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Exploring the Future of Education
Students, faculty, colleges, universities, technologies, employer expectations, job market developments, social needs, funding sources – who knows what the future holds for any of these aspects of post-secondary education. The resources below explore the potential and suggest some positive – and some not-so-positive – possibilities.
Five Bold Actions for Canada to Strengthen Its Position as an Education Superpower
January 06, 2022Canada leads the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in educational attainment.
Rethinking Learning: The New Learning Hagen Manifesto
December 13, 2021The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a lot about how higher education systems favour some and not others. It also revealed many differences between effective and ineffective online learning, and what it takes to make online learning more engaging.
Imagining Canada as a Learning Superpower in 2022
December 01, 2021As we look toward a new year and the beginning of the end of the pandemic, it is vital to imagine a bold new 2022.
In Pursuit of Equity: Is Online Learning Really the Great Equalizer?
November 09, 2021Post-secondary institutions and policy-makers at all levels tend to see online learning as a response to inequality in education, with the potential to improve access to learning for those who cannot attend campus.
It’s Time We All Use Common Definitions for Key Concepts in Online Learning
September 09, 2021As preparations begin in earnest for a return to campus this fall, more colleges, polytechnics and universities are developing online and blended courses as a way to grow enrolment and meet the need for skills and capability development in a fast-changing
10 Key Actions to Ensure Micro-Credentials Meet the Needs of Learners and Employers
May 20, 2021As colleges and universities start rolling out micro-credentials, 10 key actions must be taken to ensure these credentials meet the needs of both learners and employers.
Micro-Credentials and the Skills Agenda
November 30, 2020Micro-credentials represent a real opportunity to make lifelong learning accessible to all. In this overview, we address 12 fundamental questions about micro-credentials.
Online Learning as a Solution to Ontario’s Literacy Problem
November 13, 2020With the support of Contact North | Contact Nord, five organizations have delivered Ontario’s online Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) “e-Channel” program across the province since 2007.
Greater Flexibility as the New Mantra for Higher Education
September 01, 2020In reviewing the developments of flexible approaches to development, delivery, assessment and accreditation, five forms of flexibility are explored.
Imagine Online Learning in Ontario as an Industry and a Job Creator
June 09, 2020What will it take to accelerate the growth of the EdTech sector in Ontario and see it as a major opportunity for reskilling?
Contact North | Contact Nord’s 10 Predictions for Online Learning in 2020
December 13, 2019Here we boldly explore ten patterns and trends likely to dominate online learning around the world in 2020, and capture them as predictions about the future.
Preparing for a Different Future - Learning in an Age of Disruption
November 07, 2019A number of change forces are reshaping communities, organizations, work and identity.
Tackling Five Major Social and Pedagogical Challenges in Online Learning in Ontario
August 26, 2019As the new academic year starts, let’s continue as a sector to boldly tackle five major social and pedagogical challenges in online learning in Ontario.
Get Ready for 5G - Reshaping Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age
April 24, 2019When fully deployed across Canada, 5G enables us to do all we can do now faster and more reliably, and also support breakthrough technologies in a variety of fields, including health and education.
Contact North | Contact Nord's Top Ten Wish List for Online Learning in 2019
December 07, 2018Offering this list is intended to encourage, challenge, inspire and enable. Let us collectively make 2019 the year of breakthroughs in authentic, engaging and effective online learning and teaching.
Five Key Questions About the State of Online Learning
March 15, 2017Because of new modes of teaching and designs for learning, colleges and universities are also rethinking assessment and developing new delivery tools and resources for learning.
Making Sense of Flexibility as A Defining Element of Online Learning
September 08, 2016Today online technologies have brought further flexibility to post-secondary education on various dimensions.
May 06, 2016Smart colleges and universities (as well as high schools and private colleges) are moving in this direction, seeing it as building in new capacities for access and completion at a lower cost.
How Ten Key Developments Are Shaping the Future of Technology-Enabled Learning
May 04, 2016These are developments which we see as having the potential to impact, in different ways, the strategic plans and actions of colleges and universities around the world.
April 22, 2016What are the plans and strategic intentions of these companies? How disruptive might they be? Will their growth and development change the post-secondary landscape?
A 2016 Look at the Future of Online Learning - Part 2
February 11, 2016What we have outlined here are the inter-related changes most likely to occur within the key components of the system – students, programs, teaching and learning, and policy and government.
A 2016 Look at the Future of Online Learning - Part 1
February 01, 2016It is not technology that drives adoption; it is the institutional strategy, the changing nature of the student population and the decisions of individual instructors and faculty members.
Contact North I Contact Nord’s Top 10 Wish List for Online Learning in 2016
January 04, 2016Rather than resolutions or predictions, we list ten developments we wish for online learning in 2016.
What are the transformative developments in online learning to watch for in 2015?
February 24, 2015The surprising predictions of a select group of world experts and thought leaders in online learning.
Four Big Changes in Online Learning to Watch In 2015
January 28, 2015The four big changes to online learning to watch in 2015.
February 11, 2014Think we have seen a lot of change since 1990? Imagine it’s 2034 – post-secondary education hasn’t seen anything yet.
Online Learning: Three Big Opportunities for Ontario
March 26, 2013What are the major opportunities that online learning offers for Ontario's colleges and universities, the Ontario post-secondary system as whole, and the student population?
Five Fundamental Challenges for Online Learning in Ontario
March 18, 2013There are five major challenges that colleges and universities will need to overcome to position online learning as a core activity of the institution.
