Human Rights 101 eLearning GOES LIVE on June 8, 2010!

TORONTO, June 6 /CNW/ - The Ontario Human Rights Commission is launching Human Rights 101, the first in a series of eLearning modules on human rights. Developed with assistance from the New Media Studies Program at the University of Toronto Scarborough and input from community stakeholders, Human Rights 101 users will be able to learn about human rights information from anywhere they have internet access. Created to be accessible to a wide range of users, students, office or factory workers, employers or those new to Canada will be able to get information on human rights history, principles, legislation and policies at the click of a button any time of the day.

"In today's new world of technology, using a computer for communication and education has become part of our daily lives", says Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. "I'm very excited to introduce this tool to help people across Ontario learn about human rights and how to take those written rights and make them lived rights."

The eLearning module provides background to modern human rights, the Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario's human rights system and the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Policies and Guidelines. After working through the various sections, users can also take a quiz at the end to see how much they have learned.

"This is experiential learning at its best," says Professor Rick Halpern, Dean and Vice-Principal (Academic) at the University of Toronto Scarborough. "Our community partners tapped the creative thinking of young, enthusiastic minds, while the UTSC students broadened their academic understanding. Our students did hands-on work to bring learning to life in an e-platform, and at the same time, they enhanced their knowledge of human rights issues. When students see how their knowledge and skills can have a real impact in the world, they will learn how they can be a force for positive change in the careers they choose to follow."

The launch takes place from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, June 8th, in the Council Chamber Boardroom AA160 at the University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough. Speakers include: Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner, OHRC, Leslie Chan, New Media Studies Program, UTSC, Shaheen Azmi, Director, OHRC, and Dora Nipp and Richard Fouchaux, OHRC.

The link for the live web stream will be: rtsp://xserve1.scar.utoronto.ca/elearning.sdp

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For further information: Afroze Edwards, Sr. Communications Officer, Ontario Human Rights Commission, [phone], [email protected]; Eleni Kanavas, Media Coordinator, University of Toronto Scarborough, [phone], [email protected]