Dean introduces a conversation on why online/virtual learning remains a vital, legitimate option in Canadian education, shaped by his early online teaching experience and accelerated by COVID. Guests Jennifer Bertsch, principal of Golden Hills Learning Academy (Alberta), and Robyn Percival, an online science teacher at Ontario’s Virtual Learning Center, compare asynchronous and synchronous models, tools like Moodle, Canvas, and Zoom, and deliberate efforts to build relationship, belonging, and integrity beyond transactional correspondence-style learning. They describe enrollment pathways, hybrid flexibility, rapid growth in participation, and student success stories tied to mental health support and inclusive participation. The discussion also addresses academic integrity in the AI era through transparent expectations, process-focused assessment, and follow-up conversations, and concludes with “queen for a day” changes emphasizing equity of access to resources and mandatory unplugged/physical-activity time for online students.

00:00 Grad Day Breakthroughs
01:10 Early Online Teaching Lessons
02:21 Why Online Learning Matters
03:49 Meet Jennifer and Robyn
05:30 Tech Shifts After COVID
07:54 Who Online School Serves
09:32 Enrollment and Hybrid Pathways
11:30 Synchronous Community Building
14:46 Belonging in Asynchronous Learning
18:53 Success Stories and Impact
24:35 Growth Numbers and Demand
26:15 Hybrid Enrollment Reality
27:38 Ontario Virtual School Growth
29:20 What Makes Online Teachers Thrive
33:38 Autonomy and Course Creation
36:08 AI Assessment in Virtual Classes
40:35 Academic Integrity Over Policing
45:13 Queen for a Day Fixes
46:07 Equity and Screen Breaks
50:08 Closing Thanks and Takeaways