Ontario Expanding High-Quality, Accessible Virtual Learning

TORONTO — The Ontario government is investing $10.7 million to provide more flexible postsecondary education options for learners. This funding will help expand the suite of high-quality, market-responsive virtual learning programs and resources across the province through the launch of a second call for proposals in early November with support from eCampusOntario.

“Ontario’s Virtual Learning Strategy has furthered Ontario’s position as a global leader in postsecondary education,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “By continuing to promote innovation in the development of educational technology and virtual learning offerings, we are giving learners the flexible access to training they need to enter the workforce and obtain good jobs, regardless of their location.”

This initiative builds on the nearly 400 projects Ontario funded earlier this year that are already in development, including:

• A collaboration of 17 postsecondary education institutions to build mental health literacy for Ontario colleges and universities.
• Virtual Reality Asynchronous Learning Experience led by Six Nations Polytechnic, a project to develop and deliver a Virtual Reality resource facilitating intergenerational transfer of Indigenous knowledge and languages, while strengthening Indigenous technological capacity and parity of Indigenous educational outcomes in technology fields.
• Canadore College Digital Capacity Initiative that focuses on designing, developing, and delivering high-quality learning material, tools and support to achieve excellence in virtual teaching and learning.
• A project by the University of Ottawa to develop a suite of online open education resources that will serve to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion within course content, providing clear guidance to instructors on best practices to ensure inclusive teaching.