Independent Learning Centre

The Independent Learning Centre (ILC) is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of distance education and the exclusive provider of General Educational Development (GED) Testing in Ontario.[1]

Independent Learning Centre
Address
2180 Yonge Street

Toronto
,
Ontario
,
M4T 2T1

Canada
Information
School typeDistance Education/Homeschool
MottoOntario's Designated Provider of Distance Education
Founded1926
PrincipalGabriela Kurzydlowski
Staff65
Grades9 to 12 (Secondary)
Enrollment22,000 (2014 approx.)
LanguageEnglish
French
CampusOntario
Websitewww.ilc.org

The ILC has a mandate from the Ontario Ministry of Education to provide: an alternative source of public education in English and French; services that are complementary and equivalent to public school boards such as delivering credit courses, providing student support and granting the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), technology-enhanced education using new media to deliver online learning resources and facilitate student support in a blended learning format and GED Testing.[2]

Service model

Courses

The Independent Learning Centre offers Ontario Ministry of Education approved distance education courses including high-school credit courses listed in the e-guide,[3] credit and non-credit courses in English as a Second Language (ESL).[4]

Students can earn an Ontario Secondary School Diploma upon successfully completing an ILC high school course. Courses are available in all pathways: Academic, Applied, and Open for Grades 9 and 10; College Preparation, University Preparation, Workplace Preparation, and Open for Grades 11 and 12. The ILC can help students arrange to complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and community involvement activities.[5]

GED Testing

GED Testing permits adults, aged 18 and over, who have been out of school for more than one year, and not completed high school the opportunity to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills associated with, and comparable to high school completion. To earn the GED Ontario High School Equivalency Certificate a candidate must complete a series of tests covering mathematics, science, reading, writing and critical thinking skills. The Independent Learning Centre administers GED Testing at locations around Ontario.[6]

Educational services

The ILC provides prior learning assessment and recognition advice for mature students (PLAR), to assist adult learners in acquiring credits by having their prior learning experiences, gained outside of an Ontario high school, assessed and recognized as equivalent to Ontario secondary school credits.[5]

Awards
  • 2001 Award of Excellence for Leveraging Technology to Enhance Education, Showcase Ontario Delivering IT as an Enabler Awards
  • 2005 Award of Excellence, Association for Media Technology in Education in Canada
  • 2007 Canadian New Media Award for Excellence in Education
  • 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award,[7] Education category, Interactive Media Awards.[8]

History and origins

The ILC was founded in 1926 when Ontario's Department of Education established correspondence courses for elementary school children living in isolated communities in northern Ontario. A "Railway School Car Program" serving children in isolated areas but along railway lines was also established that year.[2] "the teacher and his family lived on the train car, which was part of CP Rail... They went from stop to stop, teaching the children of miners and loggers who lived in communities along the railway tracks."[9] The programs had a common objective – to bring education to children in isolated communities.

By the 1950s, the correspondence course program had expanded to include a complete set of secondary school courses allowing for students to receive a high school diploma entirely through distance education.[2]

On April 1, 2002, the ILC was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ontario Educational Communications Authority which also operates TVOntario.[2]

In recent years the ILC has evolved its service offering to include the latest software and internet-based delivery techniques. The ILC serves approximately 20,000 Ontarians a year, and learners can do all their coursework either offline, online or a combination of both.[10]

See also

References
  1. About the Independent Learning Centre - ILC.org
  2. Mandate - ILC.org
  3. Courses - ILC.org
  4. Courses - ILC.org
  5. Service Model - ILC.org
  6. GED Testing - ILC.org
  7. Interactive Media Award certificate
  8. Interactive Media Council, Inc. The Awards - Overview
  9. Catherine Patch, "Evolution from train car to online teaching; Providing courses to students flung far and wide A path to higher education through independent study", Toronto Star, November 18, 2004.
  10. Carol Goar, "Secret education success story", Toronto Star, July 19, 2006.
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