eCampusOntario is a provincially-funded non-profit organization that leads a consortium of Ontario’s publicly-funded colleges, universities and Indigenous institutes to develop and test online learning tools to advance the use of education technology and digital learning environments.[1]
Online Portal
In 2015 the organization launched its website, which was built around an online course portal.[2] The portal exists to help Internet users locate and browse the online and technology-enabled courses and programs on offer by Ontario’s 45 public post-secondary institutions.[3]
Open Textbook Library
In 2016, the organization released an online Open Textbook Library, developed in collaboration with BCcampus and Ryerson University.[4] The library contains free open textbooks that are available for public use. Some of the textbooks are aligned with Ontario post-secondary courses.[5]
Educational Technology Sandbox
eCampusOntario also maintains an Educational Technology Sandbox, an online environment that allows select member institutions the opportunity to explore and test new tools that support technology-enabled teaching and learning. These include an Open Badging initiative, an experiential learning platform called Riipen, and a Virtual Reality Lab platform developed by a company called Labster.[6]
Organizational Funds
eCampusOntario also funds the development of educational research, eLearning resources and online and technology-enabled courses. It has three major funds: the Open Content Fund, the Program Development Fund,[7] and the Research and Innovation Fund.[8] A total of $17.7M in funding was awarded to institutions and educators during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 fiscal years.[9]