Case Study: Calgary Board of Education achieves rapid scaling of online learning and 90% summer course completion with D2L Brightspace

CBe-learn supports teachers and students in transitioning to a new model of education

CBe‑learn, the Calgary Board of Education’s online middle and senior high school, faced a sudden surge in demand for distance learning—summer enrolment jumped from about 900 to nearly 6,000—while many classroom teachers lacked online-teaching experience and many students had limited access to devices and reliable internet. The organization needed to scale course delivery rapidly, train teachers in both technical and pedagogical aspects of online instruction, and prepare for a longer-term shift to blended learning across Calgary schools.

CBe‑learn used D2L’s Brightspace platform to centralize and share course content via the Learning Repository (dynamic linking allowed centralized updates), adopted a “train the trainer” model to build teacher capacity, and helped address access gaps by loaning over 5,000 devices and arranging internet support. As a result, CBe‑learn successfully scaled services, achieved a 90% summer‑school course completion rate with students meeting target grades, improved teacher readiness, and positioned Brightspace to support expanded professional development and district‑wide blended learning.

Calgary Board of Education

Ken Weipert

Principal