The Rural Voice, 2003-06, Page 58AgriTech
Learning through the internet
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton, ON.
Even after spending more than
five and a half years in university, I
still get the urge occasionally to take
a few courses, attend a class, update
my skills or learn something new.
Though formal classes require one to
begin in September or January and
night courses through continuing
education often run in the evening
throughout the winter — not the best
time to do superfluous traveling in
many areas of this province — there
is an option which allows flexibility
in study time and no additional hours
on the road.
E -learning and distance education
are ideas that are growing in popular-
ity with educational facilities —they
don't need extra teachers or class-
rooms — as well as adult students as
they can work around jobs and family.
The University of Guelph, through
the Independent Study/@access has
two styles of programs that meet this
need. The e -learning programs cover
landscaping, horticulture, turf and
golf, woody plants and animal care.
While many are strictly on-line,
others provide videos and/or CDs
containing course material.
The e -diploma in horticulture
offered by the university is unique in
North America. Information can be
found at horticultureonline.net or
www.landscapehorticulture.net.
The turf and golf course, operated
with approval from the Golf
Management Institute of Canada, is a
10 -core course program with cert-
ification at completion. Further details
are located at i-studygolfonline.net.
Other courses offered through
print material and video -CD-ROM
supplements include additional
landscape and horticultural choices
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plus professional development, on-
farm equipment and practices, soils
and crops, turfs and parks, food
production and processing and
livestock management. There are also
courses on animal care, ornamental
horticulture and plant protection.
For those in the business of
advising others, a certified crop
service consultant designation can be
acquired. The program is run in
conjunction with the University of
Saskatchewan with the co-operation
of CropLife Canada. Curriculum
details and requirements can be found
at www.uoguelph.ca/istudy.
Requirements for the on-line courses
include a Pentium processor,
Window 95, 98, ME, XP, 2000 or
NT, (which covers just about every
Microsoft user), 2MB video RAM,
64MB RAM, CD-ROM drive, 16-bit
sound card and speaker, super VGA
screen display with 800x600
resolution, Explorer 5 and Acrobat
Reader 4. Mac users are advised to
inquire before purchasing a course.
For all e -learning and distance
education programs where the sub-
mission of assignments is a compon-
ent, an internet and e-mail is required.
These classes may be used as credits
towards diplomas and certificates
outlined on the university site.
Courses may also be taken simply
for personal interest with no
requirement for assignment
submissions (and a lower fee).
One aspect I found great for those
with general interests or involved
with community horticultural or
environmental organizations was that
many of the teaching videos can be
purchased for public use. These
include selections such as Natural-
izing the Environment that looks at
ecological restoration and conserving
the rural landscape, Caring for
Woodlots, Training the Pleasure
Horse or Honeybees and Beekeeping.
Prices for the individual courses or
videos are listed online and
registration can be completed over
the internet, by fax, mail or phone.
The University of Guelph i -study
website can be accessed to request a
catalogue of courses.
Contact me at jlbecker@wightman.ca
with topic suggestions or feedback.0
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