Benefits for Schools and Boards

What is MTEL?

MTEL, the Management Tool for Experiential Learning, has been developed by senior Ontario co-op educators working with the programming team at Xynapse Canada Inc.

Ontario teachers, schools and school boards have been using MTEL to create and manage co-op placements for secondary school students since 2002.

As a web service, MTEL is always available, yet requires no special software or IT support by school boards. MTEL facilitates teacher-to-teacher and school-to-school collaboration and information sharing, while carefully controlling private and confidential information.

MTEL Councils

Working together in MTEL councils, school boards from both the public and separate school systems have helped design the way it works and guide its evolution into an increasingly robust, easy-to-use and practical tool for teachers and administrators.

Access to MTEL is available to all Ontario School Boards

If your Board is not yet using MTEL, we would welcome your entry and participation. Please read on to learn how MTEL can benefit your Board and how to get started.

How MTEL Benefits Ontario School Boards

Cost-effective support for your teachers and cooperative education programs

  • Eases the learning curve for teachers new to co-op placements
  • Teachers develop PPLPs (Personalized Placement Learning Plans) through a process that's flexible, yet keeps them on track with Ministry of Education guidelines.
  • Tremendous time-saver for teachers and administrative staff
  • Takes care of many details, eliminates data re-entry
  • Teachers have more time to work with students and build employer relationships
  • Reports generated at all levels provide Administrators and Coordinators with a comprehensive view of school- or board-wide placements and student progress.

Adherence to Ministry of Education Standards

  • All processes, procedures, reports have been developed by experienced Co-op Teachers and Administrators, in compliance with Ontario Ministry of Education Standards
  • Standardization and consistency of co-op management means saving time and working with common tools

School Board implementation

  • Web pages and printed reports can be branded with your Board's logo
  • Consistent Board-wide approach
  • Student data can be imported securely from your student information system used by your board (Trillium, Maplewood, ESIS, etc.). Saves hours of redundant data entry by teachers. Student info automatically populates into co-op forms and PPLPs.
  • Real-time student data synchronization available on request.

Ease of Management

  • Separate access levels for teachers, school and board administrators
  • Add, Edit, or Delete user access and log-ins.
  • Instant transfer of student case files and PPLPs between teachers as required
  • OYAP
    • Gives quick access to detailed Apprenticeship Training Standards for your OYAP students
    • Facilitates OYAP student registration with MTCU Training Consultant
  • Student Data may easily and safely be imported from student information system used by your board, including ESIS, Trillium, Maplewood

Comprehensive Reports

  • Summary reports by teacher, school, school board let you see the big picture - or focus on specifics
  • OYAP, Ministry Accident, Enrolment, Board- and Ministry- Year-End reporting
  • School and Board Level Reports available instantly
    • School Board Year-End Report
    • Program Summary
    • Report on Enrolment
    • Ministry of Education Accident Report
    • Ministry of Education Year-End Report
    • Active Teachers Report
  • Additional reports are availabe to Co-op Teachers (Benefits for Teachers)

A Growing Asset

  • Annual upgrades to MTEL system based on user feedback ensure that power and ease of use continue to grow.
  • As Co-op and Experiential Learning grow, so does MTEL's importance and value
  • Potential to use for Credit recovery opportunity
  • Over 150 Model PPLPs already available - more to come.
  • Database of PPLPs archived by your Board's teachers, grows in size and value over time
  • Schools, Boards retain information (PPLP's, archived PPLP's, Employer Database) when teachers move

No load on IT staff

  • No system equipment to buy, install or maintain
  • Hosted in an MCI Class-A datacentre. MCI owns and manages much of the Internet backbone, supplying MTEL with the lowest latency and fastest delivery possible
  • Web based service means no extra software to install on user workstations (Internet connection and web browser required)
  • Upgrades implemented globally on the MTEL system and immediately available to users. No modifications necessary on user equipment or software.

Confidentiality and Privacy

Keeping student data safe and Board information private

  • Access to information is carefully controlled in an efficient and respectful manner.
  • School Board Information shared amongst Boards:
    • Student Data: None
    • Employer Data: None
    • Archived PPLPs: None
  • Within the same Board, information shared amongst Schools and Teachers:
    • Student Data: None
    • Employer data: All within their Board
    • Archived PPLPs: All within their Board
  • Within the same School, information shared amongst Teachers:
    • Student Data: All within their school only
    • Active PPLPs: Can be transferred between Teachers
    • Employer data: All within their Board
    • Archived PPLPs: All within their Board

Security and Technology

MTEL Programming and Hosting Infrastructure

MTEL web services programming and hosting has been developed and managed since inception by Xynapse Canada Inc., who are committed to the support of high-quality education. The servers hosting MTEL on the Internet are located in Toronto, Canada and governed by Canadian law.

Xynapse is bound by a confidentiality agreement that obligates them to respect and maintain the security of confidential Board information and in particular, student data. All Xynapse computers and servers are physically and electronically secured.

Xynapse, a trusted Canadian company, has been creating and hosting highly-functional web services, including secure e-commerce, for the public and private sector since 1995. www.xynapse.ca

Proactive Security

  • Web-based system means less student data need be stored on teacher laptops, thereby reducing risk of loss or compromise
  • SSL-encrypted connections to MTEL servers
  • Vital student information encrypted in database
  • Access controlled by individual, password-protected, user accounts
  • User accounts managed by Board and School Administrators as applicable for users within their Board or School
  • MTEL system is based on enterprise-class application languages and services
  • Servers, operating systems and software hardened against intrusion
  • Next Generation Firewall
    • Intelligent Layered Security, including stateful packet inspection to proactively block DoS and DDoS attacks, viruses, spam, worms, spyware, trojans, and blended threats without relying on signatures for true Zero Day protection protect servers and MTEL system.
    • Target ports are also blocked and cloaked from hackers scanning for exploitation opportunities.
    • Hosts exhibiting suspicious behavior, such as port scans and Denial of Service attacks, are identified and automatically blocked.

Datacentre

  • Servers located within an MCI Class-A datacentre in Toronto; protection includes biometric security and 24/7 on-site security personnel
  • MCI Datacentre includes redundancy of all critical facility systems, such as
    • Fire alarm, smoke detection, and FM-200 gas fire suppression systems
    • Megawatt UPS systems
    • Dual 25,000 hp generator power backup
    • HVAC cooling systems for protection of equipment
    • Biometric, physical and electronic security measures
  • MTEL operates on fast, dependable and secure IBM servers that include RAID-configured, SCSI hot-swap hard drives. This built-in redundancy allows servers to stay online during drive replacement. Daily backups provide an extra layer of protection.
  • Application programming runs on proven Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to deliver enterprise-level performance, reliability and security
  • System availability monitored 24/7 by third party service; in case of problems, service personnel alerted immediately

MTEL - Responsive and Evolving

  • Constantly evolving to better serve your needs and those of your students.
  • Based on feedback solicited from teachers and administrators by the MTEL council of participating boards, refinements can be implemented throughout the year, while major functional upgrades are deployed annually.

Learn More