LEARN, an educational foundation supported by funding from the Quebec-Canada Entente for Minority Language Education, leads the charge when it comes to Wimba and other instructional technologies. LEARN offers e-learning services and support to all of Quebec’s English school boards, private schools, community organizations and the private sector in rural and urban settings within the province.
One of LEARN’s most popular programs is its Online Tutorials and Homework Help project, during which teachers offer online tutorials as well as exam preparation at the end of each semester in all subject areas. Via Wimba Classroom, experienced teachers from around the province help students with their homework and exam preparation at different intervals throughout the school year. While a teacher might be logged in from Shawville, his or her student may be logged in from anywhere throughout Quebec.
Three nights a week, teachers are online for two hours per night, and in the Fall of 2007, 900 students registered for this program. The students represented all grades from elementary to grade 11. Elementary school teachers met with five or six students a night, three nights per week. “That’s a huge plus for our students and our community,” Tim Scobie says. “ Students and parents in the elementary sector can login to get help with student homework”.