My Jedi-Level Qualifications

I have all the credentials one would expect in a virtual learning consultant—an M. Ed with a specialty in distance education, a Public Policy and Public Management business degree, and over 20 years of experience in building and launching successful online education and training programs globally. 

But that’s not what makes me unique…

The Secret Sauce: Uncovering What Makes Online Learning Sensational

From the moment I walked into my first university classroom, I became fascinated with the number of things I could learn in this new world of post-secondary education. Suddenly I was in a place with so much knowledge that my thirst for the new could never be quenched.

Then, as the journey goes for most, I discovered that not all classroom experiences were created equal. I’ve taken courses that were simply knock-your-socks-off, engaging with instructors who are still memorable to me today. While other courses delivering similar knowledge and concepts were quite frankly underwhelming.

I became fascinated by the stark contrast between the two in elearning. What makes one online course feel like a chore to complete while the experience in another is engaging and memorable?

So, being the curious entrepreneur that I am, I set out to uncover the inner workings of what truly makes an education and training program sensational. What’s the secret sauce? This pursuit has become my passion and the basis for my books and work with organizations today. Through extensive research and experience, I’ve uncovered a treasure trove of strategies and insights that help elevate education and training programs to new heights and help them achieve success.

From Puzzle Solving to Tech Savvy Educator

As a kid, I was always fascinated and immersed in puzzles and books. Whether it was learning to solve the rubrics cube when it first came out, or how to strategically gain Monopoly properties to kick my family’s butt, I would spend hours mastering solutions. My grandparents constantly gave me puzzles to solve and were amazed by my ability to rapidly see the patterns and connections that others couldn’t.

As I got older, I dove headfirst into the world of education, a place where there was always something new to learn and solutions to create. After graduating with my undergraduate degree in education, my very first position was not in a classroom teaching students, but with the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), helping schools and teachers find innovative ways to bring technology into their classrooms. This role was so much fun! I worked with teachers at 6 or 7 schools four days a week and then spent all day on Fridays at the school board learning to use exciting emerging technologies. I could not believe they paid me to do this!

Fast forward a few years, and I was given the incredible opportunity to work with a school principal who was also a visionary (yes, I’m speaking of you, Mr. Neil Yorke-Slader). I then built the first online learning course for my school board to be offered in a regular daytime school program. One course soon became three as students flocked toward adding a new and engaging course option to their regular timetables. So exciting!

Breaking up With Bureaucracy

In 2002, I became frustrated with the ongoing red tape in government funding models for our online courses in the public system. Rules such as students from other schools could not enroll in our school’s online program (it was prohibitive for them to attend two school programs simultaneously). Even if the student had special learning needs, which an online program option could help accommodate, they were denied access.

No policies or guidelines were yet developed for the type of learning we were pioneering, and officials were undecided about whether we should be permitted to offer virtual learning courses. The result was that one branch of the Ministry of Education would approve us offering this new option for learning, and then the day before the courses were scheduled to launch, another would cancel all funding for the program.

Canceling was not an option—I was already on a mission. I found that learning to build virtual education programs and classrooms was beyond fascinating to me. So many learners needed this option -those living in remote communities without access to special interest courses, adult learners who worked during the day, and learners missing only one credit their local school wasn’t offering to qualify for university entrance. Most compellingly, learners who could not keep pace with the speed at which some difficult courses were taught in the regular classroom. When given a slower pace in the virtual classroom to master concepts before proceeding to the next, they went from failing courses to absolute success. People needed this new education option—but the bureaucracy was not yet ready. So how?

The Edupreneur: I Don’t Believe in Can’t, so Let’s Get Creative with How

I dove deeply into my BHAG bucket (big hairy audacious goals), and in 2002 I launched the very first private accredited 100% virtual learning program for high school students in Ottawa, Canada. The program’s goal was to provide high school students access to credit courses their local schools could not offer. I initially conducted operations from my home office, and we offered only four courses online to students. The program was so successful that several years later, it grew into a second international school offering over 75 high school credit courses online.

To be clear, this was not a smooth journey, and pioneering never is. There were plenty of challenges along the way – funding problems, bureaucratic roadblocks, and the occasional naysayer who didn’t believe in what I was doing.

Since the existence of private accredited virtual schools was practically obsolete at that time, I had to comply with all the government rules and requirements for face-to-face classrooms.  I had to develop a policy for administering medication to students even though I would never perform such a task as our classroom world was virtual. I wrote it and checked the box. The public student database and report card system wouldn’t accommodate virtual learning students who did not have fixed course start and end dates, so we built new ones.

Fourteen years later, both schools were acquired by one of Canada’s largest international boarding schools.