Groupe Média TFO is a public media organization created by the government of Ontario, Canada, [1] which produces and distributes French-language educational content, [2] available on various platforms, including the TFO television channel, TFO Éducation and various YouTube channels. Groupe Média TFO manages a television channel, 200 websites, 20 mobile applications and games, 15 subscription platforms and 14 social media platforms.
Apart from its educational and youth content (for audiences aged 2 to 17), Groupe Média TFO produces and broadcasts cultural [3] and current affairs content for adults. The group is the only French-language, multimedia network in Canada with its headquarters outside of Quebec. [4]
History
Before 1987, a few hours of daily French programming was offered by TVOntario. On January 1, 1987, Ontario's educational French-language television channel, called La Chaîne, was officially launched. [5] [6] In 1995, La Chaîne was renamed TFO. TFO was originally created to provide content applicable to the French-language education system in Ontario. Services has since expanded to include EduLulu, a public evaluation service for mobile educational applications, designed for francophones and anglophones from Ontario and elsewhere.
In 2006, the Ministry of Education for Ontario created a public media corporation – the Ontario French-Language Educational Communications Authority (OTÉLFO) – and provided funding for digital technologies and HD to meet the needs of Ontario's francophone linguistic minority. [7] TFO, the OTÉLFO's television channel, offers programming focused on education, with shows for children, teens and adults. [8]
Starting in 2010, in response to increasing use of smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart boards, as well as new ways of watching televised content, such as binge-watching, [9] TFO's board of directors initiated a technological shift to provide content for these platforms. [10] [11] In September 2010, Glenn O'Farrell was named president and CEO of the OTÉLFO. [12] In January 2011, l'OTÉLFO, by then publicly known as Groupe Média TFO began the development YouTube channels, including Mini TFO, a children's channel. [13] Groupe launched a Mini TFO application in Apple's App Store. [14] To extend its programming for the Francophone community, Groupe Média TFO began a collaboration in 2012, with La Cité collégiale. [15]
In 2013, Groupe Média TFO organized the Sommet des tablettistes, an international conference on the impact of new technologies on education, [16] [17] [18] [19] and in April 2014 initiated the EduLulu project, an evaluation service for educational applications in Canada.4 [20] [21]
TFO adapted its educational content designed for teachers to the digital environment, and the result was TFO Éducation, an interactive service offering teachers a collection of about 5,000 educational tools. The service has been licensed by 12 French-language school boards and 60 English-language school boards in Ontario [22] [23]
In 2015 TFO submitted a proposal to the CRTC that all BDUs and satellite TV providers in Canada be required to include the channel in their lineup. The CRTC declined the proposal. [24]
References
- ^ "Ministry of Education – THE ESTIMATES, 2014–15 – Summary".
- ^ "Douze nominations pour TFO au gala d’excellence de l’AMJ 2014". Lien Multimedia
- ^ "Cinéma canadien à TFO". La Presse 29 septembre 2014
- ^ "House of Commons Committees – LANG (37–2) – Francophone Television production in Minority Environments – standing committee on official languages – report 8 – FRANCOPHONE TELEVISION PRODUCTION IN MINORITY ENVIRONMENTS".
- ^ "Yann Buxeda – TFO s'implante au centre-ville – L'Express de Toronto".
- ^ "Canadian Communications Foundation | Fondation des Communications Canadiennes" Archived May 8, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority Act, 2008, S.O. 2008, c. 10". Ontario.ca.
- ^ "TFO obtient son autonomie" Archived November 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Journal Le Metropolitain. July 17, 2006 Olivier Bilodeau
- ^ "Près d'un Canadien sur deux possède un téléphone intelligent | Yves Therrien | Techno". La Presse 2013 12 20
- ^ "TFO embraces mobile programming". Toronto Star, Ashante Infantry April 22, 2014
- ^ "Un virage numérique profitable pour Groupe Média TFO | Yves Therrien | Techno". La Presse, 2014 10 28
- ^ "Glenn O'Farrell à la présidence de TFO".
- ^ Jean-Benoit Nadeau. "Francophonie : la belle effronterie". L'actualité.
- ^ "TFO sur iPad et iPhone". L'Express
- ^ "François Bergeron – La Cité collégiale et TFO veulent travailler ensemble". L'Express de Toronto
- ^ "TFO embraces mobile programming". Toronto Star. April 22, 2014.
- ^ "Libre opinion – Les tablettes, une révolution pour le monde de l’éducation". Le Devoir, August 3, 2013
- ^ "Toddlers with tablets will force a change in education". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Claire Porcher – Nous serons tous des «tablettistes» – L'Express de Toronto".
- ^ Média, Québecor. "Edululu: trouvez les meilleures applis éducatives" [usurped]. Canoe, April 2014.
- ^ "EduLulu vous aide à trouver les meilleures applications éducatives". Métro.
- ^ "Newsroom : News: Education". August 2014.
- ^ "Les classes en Ontario auront une plateforme multimédia de langue française". Le Huffington Post. August 27, 2014.
- ^ "CRTC rejects TFO must-offer application". Playback, By Julianna Cummins November 15, 2015