Knowledge Ontario engages the digital citizen in all Ontarians

•  published by Knowledge Ontario on March 10, 2011

The United States, Australia and Britain are giving their citizens greater access to publicly funded research. Finland has enshrined its citizens’ right to a high-speed Internet connection in law. Nations around the world increasingly realize that digital knowledge, skills and resources are vital national assets.

In Canada, where just this week comScore released figures showing that we spend twice the time online than any other nation worldwide, the same national conversation is underway and a national digital economy strategy is expected in the spring. Ontario will have a strong voice in that national conversation—thanks, in part, to the efforts of organizations dedicated to fostering Ontarians’ digital literacy.

As one of those organizations, Knowledge Ontario is dedicated to serving the digital citizen. A collaborative partnership involving universities, colleges, school boards, libraries, archives, museums, historical societies and other cultural heritage organizations, Knowledge Ontario builds innovative services and tools that help Ontarians create, use and share digital resources.

Digital services for digital citizens

Knowledge Ontario gives every Ontarian access to a rich range of authoritative online e-resources. Whether you’re a senior citizen in Niagara Falls, a person with disabilities in Kenora, a franco-Ontarian on an Ottawa Valley farm or a young Somali-Canadian in west end Toronto, you have the same access to a wealth of information at your fingertips—all at no cost, due to the collaborative nature of KO.

Live click’n’chat research help with public library staff is one Knowledge Ontario service that high school students in particular flock to because it’s available after school and on weekends (in both languages) – and college and university students seek out research help from their academic librarians in a parallel service through KO. Quick tech help and full tutorials support Ontarians learn the software and tools they need to stay on top of their work, their interests and their studies. Millions of government documents, images, historical objects, newspapers, video and audio files, and other digital assets are available globally through KO’s sites and portals. And Knowledge Ontario is transforming the public library online catalogue so that browsing the materials at your public library is becoming a meld between an online bookstore and a community space for swapping lists and tagging your favourites.

Digital skills and a digital divide

In using these resources, Ontarians develop the digital skills they need to compete and thrive in the 21st-century knowledge economy. It also addresses the risk in that economy – that a digital divide will arise between those who know how to search effectively, how to validate information, how to get information “pushed” to them, and how to create and re-use digital information—and those who do not. Knowledge Ontario is helping ensure no Ontarians find themselves on the wrong side of that digital divide.

Digital literacy also fosters engaged citizenship. In an open-source world where government information and services are increasingly available online, it’s vital to ensure Ontarians have the skills they need to access these resources and also to connect with their fellow Ontarians to bring about change and make differences in our communities. Shared digital resources allow Ontarians to create digital stories deeply rooted in our past and present, and to tell them to the world.

Capacity and impact

Many people. Many uses. Many places. Searchable, shareable information. A flexible toolset that supports tens of thousands of local groups and individuals. Leading-edge solutions rolled out across the province, reducing duplication and leveraging economies of scale. Award-winning technologies that foster creativity, deep learning and builds skills and capacity. Huge impact at an affordable price. It’s forward-looking public investments such as these that have made Ontario a leader in shaping Canada’s digital future, providing a strong foundation to build on.

As Ontario moves forward, putting in place comprehensive strategies to build a sustainable, inclusive, affordable digital infrastructure, our digital citizens are already using, creating, aggregating and sharing information and ideas in countless ways. With tools and services at the ready, Ontario engages the digital citizen – you.