E-learning making upgrading and college accessible locally

Joyce Bigelow | Feb 04, 2010

Local community learning centres in Sydenham, Hartington, Sharbot Lake and Northbrook are solving some of the problems people have when trying to improve their skills and education. One solution is a partnership with Ontario colleges for E-learning (electronic, online or Web-based learning) satellite services.

“It’s a hidden gem,” says Patricia Ramirez, speaking of the E-learning lab at Northern Connections in Sharbot Lake, “If I had known there was a local E-lab I would have gone back to school sooner.”

E-labs provide a learning environment that is friendly, supportive and close to home. High-speed Internet is available and the computers have all the software and hardware needed to complete courses for the Academic and Career Entrance Program (ACE) and some college certificate and diploma courses.

The ACE certificate is a Grade 12 equivalency for people who want to move on to college or apprenticeship. Learners may take any or all of the courses as needed for entrance to their post-secondary education. Available courses include Communications, Math, Computers, Self-Direction, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Best of all, the ACE program is FREE and travel and childcare subsidies may be available. ACE courses are available thanks to PALS (Partnering to Achieve Learning Success), a partnership between St. Lawrence College, the Limestone District School Board, Kingston Literacy and Northern Connections Adult Learning, with funding from Employment Ontario.

A partnership with another college, Loyalist in Bancroft, has allowed people to take college courses online through the E-lab. “Any course that is shown on the OntarioLearn website is available to students, but we register them through Loyalist College,” says Laurie Watson, who coordinates the college E-lab courses for Northern Connections in Sharbot Lake and Northbrook.

“E-lab learning is less intimidating than a classroom, for me,” says Ramirez, who is taking a Medical Transcriptionist college course, “You don’t have all the noise and peer pressure. You also don’t have all that travel to Kingston or dealing with traffic and parking.”

Anyone can take these programs, but they are particularly useful for people who are getting their training or living allowance paid by Employment Ontario’s Second Career, WSIB, etc. They are only approved to do training at an acknowledged site, such as the E-lab, where their attendance can be monitored and they can get support from local staff.

E-labs are available for ACE upgrading in Sydenham at Frontenac Employment Resource Centre (613) 376-6592 and in Hartington at the Community Learning Centre South Frontenac (613) 372-2111. The E-labs at Northern Connections Adult Learning Centres offer both ACE upgrading and college courses in Sharbot Lake (613) 279-2499 and in Northbrook at Northern Connections (613) 336-0691.