The use of distance education by post-secondary institutions, and even primary and secondary schools, to provide learning opportunities to students in rural and remote communities has been commonplace in Canada for many decades. This reality has been particularly true for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The province, which has both an island portion and a mainland portion, has a total area of approximately 405,000 square kilometres and a population of a little more than 500,000 people. Although about half of the population resides within a 150-kilometre radius of the provincial capital, St. John's, the remainder of the province is sparsely populated. Similar to many rural jurisdictions, educational bodies in Newfoundland and Labrador have long made use of distance education as a way to provide equitable educational opportunities for their students.
展开▼
