S9-2 [47] Where do students go: A review of educational pathways for students and graduates in a four-year degree program in an Ontario college

Ontario colleges were established in 1967 to offer technical and vocational programs that would lead to certificates and diplomas for students in preparation for employment and to provide greater access to postsecondary education. Since 2000, Ontario colleges have been given degree-granting opportunities through the Post-Secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act 2000. Under the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act 2002, five colleges were renamed Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (ITAL), and have been allowed to offer up to 15% of their programming at the degree level, compared to the 5% other colleges are permitted (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities MTCU, 2018). The Honours Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership (HBECL) program was developed in consortium by three colleges in Ontario. Students can enter the four-year degree program in Year One, or in Year Three (if they have an Early Childhood Education Diploma and successfully complete the bridging program). As students often move through various programs to obtain different credentials for their educational, professional and career needs, it is important to examine the educational pathways available for students in Ontario colleges. This case study will review the HBECL program offered at an Ontario college and examine the data from student enrollment as well as the employment and educational data (such as Ontario’s key performance indicators (KPI)) for graduates over the last five years. The results will help understand the uniqueness of the college degree programs in response to the different educational and career needs of students who choose to study in Ontario colleges. The unique role that Ontario colleges play in the educational pathways for students and graduates will also be discussed.https://source.sheridancollege.ca/fahcs_books/1012/thumbnail.jp

Educational software usability: Artifact or Design?

Online educational technologies and e-learning tools are providing new opportunities for students to learn worldwide, and they continue to play an important role in anatomical sciences education. Yet, as we shift to teaching online, particularly within the anatomical sciences, it has become apparent that e-learning tool success is based on more than just user satisfaction and preliminary learning outcomes—rather it is a multidimensional construct that should be addressed from an integrated perspective. The efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction with which a user can navigate an e-learning tool is known as usability, and represents a construct which we propose can be used to quantitatively evaluate e-learning tool success. To assess the usability of an e-learning tool, usability testing should be employed during the design and development phases (i.e., prior to its release to users) as well as during its delivery (i.e., following its release to users). However, both the commercial educational software industry and individual academic developers in the anatomical sciences have overlooked the added value of additional usability testing. Reducing learner frustration and anxiety during e-learning tool use is essential in ensuring e-learning tool success, and will require a commitment on the part of the developers to engage in usability testing during all stages of an e-learning tool\u27s life cycle. Anat Sci Educ 10: 190–199. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists