario.
With the support of an Executive Director and Executive Committee selected from amongst its member Boards, member Boards of the OeLC work together to:
- increase eLearning opportunities for students;
- share and co-develop best practices, procedures, workflows, resources, and tools;
- support eLearning staff and administration through professional development and consultation;
- enhance the quality and efficiency of eLearning programs; and,
- support quality assurance.
The OeLC shares a registration / communication / tracking / reporting system, known as PRISM, to which all member boards and their respective staff involved in eLearning programming (e.g., administrators, managers, coordinators, and teachers) and student registration (e.g., registrars and guidance counsellors) have access.
Upper Canada DSB Vignette Appears in State of the Nation: K-12 Online Learning in Canada
http://k12sotn.ca/on/elearning-at-the-upper-canada-district-school-board-supported-by-the-ontario-elearning-consortium/
The vignette provides a testimony to the effectiveness of the consortium as the UCDSB has tripled their e-learning offerings and expanded to offer a Continuing Education program as well. They did this while addressing geographical and technological challenges. By joining the consortium, the UCDSB not only expanded its course offerings, but improved networking, collaboration, and professional learning opportunities for teachers.