Click here to hear from our Alternative Education Coordinator Mr. Bob Williamson
At Horizon, we place a high value on promoting, creating, and maintaining a community of learners, and we want to extend that community to off-campus students. Beyond that, we want on-campus students to benefit from your views and life experiences.
What we don’t want is to create a distance learning experience that is simply a solitary endeavour. We are working, therefore, to incorporate “blended learning” in the courses offered on campus.
Our instructors are creating ways to engage both on- and off-campus students with course material. Using the Internet, both on- and off-campus students are enabled (required!) to interact with one another about the material, and the instructor “unpacks” it further.
Together, the instructors and students both on- and off-campus form a community of learners around any given course.
What does Horizon offer for off-campus learners?
First, those who can take a week to come to Saskatoon can engage in an intensive time of learning with other eager students during one of our many one-week module courses.
For those who can’t come to campus, our instructors are designing their courses so that you, at a distance, can use the Internet to learn along with on-campus students taking the same course.
How do I go about enrolling for a course offered for distance learners?
Start by talking with the good folks in the registrar’s office. They’ll help you figure out a fit between the course(s) you want and what’s being offered. They’ll also guide you through the enrolment process and introduce you to populi, our “go-to place” for course interaction.
Can’t I just sign up to take a course whenever it’s most convenient for me?
If you just can’t take a course when it’s scheduled on campus, we’ll work to find an available instructor and other interested students to form an online community of learners. Again, your first step is to talk with the registrar’s office.
Are there any other options?
Sometimes churches or other ministries request that we offer courses at their locations. We accommodate these requests when possible. If this sounds like something you’d like to explore, maybe you could suggest it to your pastor.
What tools will I need in order to participate in a course from a distance?
You’ll need [access to] a computer and a way to connect to the Internet. If you don’t own a computer or can’t get on the Internet at home, you might check out your public library.
If you use a public computer, though, be sure you know how to download and save files on your own device (like a flash drive) and always remember to clear the browser’s history after using the Internet.
