Have U seen the new DLC?

It’s not a house.  It’s not a hospital.  It’s not a figment of your imagination.  The large, beautiful Mindful Grey and white building that now stands to the south of Kenaston School is in fact the new Sun West School Division’s Distance Learning Centre.  This 15,000 square foot facility is well on track to be completed by December 2015 at which time the school’s 40 employees, which include an amazing team of teachers and support staff, will move in.  Offices, recording studios, packing and shipping facilities and a variety of multi-teacher open concept work spaces span the two floors.  “At the moment, we have some teachers working from Kenaston School and some at the curling rink. We are all looking forward to having the whole team under one roof!  At the same time we can give Kenaston staff and students their school back,” said DLC Principal Jade Ballek. 

And while DLC teachers are patiently waiting for construction to wrap up, they are busy responding to current distance education demand.   “We have over 115 courses registered for the 2015-16 school year which represents over 2500 students across Saskatchewan.   About 500 of those students reside in Sun West School Division while the others are learners from outside the region that are looking for educational opportunities not currently available to them at home,” said Ballek.  “We’ve grown 75% over last year and that’s really exciting for us.”  .....Continued next column

So What Does a DLC Teacher Do? 

In this new type of learning environment, a teacher’s role varies considerably from one who teaches in a classroom, face-to-face with students.  Because many of the courses in demand don’t exist in an online-compatible format – or sometimes they don’t exist at all – educators at the DLC are responsible for both the development of course content and delivery of those classes to their students.  Development activities may include editing, merging and/or transferring existing content onto the school’s content software, Moodle.  It may also mean crafting language, creating videos and building entire courses from scratch.  “Developing is different than face to face teaching; we have to think outside the box in order to keep things fresh and engaging,” said Melanie Kerpan who, after 33 years of teaching in Kenaston School, has spent the last 5 working at the DLC.  “Developing courses for learners at a distance is an exciting, creative challenge with a huge learning curve!  And I love it!” 

Once built, the course is housed on Moodle, a portal from which each distance learner can access their registered courses, read or print off relevant materials and watch educational videos. Because online learning is very much student-driven and each student works at his/her own pace, the teacher’s core responsibility is to be accessible and attentive when questions arise. At that time, the teacher and student can communicate using Skype, phone, or email and together work towards a solution.  

As per usual, the teacher is also responsible for assessing, marking and providing feedback to students about their work. 

And What’s Different for the Student?

As for the distance learner, they too must be prepared for change in the learning environment; there’s a different style and pace of learning that some are better equipped to deal with than others. Some students want to work faster than the typical classroom pace while others, due to any number of environmental, social or personal reasons, may work at a slower pace. Regardless of speed, distance students must be self-starters and must function well in independent situations. If students are part of a school in another Sun West division, they will work on their distance courses during the normal school day and in a designated distance learning space at their school; a trained Educational Assistant helps them schedule and submit their work, and assists in reaching out to the teacher for content related questions.  Students not registered with Sun West must self-identify the times and places that work for them. 

Who is Leading This Team? 

Because it is a separate institution with over 115 different courses, a non-traditional delivery mechanism, a host of educators and a totally different student base, the DLC has its own team of administrators to lead them on this exciting journey. 

Jade Ballek - Jade has worked with curriculum, assessment, instruction, and technology infusion for over 20 years, having been a classroom teacher, lead technology teacher, Learning Coach, Learning Consultant, and is currently Principal of the Sun West Distance Learning Centre. Jade received her Master’s in Education: Educational Technology and Design from the University of Saskatchewan and since, has been very involved in online learning. In past years, she has supported initiatives throughout the Sun West School Division, including the implementation of a blended learning action plan during the 2014-15 school year.  Jade and her husband raised four children in the Outlook area.  She is also the brains behind the viral twitter activity “Hashtags on Lunch Bags” and #SaskatchewanFarmWife.

Aaron Biberdorf – Aaron has worked at Kenaston School for the past 8 years.  He began teaching senior sciences and eventually became the Vice-Principal of Kenaston School and the DLC three years ago.  Currently, Aaron teaches Computer Science 20 with an emphasis on programming video games.  He has been an actor in the Kenaston Dinner Theatre for 6 years and played various roles like the waiter Cary DeMille and the barber Bob Burr. Aaron and his wife, Brittany, have two children, Ian (2 yrs) and Louisa (4 mo.).

Kurtis Heath - Kurtis Heath has been a teacher at the Kenaston School for 16 years, and Vice-Principal of the Distance Learning Centre for the past two years. He has coached Volleyball for most of his time here.  Kurtis, his wife, and three children live in Saskatoon.

Kimberley Johnson - Kim is no stranger to Kenaston and the Sun West Distance Learning Centre, having been a teacher here since the Fall of 1989.  Kim and her husband farm in the Hawarden area and their four children attended school in Kenaston. What is new is her role as Vice-Principal in the DLC, supporting teachers and learners in the K-6 area. “My new position has involved transitions and challenges but a strong Admin team and staff have assisted in the process,” says Kim. “The DLC is an exciting and vibrant workplace and I feel privileged to be a part of it.”

Visit www.sunwestdlc.ca and click on the Staff tab for a complete list of DLC teachers.

All DLC articles and news items are also posted on the Kenaston website: school page.