Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
Athabasca University, AU, is Canada's open and online public university, with over 38,000 students from all provinces and territories, and in over 100 countries around the world. Key to the strategy outlined in Athabasca University's written submission to the committee is a recognition of the increasing economic importance of intangible capital investment in the knowledge-based global economy.
Creation, transfer, and dissemination of knowledge is the cornerstone of this digital economy. Technology-enhanced learning can help all individuals engage as full participants.
While the digital divide has been commonly described as an access to bandwidth issue, the new digital divide is more about the gaps in the technical and other skills necessary to participate fully in this economy. At an intermediate level, digital literacy includes the knowledge, skills, and awareness needed to use ICTs to improve private and public sector efficiency and productivity. At an advanced digital literacy level, what's included is the knowledge, skills, and awareness needed to develop ICT infrastructure, products, and services, and the creation of content for digital media.
It should not be surprising to us that an online learning environment is ideally suited to facilitate digital literacy. Online, including blended learning courses and programs, provides learners with the same skill set required for employment today and for early adoption of emergent technologies and applications in the future. Why? Because an online learning environment uses the same tools that are needed to increase workplace efficiency, collaboration, innovation, and productivity.
It has been stated that half of the productivity gap between Canada and the U.S. can be attributed to Canada's lower digital literacy. A national lifelong learning strategy should be considered and must include a strong digital literacy component to lay the groundwork and to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for innovation in the knowledge economy.
Government, K to 12, post-secondary, employers, professional associations, and community groups need to work together to increase the number of Canadians with the skills necessary for participation. These skills include the ability to think, work, and learn online both traditional literacy competencies and the processing, collaboration, and media literacy tools that collectively prepare people for technology adoption and integration in their lives.
E-learning can also play an important role in supporting new Canadians, many of whom need language training, professional upgrading, or workplace training. By way of a very specific example, Athabasca University, in partnership with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, will be very soon launching Canada's first online architectural program. This program will meet the needs of foreign-trained architects as well as new entrants to the profession. The program will be supported by online courses, and virtual tools such as a virtual studio will be part of the ICT infrastructure capital needs for this program.
I would like to mention another important component of our written submission, and that is the need for an increased focus on aboriginal learning opportunities. There is great potential for e-learning and blended learning in addressing community education, health and well-being, and employment goals, as well as digital literacy goals. Initiatives, though, must be collaboratively planned and implemented and should include a culturally appropriate e-learning readiness program.
E-learning allows individuals to access learning opportunities from their communities. Properly implemented, it has great potential for activities such as incubation of aboriginal business, support of governance initiatives, and increasing public awareness of health issues across the country.
With the support of the Alberta government, AU is currently working with its partners in aboriginal communities and other rural and remote communities on the implementation of a learning community initiative that utilizes e-learning.