The Learning Communities Project (LCP) aims to bring distance education to remote areas of Alberta through partnerships. It focuses on workers in oil sands camps, northern and rural residents, and Aboriginal people. The LCP launched activities at five worker camps for a large oil sands construction project, researching workers' learning interests and preferences. Many expressed interest in business, trades, and engineering courses. The LCP works to address barriers to accessing education for remote communities and seeks to understand how to best develop learning communities in rural and isolated areas.

1. The Learning Communities Project: Bringing distance education to Alberta's remote work camps and rural areas Patrick Fahy & Nancy Steel Athabasca University CNIE Conference, Banff 29 April, 2008 Banff Park Lodge

2. Origin of the Learning Communities Project Athabasca University model: open and distance university offerings on various “lines” DE model: reduce barriers for remote, rural communities, camp residents, due to work, personal realities Project funded by a donation from Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ), in-kind from AU. Develop people, wants competitive advantage. Do well while doing good.

3. Project objectives To transform the workplace and communities. To address personal goals with respect to career change, advancement. To find new ways of creating learning communities in rural and remote areas. (For corporate sponsors): To address problems attracting and retaining skilled workforce To identify and promote viable offerings from Alberta institutions

4. Project principles Focus on 4 targeted audiences: camp workers, northern and rural residents, aboriginals - Initial focus on CNQ’s Horizon construction site workforce Develop partnerships to provide access to range of target groups, based on ongoing assessment of needs, interests, and preferences - Offerings must offer “distance” access Communities contribute access, time, expertise, and material support

5. What is distance education? Same time Different time synchronous asynchronous Same Place 1 2 Site-bound Different Place 3 4 Site-independent

6. Communities of present LCP interest Horizon site (mobile workers) Wood Buffalo region (Fort Chipewyan and Fort MacKay) Cold Lake (town and CFB Cold Lake) Three Hills Wabasca Fort St. John, B.C.

7. Numbers of Horizon site workers Total workers on site = 19,720 1,108 CNQ employees 18,612 contract workers 2,176 Female 17,544 Male

8. Characteristics of Horizon site workers Worksite 70 Km north Ft. McMurray – often a 2 hour drive Residence lodges (5) Largely construction workers Work long shifts, outdoors, overtime, “mobile” Often find free time boring

9. LCP activities on site Project “launches” at 5 camps Set-up in lobby areas Materials on hand, staff available to answer questions and take requests for detailed information Researcher present to record nature of inquiries & requests Speaker series “ Eating for Health” “ Life Balance” MBA Sessions The AU MBA program

10. Findings: Learning preferences expressed 36% Business, Finance & Management MBA Project Management Business Administration, Accounting, and HR 34 %Trades & Engineering Blue Seal Health & Safety Red Seal APEGGA courses or exam preparation

11. Finding: Learning interests expressed Others: Computer applications, including Microsoft Office English as a Second Language Foreign Languages – Spanish, Italian, French Academic upgrading, or grad 12 equivalency General interest : fitness, guitar, flight training, martial arts

12. Responses to inquiries Inquiries from events or other forwarded to AU Advising for a timely response. Research team follows up re customer / student satisfaction, intentions.

13. Issues and challenges Communication on-site is complicated – no common link Organizing events time-consuming and complex – procedures and people constantly changing Audience is shift / mobile workers; may be temporary foreign workers Computer/internet access not always available to or used by all Potential students often not familiar with, or actually skeptical about, distance education

14. Research products to date Seven Occasional Reports Interim Report 1 Literature annotations Paper submitted to peer reviewed journal “ Post-Secondary Learning Priorities of Workers in an Oil Sands Camp in Northern Alberta” (In review) Baseline study “ Programming Available and Requested in Remote Areas of Alberta” (In progress)

15. Next steps Continue regular information and speaker sessions at the Horizon site Population will soon change once into production Intensify research into learning interests in other identified communities outside the oilsands Continue Occasional Reports (formative evaluation) Continue to produce papers for peer-reviewed journals (dissemination) Continue to evaluate project operations (1 more interim report, final report at project end)

16. For more information … Website: http://www.athabascau.ca/lc/ Email: asklc@athabascau.ca

17. Thank you Pat Fahy ( [email_address] ) 866-514-6234 Nancy Steel ( [email_address] ) 866-569-8051