KORI

INAC officials from across Canada were briefed on the on-going work of the Regional Management Organizations (RMO) of First Nations SchoolNet... INAC's Suzanne Lebeau facilitated the on-line gathering with technical support from K-Net Services... Ms. Lebeau began the event asking the question, "how does adequate connectivity and Information Technology (IT) impact on E-learning?"  Answers were provided from coast to coast by a host of community-based educators and fellow travelers who have developed a series of best practices and lessons learned on First Nations connectivity, telecommunications and community-based applications in education…“Connectivity is critical for e-learning capacity,” said Kevin Burton, the facilitator of the Atlantic Help Desk.  He said that without adequate connectivity the training and video conferences hosted by his region could never have happened.Quebec’s Tim Whiteduck agreed and said access to broadband is not enough unless it’s a big enough pipe to provide a host of applications including IP telehealth.  “Our experience in supporting the communities with T1 impacts on what applications we can provide,” he said.  He said fiber connections mean equitable access.Brian Beaton, K-Net Coordinator said that e-learning is an important capacity enabler.  “This means being able to create and use applications in the communities,” he said.  “It’s critical.”Saskatchewan’s Randy Johns says adequate connectivity in First Nations schools is a great equalizer.  He said Community schools don’t have the resources that city schools take for granted.  Some First Nation school libraries have only a few dozen books, he said.  “The First Nations schools depend on the connections,” he said.Brian Walmark, the director of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) says the RMO model provides the opportunity for communities to develop local solutions to local challenges and a vehicle for sharing of lessons learned and best practices with other First Nations across the country.INAC officials heard a variety of presentations from the principals of First Nations digital schools across Canada, including the Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS), Credenda and Masinahkana School as well as First Nations educators and curriculum writers.The dialogue was available on streaming video and will be archived for future reference.This video conference was the second in a series of three briefing for INAC officials on the opportunities created at the community if adequate broadband, training and applications are available at the community level.

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