The Canadian government has played an big role in helping develop ICT connectiveness through SchoolNet and LibraryNet. SchoolNet is a collaborative initiative between Canada’s provincial, territorial and government, educators, industry and universities. Both SchoolNet and LibraryNet help encouraged collaboration among schools, libraries, provinces and the private sector which help increased pace of connectedness. Many issues has surfaced with the increase in connectedness such as equity of access in remote areas and professional development for teachers.
The Canadian schools, libraries and universities are currently the some of the biggest consumers of Internet service. Schools in particular have a pressing demand to increase their Internet capacity. Most of the Canadian schools are poorly served with low speed data lines. The Canadian provinces and territories wants to expand the use of broadband access to support widespread use of high-speed multimedia ICT in schools K-12.
Canada is concentrating on increasing the speed and bandwidth of networks to expand communications beyond classrooms and schools, and provide access to video and audio content required to realize the full learning potential of technology. Canada plans to develop the use of WANs to provide access to schools and to upgrade the bandwidth capacities through satellites for the remote areas of the country.
Enhancing Education with ICTs (Stage 2/3)
Technology changes rapidly and many of the teachers need to focus on professional development in technical skills. Professional development lags behind connectivity therefore the country has not be able to get full return on the investment in technology. According to Canada’s SchoolNet organization, “Canadian educators have pioneered exciting practices that enriched learning in a variety of contexts across the country, in majority of classrooms, teachers still lack the skill and support they need to integrate ICT effectively.”
Developing the ICT Workforce (Stage 3)
Canada’s SchoolNet Network of Innovative Schools is an organization that bring partners together to establish and run program partnership with Canadian provinces and territories. Here schools are asked to establish mentoring relationship with other schools and teachers where professional communities of learners can be developed. The SchoolNet GrassRoots Program is a unique program designed for teachers to promote and facilitate the effective integration and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in the classroom.