Children respond enthusiastically to online learning
TORONTO (September 3, 2007)–“Let’s go to the Ex!” has long been the jingle encouraging turnout to one of the most highly attended annual fairs in North America. So when the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) celebrated its 129th anniversary, Linkonlearning joined the 1.3 million attendees and showcased its online elementary school programs and customized e-Learning solutions at Canada’s largest fair.
“There was tremendous interest in the curriculum by home schooling groups and families and by parents seeking to improve their children’s marks through supplemental learning,” said Joel Lojko, who is the online education and training specialist at Linkonlearning.
Parents and children were given the chance to try out all aspects of the online program, including lessons, educational games and recess. Linkonlearning also encouraged literacy by giving parents and children free books donated by parents for the Linkonlearning Book Recycling Event.
Children were the biggest fans of the LinkonLearning booth which was set up in the Direct Energy Centre, Canada’s largest trade show facility.
“It was worth bringing Linkonlearning to the Ex just to see their reactions,” Lojko said. “Their faces lit up. They loved the program. They didn’t want to leave the booth.”
That’s not surprising since the Linkonlearning K-8 material has been carefully developed over a period of 11 years with the help of thousands of experienced educators, topnotch technologists and program developers, and, of course, the end-users—K-8 students.
Parents liked the fact that they can see a full picture of a student’s strengths and weaknesses through real-time reports. Because the program is assessment and diagnostic-based, parents can login to their own account anytime of the day to see what their children are working on and how well they are doing.
Parents can tweak a child’s program as patterns immerge. A student, for example, can be enrolled in Grade 6 Advanced Math, Grade 5 Beginner English and Grade 4 Spelling.
“It’s all about building foundations,” Lojko said.
But parents and children were not the only ones interested in Linkonlearning. People quickly realized that Linkonlearning offered corporate clients customized e-Learning solutions as well.
“The CNE has always been the place where products have been showcased and new inventions introduced,” Janice Frohlich, the president of Linkonlearning said. “In fact, it is a kind of ‘summer central’ for all kinds of consumers.
“This community celebration is such an exciting way for families with children to learn about new technologies while having fun. It was the logical place to unveil the growth and redesign of our website that now encompasses customizable corporate training and learning management systems.”
This long-established, 18-day tradition, proved to be a perfect fit for Linkonlearning, Lojko said. Generations of families have been entertained with its unique variety of exhibits, midway rides and games, shopping, food and more. It was a creative way to reach a large audience, he said.
Established over a decade ago, Linkonlearning provides online education and training solutions using Internet-based software and curriculum. Founded as one of North America’s first virtual schools, Linkonlearning provides education and training to students around the world. Linkonlearning offers over 10,000 Internet-based lessons for pre-kindergarten to 8th grade, accredited online high school courses, site licences, customized online curriculum, and training and testing to students, schools, institutions, companies and government.
