Case Studies

Haskayne School of Business: Haskayne School of Business Provides New Learning Opportunities for Students by Introducing Microsoft MapPoint 2002 Business Mapping Software
The Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary has a Bachelor of Commerce program which includes one required and several optional courses in Management Information Systems (MIS). A main objective for the required MIS course is to show students how information technology (IT) can be applied successfully in various business environments. After using a trial version of Microsoft MapPoint 2002, instructors recognized the potential of MapPoint as a new learning tool to introduce the students to analysis of geographic data specifically for business purposes.

University of Ottawa: University of Ottawa Staff Graduates from Linux to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
With a total population of 40,000 students and staff, the University of Ottawa is the largest bilingual university in North America. The university offers programs in a variety of disciplines in both English and French. To support this diverse learning environment, the faculty and staff rely on efficient internal processes. But the university felt that the Linux-based Fedora platform and Netscape Calendar Server did not provide staff with the tools they needed to effectively manage their calendars and e-mail inboxes.

University of Waterloo's Engineering Faculty Offer Students 24-7 Learning Flexibility
The University of Waterloo is one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities. Its Faculty of Engineering is Canada's largest engineering school, offering the world's largest co-op engineering program. To increase the availability of course materials and provide a more flexible and comprehensive learning environment, the University launched an online learning program in June 2003 with the help of Microsoft Consulting Services. With its own co-op students working as a development team, the University has built an online learning Web site using Microsoft® .NET Framework and Microsoft Office tools, and Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 as the platform. Since the initiative was launched, University of Waterloo has put eight engineering courses online, and is expanding the program to include 11 courses. Faculty professors are pleased with the stability and security of the online learning platform. Student grades in one course improved by five per cent and the failure rate decreased by 40 per cent.

Microsoft OneNote 2003 is helping today's medical students become tomorrow's doctors
The University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine is an integral component of one of North America's largest health science complexes. It is the site of major breakthroughs in medical research, including the discovery of insulin and the development of the cardiac pacemaker. Affiliated with a network of teaching hospitals and community-based health units, the Faculty offers students a broad spectrum of educational experiences. This network expands regularly, so the Faculty needed to find a simple and effective means for students to both file and share notes. A number of Faculty professors found that Microsoft® OneNote™ note-taking program not only allows students to file and share notes quickly and effectively, but it also provides an easy way to file footnoted research. OneNote helps users cull research from the Web into one location, while automatically footnoting the information.

Ecoles de Hautes Etudes Commercials (HEC)
Microsoft Canada and Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), a prominent Quebec business school, have collaborated to establish the first E-Commerce Centre of Excellence within the province of Quebec. The primary focus of this initiative is to deliver an e-commerce-based graduate program that will help address the demand for information technology (IT) skills and training in the province of Quebec. With software, solutions and expertise provided by Microsoft Canada Co., the Centre is promising real-world training that will help to equip graduates with the skills necessary to succeed in the new economy.

Master's Academy & College
In the same way that it doesn't pay to write a math exam without a calculator, Alberta's Master's Academy & College finds it doesn't pay to prepare students without giving them a strong understanding of the latest computer technology. Says school founder Tom Rudmik, "Were looking at the timeliness of relevant information being captured and presented. That doesn't happen in education. We believe if we solve that, then we're going to revolutionize how we educate." To have a better way of recording, accessing and indexing student and office data, Master's Academy and College installed the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 database to better manage its school wide network.

Royal Roads University
The Applied Research unit at Royal Roads University of Victoria, B.C., sought to develop an improved electronic distance learning environment for a growing number students engaged in online masters degree programs. The solution is built on the Microsoft platform: Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 provides a secure and robust platform for collaborative exercises, calendaring, and communications. As a customized Office 2000 application, Digital Dashboard delivers information to the desktop in a simple, consolidated view. Students are able to work at their own pace and access course material anywhere and at anytime - during the day or late at night, at home or their workplace. They can collaborate with other students in real-time to complete assignments, share ideas and strategies, debate issues as a team, and liaise with professors as needed.

Ontario college students go the distance with online learning
It started out with just two online courses and 34 students, but today OntarioLearn.com has exploded into a comprehensive online educational curriculum for thousands of students at 22 Ontario colleges. With enrollment growing significantly and 15,000 students expected to be on board by the 2001/2002 academic year, OntarioLearn.com needed to implement a powerful e-learning platform to handle the demand. Microsoft® technology coupled with Embanet Corporation's project design, development, training and support services proved the winning combination.

Humber college delivers real-world E-Commerce solution to IT skills gap
Humber College and Microsoft Canada Co. have formed an alliance that has established the college as the first choice for building technical skills in e-commerce and has earned it the designation as the first Microsoft E-Commerce Centre of Excellence. The powerful combination of leading-edge products and top-notch training for the wide range of Internet-based scenarios in which Humber graduates will be working, promises to bridge the information technology (IT) skills gap and promote Canadian innovation and leadership in the global e-commerce industry.