1. Introduction
In the introduction to the 2006 worldwide survey of departments of
education the North American Council for Online Learning (later
the International Association for K-12 Online Learning or
iNACOL) indicated that “research has been done on several virtual
schools in North America; however, little information is available
about current K-12 e-learning initiatives across the world” (Powell
& Patrick, 2006, p. 1). At the time, based on the literature on K-12
e-learning a slightly revised quote could also have accurately apply
to North America – ‘research has been done on several virtual
schools in the United States; however, little information is available
about current K-12 e-learning initiatives in the rest of North
America.’ When the State of the Nation: K-12 e-Learning in
Canada was first published in 2008, the vast majority of literature
and research about K-12 e-learning was still focused on the United
States. This annual study was the first of many steps that
researchers took, and are continuing to take, to address the lack of
information about K-12 e-learning in Canada.
Materials and methods
The goals of this study are to address the following questions:
1. How is K-12 distance, online, and blended learning governed in
each province, territory, and federally?
2. What is the level of K-12 distance, online, and blended learning
activity occurring in each province, territory, and federally?
Nature of Regulation Types of Programs
Distance & Online Learning Participation Blended Learning Participation
Key Takeaways
• the data for participation in distance and online learning
has been getting better each year
• the data for blended learning is unreliable and represents
only a poor estimate
• Ontario (ON) has the highest number of students
participating in distance and online learning, but ON is
also the most populated province
• British Columbia (BC) has the highest per capita student
involvement in distance and online learning
• BC and Nova Scotia are the most regulated
• BC also has funding policy specific to distributed
learning (i.e., distance and online learning)
• ON funds e-learning course content and the technology
for online access to the courses; but school boards are
expected to manage programs
• provinces and territories with a smaller K-12 populations
(i.e., Northern and Eastern regions) tend to offer one
centralized provincial program either run by their
Ministry of Education or contracted to a school authority
• ON, Saskatchewan, and BC have primarily district based
programs; while Québec, Manitoba, and Alberta have a
mix of provincial and school district programs
• most of the e-learning programs have a success or
completion rate comparable to regular school programs
• blended learning models are becoming more prevalent;
either as school-based support for e-learning students
who are primarily at a distance or as part of a shift for
classroom-based teachers to include e-learning courses
and online environments as part of school-based student’s
learning program
Michael K. Barbour, Touro University California – mkbarbour@gmail.com
Randy LaBonte, Canadian eLearning Network – rlabonte@canelearn.net
Recent Reports
Barbour, M. K., & LaBonte, R. (2018). State of the nation: K-12 e-learning
in Canada. Half Moon Bay, BC: Canadian E-Learning Network.
LaBonte, R., & Barbour, M. K. (2018). An overview of elearning
organizations and practices in Canada. In K. Kennedy & R.E. Ferdig
(Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (2nd
ed., pp. 601-616). Pittsburgh, PA: ETC Press.
Barbour, M. K. (2018). Funding and resourcing of distributed learning
in Canada. Half Moon Bay, BC: Canadian E-Learning Network.
Barbour, M. K. (2017). Working conditions for K-12 distance & online
learning teachers in Canada. Cobble Hill, BC: Canadian E-
Learning Network..
Further information
Project Website – https://k12sotn.ca
CANeLearn – https://canelearn.net