TVO ILC (Independent Learning Centre) is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and the exclusive provider of

General Educational Development The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

(GED) Testing in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. TVO ILC has a mandate from the

Ontario Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education is the ministry of the Government of Ontario responsible for government policy, funding, curriculum planning and direction in all levels of public education, including elementary and secondary schools. The ministry is re ...

to provide: an alternative source of

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 The Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) is a diploma granted to secondary school graduates in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is part of the publicly-funded province-wide school system. It is awarded to all students who complete the On ...

(OSSD), technology-enhanced education using new media to deliver online learning resources and facilitate student support in a

blended learning Norm Friesen (born March 21, 1966) is Professor in Educational Technology at Boise State University. Norm Friesen studied German Literature, Secondary Education, and Communication at the Johns Hopkins University, University of Alberta and Simon Fr ...

format and GED Testing.Mandate - ILC.org
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Service model

Courses

TVO ILC offers Ontario Ministry of Education approved distance education courses including high-school credit courses listed in the e-guide, credit and non-credit courses in

English as a Second Language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...

(ESL). 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 The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT; french: test provincial de compétences linguistiques or TPCL) is a compulsory standardized test for secondary school students in Ontario who wish to obtain the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. F ...

and community involvement activities.Service Model - ILC.org
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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 Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

and

critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...

skills. TVO ILC administers GED Testing at locations around Ontario.

Educational services

TVO 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.

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, Education category, Interactive Media Awards.Interactive Media Council, Inc. The Awards - Overview
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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 Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

. A "Railway School Car Program" serving children in isolated areas but along railway lines was also established that year. "the teacher and his family lived on the train car, which was part of

CP Rail The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

... They went from stop to stop, teaching the children of miners and loggers who lived in communities along the railway tracks."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 The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', November 18, 2004. 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. On April 1, 2002, the ILC was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the

Ontario Educational Communications Authority TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in To ...

which also operates

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

. In recent years TVO 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.Carol Goar, "Secret education success story", ''Toronto Star'', July 19, 2006.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Homeschooling Distance education institutions based in Canada TVOntario Educational organizations based in Ontario Alternative education 1926 establishments in Ontario Educational institutions established in 1926