CANARIE Inc. is providing the University of Alberta with $1.3 million through its E-Learning Program to link six high schools in remote northern Alberta.
The Rural Advanced Community of Learners project – RACOL – will connect small high schools in the Fort Vermilion School Division, where the courses required for entry into university are not always available.
The link, through Alberta’s SuperNet broadband network and NeteraNet, will allow students and instructors in separate locations to interact in real time using high-quality video collaboration facilities. About 60 students per year will benefit.
CANARIE, a not-for-profit corporation supported by Industry Canada, works to accelerate advanced Internet development and use in Canada by facilitating the widespread adoption of high-performance networks.
“One of the critical concerns in rural and remote communities is access to a full range of educational opportunities for young people,” said CANARIE president and CEO Andrew Bjerring. “The beauty of the RACOL project is that the protocols developed through this work will allow us to replicate virtual learning environments for remote communities all across Canada.
“This will have enormous implications for allowing us to strengthen the education system and ensure a strong supply of skilled and knowledgeable young people to meet the demands of the coming decades.”
Partners in the project include the Fort Vermilion School Division No. 52, the University of Calgary, the Banff Centre, Sonic Design Interactive Inc., Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and Netera Alliance, Alberta’s research internet organization.
The University of Alberta has contracted Netera Alliance to manage the project and provide technical expertise. Netera Alliance is a not-for-profit corporation, funded in part by CANARIE, the Alberta Science and Research Authority, and its public and private sector members.
Web watch:
www.netera.ca
www.canarie.ca
