Clare T.
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| Bobby, a Journalism 25 student at Western Canada High School, listens intently as Minister Johnson fields questions from students around Alberta. |
On May 7th, 2013 the Government of Alberta hosted a teleconference call with over 100 middle and high schools across the province. The conference provided students studying Journalism the opportunity to question Premier Alison Redford and Minister of Education Jeff Johnson, about changes coming to the Alberta education system.
Throughout the conference, Premier Redford emphasized the importance of developing an education system which gives students every opportunity to succeed. The project of transferring diploma exams to a virtual format, which starts this coming fall and is expected to be completed come the year 2017, will personalize learning and allow students the flexibility to achieve success in school.
One of the benefits of online diplomas, advertised by Minister Johnson, is the ability to accommodate all kinds of learners. As of next year, diploma exams will be offered more frequently and eventually on command, allowing students to learn at their own pace. Additionally, because diploma exams taken online will be transferred directly from students to teacher, Minister Johnson claims that the speed of the mark turnaround will increase, resulting in a more effective examination system that that which currently exists.
Though neither Minster Johnson nor Premier Redford gave a solid explanation of how the security of online diploma exams will be monitored, they shared that numerous technological experts are involved in the project of transforming the diploma exams and promised to “invest great time, effort, and money to ensure the integrity of the system.”
With the goal of personalized learning in mind, Minister Johnson ensured that students will still have the ability to write hard-copy diploma exams, and that rewrites will still be available to students at a potentially lower cost.
Recent budget cuts to Alberta’s education system were mentioned briefly during the press conference. Minister Johnson expressed regret over the budget cuts but explained that the government is working hard to maintain the sustainability of the education system despite these financial setbacks. He expressed that the cuts are being focused on unnecessary areas of funding, not directly connected to the instruction system, to make sure that students continue to receive high quality learning. Despite the recent budget cuts, Minister Johnson stressed that Alberta places one of the highest values on education in North America.
Premier Redford and Minister Johnson stressed that technology is the key to achieving the government of Alberta’s vision of a personalized learning system.
“The way we use technology is going to be critical for our education system moving forward,” Minister Johnson shared. “There is a big push to not just use technology as a tool for teaching, but to integrate it into day-to-day learning so that it becomes second nature.”
The Alberta government asserts that their motivation behind all coming changes, including converting diploma exams into an online format, is to build an education system that reflects the way Alberta students live their lives, and to therefore educate in a way which is technologically-oriented and hands-on.
