Students in rural and northern Saskatchewan can look forward to better learning opportunities through the possibilities of the Internet, say two reports from the Southeast Education Project released in Weyburn on Dec. 17.

The reports, issued at a press conference from the Southeast Education Foundation, discuss the recent success stories of a massive three-year undertaking from Southeast Regional College, the Southeast Education Foundation, the University of Regina, Estevan Comprehensive School, Weyburn Comprehensive School, Torquay School, Fillmore School, SaskTel and Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN). The undertaking marks a pivotal point for rural education and puts Saskatchewan on the cutting edge of educational technologies.

"The purpose of the project was to enhance post-secondary and secondary distance education learning opportunities in southeastern Saskatchewan and throughout the province," said Southeast Education Foundation executive director Sherry Leach. "While distance education is not new to Saskatchewan, the use of web-based technology for the development and delivery of distance education is."

The $2 million project involved the development and delivery of multimedia, web-based courses and instructor training and support. The two reports are separated by educational level. There is one report for secondary school projects and another for post-secondary components. Both reports describe how this distance education model worked in the southeast area and how the Internet could be used elsewhere in the province and other parts of the country to enhance the learning experience.

"This project did not start with the government," said Southeast Regional College president Art Whetstone. "This project started with the local schools and the college and was originally funded locally. The government came into the picture later. What this shows is that if you have the will, you can make things happen."

At the high school level, two courses, Communication Production Technology (CPT 20) and Media Studies 20, were created for web-based distribution to students in Estevan, Weyburn, Fillmore, Oxbow and Torquay. Additionally, two post-secondary courses, Art History 100 and Women's Studies 380, were developed and delivered by instructors and staff at the University of Regina. These courses were administered online to Southeast Regional College students in Weyburn and Estevan, as well as regional college centres in Swift Current and Yorkton.

"The Women's Studies program was the first time we had ever tried video conferencing over the Internet," noted Brian Campbell, from the University of Regina. "It gave the teachers and students a chance to interact amongst each other. Our students appreciated the interactivity. Our other course, Art History was executed totally online."

"There were some technical challenges at the beginning, but at the end of the day, all our students said they'd come back for more. We're consequently developing more courses like this."

Weyburn Secondary School graduates Aaron Young and Vicki Jones have been contracted to create and maintain the Entrepreneurship 30 model for one year through a grant from Sask Ed. The duo participated in the first course offered by the project and have taken their knowledge from that experience and applied it to creating the current program.

"I participated in the very first pilot project, which was Communication Production Technology," Young said. "It was an interesting experience. Some things were good, but there were more bad things that happened just because it was the first one. Obviously we learned some things from that experience, which we've made better and applied to what we're doing today."

The Southeast Distance Education Project has developed a cost-effective, high quality distance education model, which provides greater access to on-line courses in rural and northern Saskatchewan. The organizers behind this model project are hoping the information will encourage new learning opportunities and help enhance and enrich student learning throughout the province.