A Blended Approach to Canadian First Nations Education: The SCcyber E-Learning Community Mr. Martin Sacher, Chief Executive Officer Sccyber E-Learning Community Ms. Mavis Sacher, Principal Sccyber E-Learning Community Dr. Norman Vaughan, Professor Mount Royal University

Overview 1.Study context 2.Methodology 3.Findings 4.Next steps

SCcyber First Nation Located 40 km northwest of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta The reserve has an area of square km As of 2008, the First Nation has a registered population of 1209 people, of whom 732 live on their reserve.

SCcyber E-Learning Community In 2000, a group of solution-minded founders considered the lack of education on the SCcyber Reserve and decided alternative methods were needed to reach Aboriginal students. They discovered that: Aboriginal students faced unique challenges including family and legal situations, time away from class and relocating to new homes. Many Aboriginal students were adults. These students wanted to upgrade and build a better future while meeting their current schedules and responsibilities.

SCcyber E-Learning Community Adopted a blended learning approach for high school courses Face-to-Face Establish learning centers with local mentors Online Online teachers who provide synchronous tutorials via Blackboard Collaborate

Learning Centres 1.Affinities Group 2.Boyle Street 3.Calgary Urban 4.CES – Community Engagement Sites for Innisfail, Cremona, Delburne 5.Chiniki 6.Chip Prairie 7.Conklin 8.Duncan First Nation 9.Enoch Young Moms 10.Fort McKay 11.Frog Lake 12.Horse Lake 13.Inuvik 14.Louis Bull 15.Medicine Lodge 16.Siksika Highschool 17.SCcyber Adult Education 18.SCcyber Highschool 19.Sturgeon Lake 20.Swan River 21.Wesley

Mentors 26 mentors for the 21 sites

Online Teachers 8 online teachers

Curriculum Alberta Junior and High School Curriculum (7 to 12) Partnership with NAIT and DeVry for some college credit courses Math Science CTS – single unit courses Physical Education Aboriginal Studies Cree CALM English Language Arts Social Studies Psychology 20 World Religions Adult Literacy Work Experience Special Projects

Students Current semester - approximately 300 students 95 male and 205 female

Student Profile 83% - currently not working 63% - no home Internet access 46% - living with parents 42% - living with own family with children 12% - living with roommates or partner with no children

Blended Learning Described... organic integration of thoughtfully selected and complementary face-to-face and online approaches and technologies.... an opportunity to fundamentally redesign how we approach teaching and learning in ways that educational institutions may benefit from increased effectiveness, convenience and efficiency. (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008)

ONLINE SYNCHRONOUSSYNCHRONOUS ON-CAMPUS Blended Learning ASYNCHRONOUSASYNCHRONOUS Online Learning Traditional Higher Education ONLINE Blended Learning Blended SCcyber E-Learning Community

Study Questions 1.What are the advantages of the SCcyber E-Learning Community program? 1.What are the challenges? 2.Recommendations for program improvement?

Methodology Online student survey 24 responses from 300 potential students (8% response rate) Online interviews 1 – Principal 2 – Online teachers 4 – Students 7 - Mentors Site visits Chiniki Calgary Urban Online focus group

Findings

Seven Principles of Good Practice 1.encourages contact between students and teachers, 2.develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, 3.encourages active learning, 4.gives prompt feedback, 5.emphasizes time on task, 6.communicates high expectations, and 7.respects diverse talents and ways of learning. Chickering and Gamson ’ s (1987)

1. Encourage contact between students and teachers Increases motivation Increases involvement Helps students navigate rough times Increases intellectual commitment Encourages learners to think about their own values and futures

SCcyber Integration I learn new ideas and concepts in the online tutorials and then I practice them with the mentors help in the classroom (s) Almost like having two teachers for all of my courses (s) Pretty well like having a teacher right beside you all the time (s)

SCcyber Mentors - Challenge Lack of educational experience (s) Sometimes not positive relationships with all students (s) Some mentors are quite hands-off with their students and quite hands-off with the online teachers (ot)

SCcyber Mentors - Recommendation Have more than one mentor at each centre so that you can find someone whose personality you can relate to (s) More continuous training through out school year (ot)

SCcyber Online teachers - challenge Workload – online teaching can be very time intensive and demanding (ot)

SCcyber Online teachers - recommendation Having the online teachers come to each of the sites to meet their students a couple of times each year (m) Note – in May 2012 this recommendation was implemented and a PD day was set aside to visit a site location

2. Develop cooperation among students Learning increases with a team effort Learning is collaborative and social Working together increases involvement in learning Sharing ideas sharpens critical thinking

SCcyber Students - cooperation Students are able to interact and work with each other students while they are at the center (m) They get to participate in real online sessions with other students their age from other reserves. Not with younger students so they feel more comfortable with their learning (m)

SCcyber Students - centers I do lunches with my students so that it becomes more of a community. We do it for special holidays and at the end of each semester. This keeps the students engaged and makes them feel like they are part of something (m) We’ve got a lunch area and a pool table in the basement of our center where students can relax and socialize (m ) We’re not in the main school so the students feel like they are not going to the regular high school. The students are older and this building feels more like their place – not a traditional school with younger children (m) They actually have their own Students Council – so there is some form of community and opportunity to socialize (m)

SCcyber Student - recommendations More face-to-face group work – there are lots of students in my online class but for me it seems easier to work in a face-to-face group (s) Mentor - recommendations Develop a mechanism where mentors could have some input about common student learning issues or problems. I think this would help improve parts of some of the online courses (m)

3. Encourage active learning Listening only does not produce deep learning Learning deepens when students – discuss the learning – write about the learning – relate the topic to past experiences – apply new learning to daily life

SCcyber Learning The students are learning so many key life skills through this program such as time management, money management, public relations skills, online and face-to-face communication skills (m) The students are learning important technology life skills through their studies – searching, word processing, spreadsheets. They receive one CTS credit for doing the online orientation to the program which is an introductory computer skills module (ot)

SCcyber Challenges - technology Some of the older students initially find the technology to be a barrier – they lack the previous experience and they panic when they encounter logon or tool problems – they sometimes wish they could just use pen and paper and fax in their work (ot) Slow Internet connection – really impacts students ability to view the recorded tutorial sessions (m)

SCcyber Challenges - technology Sometimes students forget where they saved their work – on the network or on the computer. After students make a few mistakes, they don’t make them again (m) Wide open access to the Internet. I have found that some students become sidetracked very easily – such as going on YouTube (m)

SCcyber Recommendations - technology Have all the sites running the same level of technology – older sites have older computers while newer sites have newer computers (ot) Mandatory that all students complete the online orientation module BEFORE they begin their academic studies – reduce anxiety and frustration and level the playing field (ot) More on-ground technical assistance – some sites are very isolated while others are right in the middle of Calgary (ot)

4. Give prompt feedback Knowing what you know/don’t know focuses learning Students need feedback on performance – Before they start to learn – During the learning – After they finish the learning Reflection is critical to learning

SCcyber Students The students all have access to their grades online, which is updated every Monday morning. So the students know from Monday to Monday if they are passing or failing a course (m)

SCcyber Integration If I have a question – immediate feedback from either the mentor or online teacher (s) Every Monday I get a report from the online teachers about each student’s progress. It contains two columns – an average for assignments completed and an average for all assignments, including the ones not completed. I then add my comments to the report and it to the student. I then sit down and review the report with each student each week (m)

5. Emphasize time on task Time + energy = learning Students need to learn time management skills – For learning – For careers – For life Teachers need to manage course timelines to facilitate learning

SCcyber Computer-based learning Focus on learning not on classroom “drama” – not based on your personality like a normal school (s) When I’m on the computer – I’m focused on just learning not worrying about getting along with other students or teachers (s)

SCcyber Learning Centers Safe and quiet place to learn – not like my home (s) A quiet and safe place to work – I really work hard to make sure there are no distractions (m) They can work at their own pace. They get their headsets on and they just focus on their learning. They don’t worry about other people in the room or any other distractions (m)

6. Communicate high expectations Expecting more means you will get more Expecting less is a self-fulfilling prophecy

SCcyber Each of our centers has a Wall of Success – where student accomplishments are posted and profiled (m) All the support makes me want to step up my game and graduate from high school (s) Constantly monitoring of where students are at and what they need help with (m) Deadlines, real online teachers to talk to and get help and encouragement. Much more motivating that just using workbooks on your own (m)

7. Respect diverse talents and ways of learning People learn differently – reading, listening, doing People have different strengths – musicians, athletes, scholars People relate learning to their own experiences Learning in new ways is easier when the learner feels valued

SCcyber Online Sessions We can communicate either by speaking or texting – depending on how comfortable we feel (s) Online learning is easier and more environmentally friendly – not a lot of paper (s)

SCcyber Self -pacing Live tutorial sessions are recorded and archived so students can play them again at their own pace and location – at the center or at home (ot) The recorded sessions are really helpful because sometimes I forget important points or ideas (s)

SCcyber Flexibility This program takes the best of face-to-face and online learning to provide flexibility and alternative learning pathways for our students. SCcyber is more that just passing or failing our students. We actually want our students to learn and understand what they are being taught – to take ownership of their learning (m) Flexibility for students like myself who are single parents with children under the age of 12. I could still log on from home and continue my studies. I let the mentor know that I was sick but could still connect with the online teachers. If it wasn’t for this flexibility I would probably not have graduated with my Grade 12 diploma (m)

SCcyber Challenges Direct correlation between student attendance in the live sessions and student success in a course (ot)

If students learn to make education a priority they are going to succeed in life (m)

SCcyber Numerous awards and recognition for the E-Learning Community Program Potential to expand this program throughout Canada with support from the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and the Assembly of First Nations

Contact Information Mr. Martin Sacher, Chief Executive Officer SCcyber E-Learning Community Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada Ms. Mavis Sacher, Principal SCcyber E-learning Community Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada Dr. Norman Vaughan, Professor Department of Education & Schooling Mount Royal University Calgary, Alberta, Canada