Hello! This is the first e-newsletter for Together at a Distance: The Pan-Arctic E-Learning Project. You have been sent the newsletter because you may have an interest in the project or provided us with a letter of support for our original proposal.

Together at a Distance is funded by the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program (ALLESP) of Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The Nunavut Department of Education devised, manages and provides substantial in-kind funding.

E-learning (or learning which is facilitated by digital tools and content) has the potential to provide a wide range of rich learning opportunities especially for those who live in remote areas. The purpose of Together at a Distance is to provide foundational supports for e-learning in the Canadian Pan-Arctic.The pieces of the project will be:

• Six on-line workshops: What is E-Learning? How to be an E-Learner, How to Facilitate E-Learning, How to be an E-Teacher, How to Adapt an E-Course or Workshop for Northern Learners, How to Design an E-Course or Workshop
• A Pan-Arctic E-Learning Portal which leads to e-learning resources and a bank of on-line learning opportunities suitable for northern learners
• A formal research component which examines the needs and preferences of northern learners with regards to e-learning.

The first workshop (What is E-Learning?) is completed in draft and is being piloted.If you would like to have a look please follow the Pan-Arctic E-Learning link on this page.

You'll see the characters who appear in What is E-Learning? across the bottom of this page. Each of these characters introduces some aspect of e-learning and they will re-appear in the remaining workshops. We believe that it is important to personalize the learning in this project so that users will feel that people like themselves are engaged in e-learning.

We are most fortunate to be working with the development team at Points North Design Services for the remaining five workshops. They are Collene Armstrong, Dr. Doug MacLachlan and Dr. Elizabeth Childs. We are also delighted to have as our project evaluator (soon to be Dr. ) Terri MacDonald of Perception Research and Consulting.

Please feel free to contact us at the link provided if you have any questions.