Amy's Story

Amy’s Distance Education Story.
Amy started the Early Childhood diploma (ECD) program in 2004, in the high Arctic when her oldest daughter was one year old. When Amy decided to do distance courses 18 years ago, the program was run very “old school.” Back then, the courses were based on textbooks, sent by the college, and three-hour weekly telephone calls with the instructor. The three-hour teleconference classes were used to cover weekly materials. Students were expected to read weekly material and were assigned essays to write instead of homework. Final exams had to be invigilated at the local school. Amy says, “When I first started [the program] was very textbook. It was all over the phone and I was in (a high Arctic community) at the time and I was way more isolated than I am now. Sometimes I didn't have a phone. So, I'm happy that things have changed.” Amy says the program has progressed: “I remember once they had to do a test of some sort. So, they had to work it out with the school in (a high Arctic community) and the teachers to help monitor me through this… test. It was just a lot of … hoops and obstacles and I like that there's no test [in the current program]. I can't remember the course that was, I just remember having to deal with logistically figuring out how I can take this exam. I like that there's no exams.” [Also, in 2004] it was a different program so courses weren’t offered as frequently as they are in the current program. “If you missed one [course this] year [it was] like okay, so I'm not going to [be able to] take the course for another… two years.” Each course in the program “wasn't lined up perfectly.” Amy says, “I'm very happy with how [the]… program is laid out [today]. It's changed.” Amy likes that in the current program (2022), “the three courses like I need to finish to get my certificate all perfectly line up that I could take one course at a time … I like that it's more, there's more connection [and that] I see my teacher once a week … [I] like the activities and [competency assessment profile] CAP.” Although I need to learn more about the tech stuff.”. Amy says that she is “struggling a little bit because of [her] current position”; she “doesn’t have one on one on one with children in [her] current role.” Amy is working with friends and family to observe children for her reflections. It’s not ideal, but she is making it work. “My challenge would be like making sure that I'm having current experiences not just past experiences.”
Engagement.
Amy’s success is due to what is happening in the family schedule. For example, Amy says, [I] “like having a Tuesday class which is a free night.” Amy is happy classes are held in the evening when the girls are asleep and her husband helps put the children to bed. Homework gets done “usually when they [her daughters] are sleeping, or at work, or on lunch hour, anytime when they're not present.”
Amy is successful because “I like being challenged.” “I’m gonna make sure I do it.” “I love routine. I love structure and right now knowing that this course is on, fits within my schedule and it fits with my structure that’s how I know I am going to complete it.” Amy is persistent and knows “I’ll get all the courses done … I know I'm going to do this and that's my personal belief.” Jolene has weekly communication with some of her instructors and attributes this connection to part of her success. Amy also has stable and consistent broadband connections. She says, “My internet connection is fine. I had some trouble with a camera, but I was able to borrow a camera from my friend.” Amy is also flexible with her program timelines indicating that “I'm okay with doing the distance and I'm okay with knowing that it might take me another two or three years to finish … I think that's another learning … my daughters will see they're like, look, it took mommy like 14 years to get this diploma.” Amy also says, “I’m very pro-education, constantly telling my daughters that they have to go to college.” Amy also says “I have to educate my clients on healthy lifestyles, and healthy choices, and considered what goals they have come to a conclusion that they are and I am happy with.”
Supportive Relationships.
Amy says that she has a lot of support for her studies. “My husband is supportive; my job is supportive. I think like everything just lined up perfectly.” The manager of the local daycare is willing to work with Amy to meet her practicum requirements. Amy also has a flexible workplace and says, “I am fortunate enough that my supervisor is okay with me doing some of my homework during work hours … if I have an extra 30 minutes [I can work] on my CAP, then they're okay with that. They're okay with that because they feel as though I am still maintaining my job and furthering my education to make my job more successful.” Amy is also supported by the program and discusses her education plans with the Program Head about meeting program requirements.
Course Content and Resources.
When Amy is asked if she is learning even though she is not being tested in traditional ways, Amy says, “I do because I'm being challenged. There's little activities you have to do each week, there’s videos that they want you to watch and then talk about what you thought and like how it felt. I really value that because I am a nervous tester. I can take a workshop and understand everything but when it comes to the test and like second guessing myself and everyone interprets something a little bit differently. So, I enjoy that it’s [the course content is] about experiences.”
What works for Amy studying at a distance is flexibility, about when and where to do homework and write CAPs. “I need to work and need to figure out how to do it [education] where I cannot … leave my job.” “[I] need to work, not working this would cause financial hardship for the family.”
Course Assessment and Evaluation.
The competency assessment tool is a spreadsheet where students write their course reflections related to each competency in the certificate or diploma programs. Students are assessed on their critical reflections which link students’ experiences with the required competencies within their profession. Amy submits CAP reflections through Teams. “That’s how I’ve been connecting to it; through teams, through CAP.” The CAP spreadsheet has “uploaded perfectly fine.”
Challenges.
When asked how she is getting through her program, Amy answered, “[Janna] helped walk me through it.” Using Teams to connect weekly is helpful. Amy has familiarity with Teams due to work. However, Amy has never worked with Moodle, Padlet or CAP before; these were all new to her. These applications and programs all require technical support for students. “[I] didn't know that we had to deal with Moodle and now like I have to do submit things to Padlet.” [Janna] “does like a little session she did it before she did it this week again, on how to like, where to go, what to press, but it's almost as if, like I think when you're signing up for a course or maybe she'd be like, are you familiar with these platforms? … And you can say No, No. Like okay, so if you're not, here are some things that can help. Because I was like, she lost me, she just asked me she said about Padlet. Oh my goodness, I’ve never done that before, I don’t know Padlet; it’s new for me.” Amy identified many program requirements and indicated that Janna provides a technical session(s) to help navigate through the technology requirements for the course by indicating “where to go, what to press.” CAP, an assessment tool, is uploaded through Teams and provides Amy with a place to document her reflections and for Janna to grade these assessments. Amy believes that the program should ask students if they are familiar with all of the technology and platforms. If students are unaware of these technology expectations then support and assistance should be provided. When offering advice to students considering the program Amy says, “I would just ask them [another student] how comfortable they are. [Are they] text sauvy? [They] will [need to] figure it out.”
Most Important Thoughts from the Interview.
When asked what Amy wanted me to remember about our conversation she said, “That it doesn't matter how long it takes to finish a course… my motivation is just to make sure that I am going to do this and it might take longer than it should but that's okay.” Amy adds, “It doesn't matter how long it takes… If you really want it, you can do it.”
Final Thoughts.
A lack of program options in the Early Childhood diploma program in Inuvik and the availability of the Social Work program in Yellowknife made Amy change her plans and she decided to attend and complete her diploma in Social Work at the Yellowknife campus. Amy wants to complete her social work degree but currently there are “limited options unless you want to go to Winnipeg or Whitehorse.” Amy says “I prefer to be in Yellowknife. Yellowknife is the hub.” Amy prefers Yellowknife because, “I was able to have family come to town and it was like a really big benefit … it was comforting because I always had someone coming to visit me. If I lived in Winnipeg or the Yukon we wouldn't have that.” Since completing the Social Work diploma, Amy decided to enroll in the distance Early Learning and Childcare program (2021) back in Inuvik because in addition to her 14 year-old daughter, she now also has “a six and a two year-old. So having them and trying to go to school to finish my bachelor’s is a lot harder to do.” Amy has indicated that future plans for further education will need to be at a distance (in Inuvik). Amy only has four courses and her practicum left to obtain her diploma in Early Learning and Childcare. [Also, when] “I decide to go for my bachelor's in Social Work it will have to be distance because I have three children and a house and cars. [It’s] not ideal for me to go to school.”
When asked what has pulled Amy forward through all of these years and what keeps her going, Amy’s response was “my daughters.” Amy is a role model to her children and demonstrates the importance of education through her personal efforts in earning certificates and diplomas. Amy taught her oldest daughter about the importance of education, so “she understands why I am doing it.” Amy went to college when her first daughter was small and says, “I went to college so she wouldn’t remember the days when we had grilled cheese for supper.” Amy believes that “getting an education will never hurt; you will become more rounded. It's good for my children to see that that I am finishing something that I completed so many years ago.” Amy says, “[I] want to be able to say that I have one day a diploma in Early Childhood Development and I have a diploma in Social Work.” “I want to be able to say that I have a certificate on my wall and I want my kids to see them and know that education is important.” Amy is on track to finish her certificate courses by the end of May 2023 (with the exception of her practicum).