Bill Belsey

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Bill Belsey was an employee of the Keewatin Divisional Board of Education (KDBE) and the Government of the Northwest Territories, and a proud member of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association for nearly twenty years. For much of his career, he was a classroom teacher working with grades two through eight. First in Qitiqliq School in Arviat and then in Rankin Inlet at Maani Ulujuk High and Leo Ussak Elementary schools. in 1995 he was asked to take over the computer program at Leo Ussak Elementary School in Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories Canada, an offer he accepted with enthusiasm. During his career, he has accomplished many goals, among them are:

-graduated from Laurentian High School in Ottawa, Ontario in 1976 where he played football on three different City Championship teams, "Lettered" in Athletics and received the Birks Citizenship Award in his graduating year along with decent enough marks to be accepted at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario

-graduated with a B.A and B Ed. from the Concurrent Teacher Education Program Queen's University with additional Ministry of Education courses; "Special Education -Parts 1 and 2', "English as a Second Language -Parts 1 and 2" as well as "Computers in the Classroom" -Parts 1 and 2

-brought the first computer into any Keewatin school in 1983 at Qitiqliq School in Arviat

-introduced Arviat students to the LOGO programming language in 1983

-lead the very first Professional Development computer workshops at the Keewatin Regional Teacher's Conference in Rankin Inlet in 1983

-created the very first telecommunications exchange using computers, (300 baud) modems between schools in Nunavut, between Arviat and Rankin Inlet in 1984

-lead numerous computer workshops for teachers and community partners throughout his sixteen year teaching career

-was responsible for the creation of a computer purchase plan for KDBE, Keewatin Divisional Board of Education, employees. Many staff have purchased computers using this program

-was responsible for Leo Ussak Elementary School being the first school in the Keewatin region to have full Internet access

-Mr. Belsey is responsible for the Leo Ussak Elementary School web site which was the very first Web site for any school in Canada's North and has won numerous awards and media coverage from around the world!

-was responsible for raising over $100,000 for the computer program at Leo Ussak School through the "Partners in Education" campaign though donations of money, used computers, and services from government and the business community

-was primarily responsible for establishing Igalaaq, the Rankin Inlet Community Access Centre, where any citizen of Rankin Inlet can have access to the Internet and current computer technology in the evenings and weekends in the computer room of Leo Ussak Elementary School. This was initiated after successfully competing for funding under Industry Canada's "Community Access Project" program. As a result, Rankin Inlet will is first Community Access Centre in the Northwest Territories. On Sunday November 2nd, 1997 Igalaaq celebrated its first anniversary.

-established a computer club on Saturday afternoons for parents and preschoolers who will attend Leo Ussak Elementary School the following year. Many parents and children participated regularly

-ran a highly popular computer club for Leo Ussak students every night after school

-lead staff training and professional development sessions for not only Leo Ussak, Maani Ulujuk ( the high School in Rankin Inlet) and Whale Cove ( a school in a neighbouring settlement) school staffs, but also for 30 GNWT employees from the Department of Personnel

-initiated a series of "Internet Cafes" where any member of the community could attend and learn about the potential benefits of the Internet. Over 120 people from the community attended these cafes

-was responsible for helping over 20% of the citizens of Rankin Inlet acquiring their first e-mail accounts through the NWT's very successful North60 Bulletin Board System

-was responsible for Leo Ussak students participating in the Julie Hansen International Arctic Expedition. This allowed our students to meet Julie Hansen and her partner, Martin Hignall in person, and then follow them via the Internet as they travelled by dog team from Churchill, Manitoba to Tuktuyaktuk, Northwest Territories

-was responsible for three of Leo Ussak Schools grade five students gave a presentation to over two dozen CEOs and business leaders during the recent Keewatin Chamber of Commerce AGM and first ever Nunavut Mining Symposium, which brought together mining companies and regional interests from across North America

-was responsible for Leo Ussak Schools grade five students starring roles in a recently released video about "The Tundra Biome" which is part of a "Biomes of the World" multimedia project being produced by the Missouri Botanical Gardens of St. Louis Missouri

-was responsible for Leo Ussak Schools grade six students completing multimedia projects using information from traditional media, CD-ROM and Internet information sources using the Hyperstudio program. They presented this project to parents and local business people recently. This is a first for schools in Canada's Arctic

-has organized hundreds of keypal exchanges with students from around the world

-has successfully organized and lead many CU-See Me video conferences with schools as far away as Australia

-was the creator of, and is currently managing a SchoolNet Grassroots Project Called "The Countdown to Nunavut Project" which challenges students from around the world to research the New Canadian Territory of Nunavut and then write and submit actual proposals and make recommendations to the Nunavut Implementation Commission (NIC) re. how the new government should be set up

-was responsible for Leo Ussak program being featured in articles by Nunatsiaq News, News North and Net Guide magazines

-has been asked to lead "Grassroots Projects" workshops for teachers on behalf of SchoolNet and Industry Canada

-has been asked to teach Professional Development Distance Education courses in Educational Technology for McGill University

-is a member of the Canadian Communities Atlas Teachers' National Advisory Committee and the Northwest Territories Community Access Program Review Committee

-has been interviewed on "Morningside" by Peter Gzowski (formerly, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations' national radio program), "Dotto on Data" -a nationally syndicated radio program about Information Technology featuring Steve Dotto, and has been the subject of a CBC television documentary called Igalaaq.

-was primarily responsible for Leo Ussak School being a co-winner of the Conference Board of Canada's National Partners in Education Award, which is sponsored by the Royal Bank.

-Mr. Belsey, is a recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology and Mathematics

In June 1997 he was asked to make a presentation to the World Bank's Global Knowledge '97 Conference which had the theme "Knowledge for Development in the Information Age". Mr. Belsey was a co-presenter with Jack Aaviksoo, University of Tartu, Estonia, Charles Hopkins, Project Rescue Mission Planet Earth-UNESCO, Miguel Gonzales of Universidad EAFIT -Proyecto CONEXIONES, Columbia and Judith Kaye of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in an exploration of the question "How does Internet-based learning help facilitate social and economic development in isolated and developing parts of the world?"

In July 1997, he was asked to become a founding member of the 2B1 Foundation with Dr. Nicholas Negroponte and Dr. Seymour Papert of M.I.T's Media Lab with over 200 delegates from many developing nations around the world who are striving to bring information technology and Internet access to remote and physically isolated parts of the world. Click here to see images from this incredible historic event! Bill with Nicholas Negroponte (left) and Seymour Papert (right).

-He created the Northwest Territories very first inventory or checklist of concepts and skills related to information technology .

-he founded a business called Inukshuk.com which facilitates local Economic Development for youth as Mr. Belsey mentors students who create Web pages and offer Information Technology training and support to local community groups and businesses. This gives local youth experience, training and wages as they develop critical Information Technology skills for the Knowledge-Based economy.

-Mr. Belsey was awarded the 1998 Roy C. Hill Foundation Fellowship for Innovations in Teaching and Education

-he was nominated again for the 1998 Prime Ministers Awards for Teaching Excellence -To see a copy of this submission in Adobe PDF form click here

-his pioneering work was showcased as one of Canada's "Global Heroes" at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec (see below).

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-he was asked by Industry Canada to help create and promote an exciting new national Millennium program called Timecapsule2000 which has been featured on Canadian Television's (CTV) national 2000+ Millennium Report television show.

-in 1997 / 98 Mr. Belsey sat on the Community Access Program (CAP) Review Committee for the Northwest Territories

-in March of Bill was chosen for and attended a Royal Bank Prime Minister's Teaching Awards Fellowship by the Faculty of Education at Queen's University. For more than a week he gave lectures and facilitated workshops for B.Ed. teaching candidates as well as for teachers in the Kingston, Ontario area.

-in April of 1998 he traveled to Colombia where he was a plenary speaker at a national conference in Information-Technology and Education in Manizales. Bill was also asked to be a judge at a national contest involving the creation of Internet-based projects which was open to schools across Colombia. He sat on a panel discussion re. the training of teachers in the use of Information Technology.

-in May he was a guest panelist at the ADM Forum, a gathering of Assistant Deputy Minister's for the Federal Government of Canada at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. Mr. Belsey gave a presentation about "Community Empowerment and Transformation" entitled "Moose, Mites and the M.A.I." (see above)

-in the spring of 1997 he was asked to help create and launch the project for Industry Canada.

-in June he made a presentation about business and education partnerships at the Fourth International Conference on Business and Education Partnerships in Trondheim, Norway.

-later in June he presented at NECC '98 (the National Educational Computing Conference) in San Diego. While there he had the chance to meet colleagues Greg Fitzgerald and Yvonne-Marie Andres of the Global SchoolHouse Network (see below).

-in September of 1998 he was asked to join the staff at one of Canada's leading schools in the use of Information Technology and Project-Based Learning, the Banded Peak School in Bragg Creek, Alberta where he is the facililitating teacher for the Galileo Professional Development Centre.

-He and his students at Banded Peak School piloted a new project idea of Mr. Belsey's for Industry Canada called "Generations Can Connect". In honour of the United Nations International Year of the Older Person in 1999, Generations Can Connect aspires to break down the intergenerational barriers using technology. with young people mentoring seniors in the use of computers and the Internet while the seniors mentor the youth in life. This project is already drawing attention from around the world.

Bill was an advisor and presenter at the first ever Seniors Connecivity Conference, held in Ottawa in 1999.

-in September of 1998 Mr. Belsey was asked to join the Community Access Program (CAP) Review Committee for the Province of Alberta.

-Mr. Belsey has launched www.bullying.org a project which is helping kids who are dealing with the issues of bullying and teasing.

In March of 2000, Bill was asked to present his ideas about information technology and community development to the Annual General Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in New Orleans. Fellow panelists and presenters watch the big screen as Bill shares his multimedia presentation (below).

-Bill presented at the DIAC 2000: Shaping the Network Society Conference in Seattle on May 22nd which was sponsored by the Computer Professionals for Socal Responsibility of which Mr. Belsey is a member

His classes are showcased on his Web site:,
www.coolclass.ca, Canada's "Coolest" Class!

-When he's not being a teacher, Mr. Belsey is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer

Mr. Belsey was a Senior Educational Advisor for Canada' SchoolNet and National Coordinator for SchoolNet's National Network of Innovative Schools

-Mr. Belsey is currently the Executive Director for iEARN-Canada of the International Education and Resource Network

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