WELCOME: to new DESIEN-List members - Vickie Parker-Clark and Carol Tipton. Vicki is in Extension Education at the University of Idaho and is a member of the College of Agriculture Distance Education Committee. She is involved in the Cooperative Extension QDE program, where she heard about DESIEN. Carol is the head of media services at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a member of the Distance Education Task Force, and is currently taking distance education courses for a Ph.D. She found out about DESIEN on the UWEX Web page.

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UPFRONT: While the Telecommunications Bill, recently passed by Congress, drew praise from nearly every sector of the communications industry it drew complaints from both consumer and civil liberties groups. Consumer groups complained that the measure, which breaks down old telephone and cable models, would lead to higher prices for telephone and cable customers. Civil liberties groups were vehement about provisions that would block sexual material on computer networks and are planning a court battle.

Another provision that angered many Democratic lawmakers, was the "high definition television" (HDTV) "spectrum flexibility" provision. This 6 MHz spectrum was originally given to the broadcast industry to make the transition from analog to digital TV. Since HDTV has not moved forward as rapidly as anticipated, the bill would allow the broadcast industry to use this spectrum for other types of digital business. The angered lawmakers see this provision as nothing but "a huge charitable corporate gift." (Rep. John Conyers, Jr., D-Mich.) However, according to Vice Pres. Dole, broadcasters will not get the valuable television frequencies for other purposes without a long, hard fight, due to FCC assurances that action would not be taken on this provision until the issue is revisited by Congress in a separate bill (Rosemary Lehman.)

(For additional information on the bill, see NetNews in this issue)

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Send Comments and Questions by: clicking on "Reply" or the key designated for "Reply." You may also address your message to:
>DESIEN-List@uwex.edu
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DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS
THE EDUCATIONAL MEDIA COUNCIL (EMC)
by
Peter Nordgren
Media Resource Center
UW-Superior

The UW System Educational Media Council is the systemwide group involved with media and communications in teaching and learning. The council consists of fifteen representatives appointed by the fifteen chancellors of UW institutions, including UW Centers and UW-Extension. Generally, representatives are the directors or administrators of the media service units of their institutions. Other regular participants in EMC activities are representatives of the Department of Administration (DOA), the Educational Communications Board (ECB), and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

The EMC was created in 1972 at the time of university merger in Wisconsin. It is currently one of several councils, within the general area of information technology, which are affiliated with the Office Of Learning and Information Technology at UW System.

The council and its members have broad involvement in media, telecommunications, classroom support, and distance education activities. In the past five years, the council has been an active participant in the following initiatives:

• creation of the Classroom Modernization Program to provide funding for instructional technology in UW campus classrooms;

• development of Classroom Design Guidelines implemented by UW System as standards for teaching/learning spaces, addressing the needs of conference rooms, large and small classrooms, lecture halls, and distance education classrooms;

--establishment of campus and System IT plans;

--planning for implementation of the UW Distributed Learning System as part of the Systemwide IT plan;

--development of purchasing recommendations for desktop video systems;

--planning for BadgerNet, DOA's consolidated telecommunications contract;

--development of proposed grant guidelines for the Wisconsin Advanced Telecommunications Foundation;

--the "Access to Quality" distance education planning process.

The EMC joins with other UW System IT councils, in joint meetings and professional development activities. From time to time, EMC also is involved in evaluation of various learning technologies, and in development of "group buy" agreements for hardware or services.

EMC meetings are held three times a year. The council has a long tradition of moving its meetings alphabetically through the campuses, so each campus gets to host a meeting within a five-year period. The EMC also has a group e-mail address for official representatives and other interested participants at UWEMC@wpr.uwsuper.edu.

CAMPUS UPDATES

(Please insert information about your institution's distance education progress
here)

UW CENTERS -

UW-EAU_CLAIRE -

UW-GREEN BAY - Through cooperative arrangements with UWGB and UWSP, the Graduate School of Business Administration at UWO offers the Masters of Business Administration at all three campuses. The program is structured primarily for students who work full-time and plan to attend classes on a part-time basis.

Started in the summer of '95, the MBA program incorporated the use of compressed video. This technology has enhanced the student's learningexperience in several ways. First, compressed video has increased the periodicity of course offerings. Instead of a required course being offered every third semester at a specific site, this course may now be offered every other semester. Second, the use of compressed video has increased the number of electives offered. A course that might have enrollments deemed too small, can in fact, reach acceptable numbers via this technology. Both of these factors enhance the student's total learning experience at all three campuses.

Tentative Compressed Video Offerings:

Spring 96 2
Summer 96 1
Fall 96 1
Jan 97 1 (4 week course)
Spring 97 3

(submitted by Bob Skorczewski
Assoc. Director, Office of Outreach and Extension
UW-Green Bay)

UW-LA CROSSE -

UW-MADISON -

UW-MILWAUKEE - UW-Milwaukee has created a Distance Infrastructure Committee to coordinate distance education activities on its campus. Thus far, the Committee has focused its attention on assessing the distance education courses in Business and Library Science that are being transmitted from Milwaukee this semester and creating a campus checklist for coordinating and overseeing distance education courses. The campus checklist is designed to ensure that proper planning and reporting of distance-based instruction is carried out as effectively as possible. We plan on sharing the results of the Committee's work with DESIEN when our work has been completed later this Spring.

(submitted by Sona Andrews Assistant Vice Chancellor UW-Milwaukee)

UW-OSHKOSH - (See UW-Green Bay)

UW-PARKSIDE -

UW-PLATTEVILLE -

UW-RIVER FALLS -

UW-STEVENS POINT - (see UW-Green Bay)

UW-STOUT -

UW-SUPERIOR -

UW-WHITEWATER -
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FROM THE DISTANCE EDUCATION CLEARINGHOUSE
NETNEWS
Michele Jacques
Distance Education Clearinghouse
on the web at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html
or gopher to the server:
gopher.uwex.edu
for text-only version of the Clearinghouse

The month of February has seen the signing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law. There has been much discussion about this act, including some here on the DESIEN listserv. The Distance Education Clearinghouse has posted several items on the Legislation and Policies page which relate to the Act. You can find these at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/legislation.html

Many of the links which are listed on this page have devoted special sections of their sites to a discussion of this legislation. Included on the Clearinghouse are links to the full text of the legislation, as well as summaries and analysis of the pros and cons of the effects of the Act.

As for other statements on policies and regulations, the Legislation page
includes links to such places as:
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NTIA is the Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and international telecommunications and information technology issues.

Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF). The task force consists of high-level representatives of the Federal agencies that play a major role in the development and application of information and telecommunications technologies.

International Multimedia Teleconferencing Consortium (IMTC). The IMTC is a non-profit corporation founded to promote the creation and adoption of international standards for multipoint document and video teleconferencing.

Wisconsin legislative and policy information is also represented on the Clearinghouse. For example, a link to Governor Tommy Thompson's 1996 State of the State address is provided. The Governor addressed distance education issues in such statements as: "Distance learning is erasing school district boundaries...." and "...I am asking the UW System to reach three goals
that will allow high school students to take greater advantage of new technology."

Another important link for Wisconsin is the Wisconsin Information Infrastructure Update. The information assembled here is developed by Bob Bocher, Technology Consultant of Wisconsin DPI. The site summarizes a number of recent activities that will affect the further development of the state's information infrastructure.

As always, please be sure to send me your comments, suggestions, and questions about the Distance Education Clearinghouse. I can be reached at: jacques@ics.uwex.edu or by phone at (608)265-6178. Thank you.

Michele Jacques
Project Coordinator, WWW
Distance Education Clearinghouse
Instructional Communications Systems
University of Wisconsin-Extension

FYI

REMINDER - Call for Conference Sessions for The 12th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning, August 7-9, 1966, Madison, Wisconsin. The conference theme is "Designing for Learning." Proposals are due March 1, 1996. Contact Nancy Kolberg, 608-265-4159.

REMINDER - Call for Presentations for The Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (WETC), October 8-10, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Applications are welcomed for one-hour sessions and three-hour workshops and are due March 8, 1996. Contact Ron Unmacht, 608-264-9689.

DISTANCE EDUCATION CONFERENCE - "Sharing the Experience III: Beyond the Rhetoric," March 3-6, 1996, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331. Contact Lisa Farquharson, 541-737-5238.

NUCEA 81st ANNUAL CONFERENCE - "Technology Revolution: Possibilities and Perils for Higher Education," March 29-April 1, 1996, Boston, MA. Contact NUCEA, 202-659-3130.

WAACE/ACHE REGION VI CONFERENCE - Adult Continuing Education Conference, "Creating Opportunities in Times of Change," April 11-12, 1996, Milwaukee, WI. Contact Registrar, 414-595-2312.

SECOND ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP - "Distance Education and Technology: Future Visions," May 6-8, 1996. Cosponsored by the International University Consortium and the University of Maryland System Institute for Distance Education. Contact Conference Center, 301-985-7303 or 1-800-727-8622.

ITCA '96 CONFERENCE - The International Teleconferencing Association Conference will focus on practical applications of video/audio conferencing, data collaboration and other interactive multmedia technologies with an all-new format. The conference is scheduled for May 21-24, Washington, DC. Contact ITCA, 703-506-3266.

INTERNATIONAL WORLD CONFERENCE - The 18th ICDE World Conference has issued a call for papers. The Conference, June 2-6, 1997 will be hosted by The Pennsylvania State University. The conference theme is "The New Learning Environment: A Global Perspective." Deadline for submissions is March 31, 1996. Contact Gary Miller, The Pennsylvania State University, 211 Mitchell Bldg., University Park, PA 16802.

20-WEEK CERTIFICATE COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT - "Problems and Principles in the Use of the Internet for Course Delivery," October, 1996 until April 1997, taught by Dr. Roger H. Flavell of the University of London will treat three broad themes: the role of computer-mediated communication in education and training, the effectiveness of online education and collaborative learning, and an introduction to online services. Contact Dr. Flavell, 0171 612 6525 or fax: 0171 612 6534. Deadline for applications is May 31, 1996.
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MID-MARCH DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS: "The Development of the Distance Education Clearinghouse," by Michele Jacques. This will replace the regular Distance Education Clearinghouse column for the month.
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DESIEN has been created to encourage information exchange and discussion of distance education issues concerned with: 1) Symposium team progress and institution course/program development, 2) faculty/team development, 3) technology, 4) policy, 5) funding, and 6) research among participants, presenters, and organizers of the 1994 UW-Extension/UW System Distance Education Symposium. Other List members are also welcome to join in with information contributions and discussion.

Each monthly issue will focus on an "area of interest", feature a regular column on the Distance Education Clearinghouse by Michele Jacques, contain an FYI section and list future areas of focus. Your continuous contributions through updates, features, questions and dialogue will be instrumental in helping DESIEN evolve and grow.

DESIEN is a one-year pilot project, September, 1995 to September, 1996 and will be evaluated at the end of that time. The coordinators of DESIEN are Rosemary Lehman and Pat Takemoto. The owner of DESIEN is Rosemary Lehman, lehman@ics.uwex.edu. Please contact Rosemary if you have concerns or problems.