Online learning could be here to stay as Ontario considers plans to offer it to all students post-pandemic

Thestar.com
March 26, 2021

The Ontario government is looking at offering full-time, online learning to students in all grades -- even after the pandemic is over, says a consultation report that has prompted an outcry from educators and critics.

At Queen’s Park, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government “recognizes that the vast majority of children are benefiting from in-class instruction” during the pandemic, and “we believe keeping schools open is fundamental to kids’ health and wellness.”

The government is now “consulting with a variety of partners in education to get their perspective on how we can potentially create a system that is safe and also provides parents the choice that I think Ontarians benefited from this past September,” he said.

However, the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association warned such a move “is not in the best interest of students.”

President Cathy Abraham said “there are significant negative implications for students and for public education in the government’s proposal, including impacts on reduced student funding levels over the long term, students attending small, rural and remote schools (and) diminished local influence on education.”

She also said boards are “deeply concerned about any proposal that prioritizes cost-cutting or revenue generation over student success and well-being.”

The provincial government is already mandating two online courses for high schools students, though there is an easy opt-out policy.

But what it is now proposing is new legislation that would allow for students in any grade to learn entirely online.

The report, obtained by the Star, notes that “demand for synchronous remote learning is also significant due to the pandemic. Approximately 300,000 elementary and 100,000 secondary students have enrolled in remote learning during the 2020-21 school year.” It says there are several reasons for moving to more online learning, including boosting course offerings for students, uneven quality, and “uneven student supports, particularly for students with special education needs.”

The ministry said it would consult a number of groups, and also wants to create “a business plan jointly developed by TVO and TFO … outlining how they could provide centralized administration and support for online learning,” offer training for teachers, and also market the courses internationally.

“In the 2020-21 school year, parents had the option to enrol their child in either an in-person model of learning at a physical school, or in remote learning classes with real-time, synchronous learning support from a school board teacher. The government is considering introducing legislation to make this a permanent part of elementary and secondary education in Ontario, including after the COVID-19 pandemic is over,” the report says. Some form of online learning could be available this fall.

The legislation would also mandate that school boards offer virtual learning on snow days or for any emergency that might close a school building.

For teens, a full slate of courses would be available starting in the fall of 2022.

New Democrat MPP Marit Stiles, her party’s education critic, said “it is ironic, how many times we have heard (the education minister) say in the legislature how important it is that students be in class,” for both academics and their mental health.

“I think what’s really been driven home over the last year is that our kids need to be in school, in person for their social growth, for their mental and emotional health and for the best kind of learning. In this moment ... the idea that the government is contemplating expansion of online learning, means they are not getting the message at all -- and it’s a message that we are hearing internationally.”

She said “we’re extremely concerned that this government is focusing on a finding a cheaper way to educate kids, instead of focusing on their education and well-being, especially as our children, youth and staff recover from such a difficult period.”

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said the province has “one of the best education systems in the world and is recognized as such -- and now they are saying what was the temporary solution to a global pandemic is now going to become a permanent part of education in the province.”

He believes the government is trying to save money and is “pushing it through in a stealth way, during the pandemic.”

“They are suggesting they are going to consult with all stakeholders,” he said. “I can save them the time -- we have done that and, consistently across the board, this is seen as a bad idea.”

Liz Stuart, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said “there is no way that an expansion of virtual learning is in the best interests of student learning.”