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November 1, 2007
Internet and Education in Canada
The October 2007 issue of Statistics Canada’s publication Education Matters looks at how the Internet is being used by Canadians, especially the impact of distance learning. Although the data is from late 2005 (and I am positive things have progressed), it still contains some startling insights and data. I am particularly interested that rural Canadians are higher users of distance ed - even though that's somewhat intuitive - but we often think of rural connectivity militating against this.
Learning online: Factors associated with use of the Internet for education purposes
Larry McKeown and Cathy Underhill
Science, Innovation and Electronic Information Division, Statistics Canada
Contents:
- From access to impacts
- Many Canadians using the Internet for a variety of reasons
- Who is going online for educational purposes?
- Education users more engaged
- Research, the most common education-related use
"Summary:
The Internet has fundamentally altered the way many Canadians conduct everyday activities. During 2005, just over one-quarter (26%) of adult Canadians, an estimated 6.4 million, went online for education, training or school work. As expected, younger persons and students were more apt to report this type of use. Urban residents were also more likely than their rural and small town counterparts to go online for education, training or school work. This may reflect, in part, the lower Internet use rate among those living in rural areas and small towns, even after taking into account other factors, including age, income and education.15
Of those Canadians who went online for education, training or school work, about two-thirds (66%) did so to research information for project assignments or for academic problems. Just over one-quarter (26%) did so for distance education, self-directed learning or correspondence courses. While residents from rural and small town areas were less likely than their urban counterparts to report going online to research assignments, they were more likely to report going online for distance education, self-directed learning or for correspondence courses.
The higher rate for distance education reported by rural and small town Canadians was driven largely by those living in communities less influenced by urban centres (i.e. weak to no MIZ). An important policy question is whether online education can help reduce potential barriers to accessing education, such as cost and distance. It appears that rural and small-town Internet users from more remote communities are in fact more apt to go online for distance education. While more definitive research on this matter is required, this finding does suggest that the Internet and its infrastructure can be harnessed as a tool to help overcome the barrier of distance in education."
There are plenty of good charts and a useful biblipgraphy.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at November 1, 2007 1:55 PM