The CDLI was founded in December 2000 by the Department of Education, in response to the recommendations of the 1999 Sparks-Williams Ministerial Panel on Educational Delivery.

A New Model For Distance Education

Traditionally in this province, distance learning for K-12 students has meant the independent use of specially developed student resources and real time student-teacher communications through a telephone-based audiographic system. Since all resources were print-based, updates were slow and expensive. The telecommunications system was also saturated, and adding additional students was expensive.

The new model is IP based, meaning it relies on the use of computers, networks and the Internet. It is immediate, easier to update, and provides a growing variety of types of content and ways of interacting. Access is not locked to a prescribed schedule of communications times. All content and communications are digital, allowing for a more seamless blending of traditional and newer forms of content and learning experiences. Learning is not limited to the course content.

ELearners gain valuable skills and capabilities while immersed in an environment of information and communications technologies.

CDLI as Innovator

The province, like much of the world, is transitioning from a traditional, resource based economy to an information and communications technology (ICT) based economy. While the traditional fishing, forestry, and mining industries are still important, they are widely infused with ICTs. New sectors such as aquaculture and tourism also rely heavily on ICTs. Knowledge and innovation are fundamental to the new economy.

In its own ways, CDLI can contribute to the growth of this economy. It is innovative in its use of ICT to develop and deliver educational programs; it immerses students in a learning environment that is conducive to building their own knowledge and understanding, abilities and capabilities; and with its educational and corporate partners it is expanding ICT into schools.