Distance no drawback when CCNA offered through innovative program
Business expands as owner learns in virtual classroom
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| "I couldn't do it any other way, as it wasn't offered on the island. I would never have taken it otherwise. It was excellent for me. I did it from my office." - Denis Michaud |
Denis Michaud lives on les Îles de la Madeleine in Québec, almost an eleven-hour drive from Cégep de Matane, but he took his Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) courses through the college. It's not that Michaud likes to drive long distances; he took the course through the blended distance learning format.
This allowed Michaud to take all four semesters online. "I couldn't do it any other way, as it wasn't offered on the island. I would never have taken it otherwise. It was excellent for me. I did it from my office," he says. He only had to go to the college three times which helped not only from a time perspective, but also cost. "Another advantage is that I was able to manage the company while taking the courses," he adds.
Each semester includes a mandatory handson lab component. The Cégep de Matane has created a model where the labs are completed over a weekend. Sites are chosen based on where there is a quorum of students. Equipment is shipped from one site to the next. An instructor brings the equipment to the site (classrooms with internet access); these may be in a community centre, church hall etc. where the students are put through all the lab exercises. The students also have the option of going to Cégep de Matane to complete the lab component. Michaud chose to stay on les Îles de la Madeleine the first semester and went to Matane the remaining three semesters.
Michaud owns Électro Informatique Michaud Inc., a small company that started out offering local support for PC's, servers and local networking. As Michaud says, "Basic stuff." But one day he got a call from a customer asking for network support. "My team and I didn't have enough knowledge," he recalls "but by following the courses I was able to get it and I can now offer the service." He has expanded the company to 11 employees and has increased the services he offers to include wireless, broadband and high speed internet. Michaud now wants his employees to take CCNA.
Linda Viel is the Co-ordinator of the Distance Learning Program at Groupe Collegia, the continuing education arm of the Cégep de Matane, in Matane, Québec. She says the college draws from the territory north east of Québec City. Because of the virtual nature of their courses, they have been able to expand into regions they have not normally been able to, including James Bay.
The college gets about 15 students a year who do the distance learning CCNA semesters. Viel says all students need from home is internet access from their PC. "They can have a web cam but that's not necessary."
Viel explains how the class is run. "It's all synchronous. It's simultaneous, so students can ask questions during the class. It's almost like the students were in the classroom. They can see the instructor and all the Power Point slides. They can interact by pressing a button saying 'raise your hand'. There is a virtual blackboard and all the participants can see the questions and answers. Students can communicate with each other as well as the instructor."
Viel describes Michaud as a visionary. "His love of technology and also his dedication and willingness to go the extra mile to get his work and studying done makes Denis special. He has his own company and being a visionary, he is trying to look at how to expand the services and grow the company, incorporating what he learned."
A college with a unique way of providing CCNA semesters, along with a business owner with a vision has produced a winning situation for both.
February 2006
