CONTENTS

WELCOME - Dennis Yockers, UW-Stevens Point and Steve Cade, Oklahoma University.
UPFRONT - "DESIEN Evaluation Results"
FOCUS - "Extending the Walls of the Classroom: The Audiographics Project of the UW Centers" by Hal Schlais
CAMPUS UPDATE - add new information
DE CLEARINGHOUSE, NETNEWS - "Wisconsin Satellite Program Database" by Michele Jacques
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW, COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE - "Copyright Clearance Center" by Rosemary Lehman
FYI - news and reminders
ENDNOTE - "The Role of Online Communications in Schools"
________________________________________________________

WELCOME - Joining DESIEN this month are Dennis Yockers and Steve Cade. Dennis is Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Education in the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point. He is a staff member of the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education and focuses his efforts on the elementary and middle school levels. He's participated in a few distance learning professional development programs for teachers and is now involved in the process of developing a credit course focusing on environmental issues that will have a video component and a live discussion component.

Steve Cade works with Interactive Television and Telecourses at the University of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma works on a collaborative basis with Oklahoma State University in team teaching graduate engineering courses on compressed video. The institution offers a Masters in Library & Information Sciences to the University Center at Tulsa. The University of Oklahoma also has a full-motion system that is primarily used for delivering a Masters in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. In addition, the University of Oklahoma operates a television studio and offers undergraduate telecourses on public access channels (broadcast and cable). Steve is treasurer/executive secretary for the Oklahoma Distance Learning Association, a chapter of the USDLA. You can find their webpage at http://www.osrhe.edu/odla/
________________________________________________________

UPFRONT - "DESIEN Evaluation Results"

We're happy to report that the results of the DESIEN Evaluation were very positive and that we'll be continuing the monthly issues in 1997. There were some excellent suggestions for additions and changes that we will be integrating into future publications. More on that in the next issue. Following is an analysis of the results:

Sixty-seven % of the respondents stated that we had achieved our mission to a great extent and 33% to some extent. Fifty % felt that DESIEN was relevant to their needs and 42% that it was somewhat relevant. Overall, 58% of the respondents contributed to DESIEN during the past year.

DESIEN sections considered very useful by 75% were: Campus Updates, Focus Articles, The Distance Education Clearinghouse and Special Articles. The remaining 25% found them somewhat useful. Announcements, Funding and Copyright sections were found very useful by 67% and somewhat useful by 33%. Conferences and FYI events were rated very useful by 50% and somewhat by 42%.

Comments on the most worthwhile aspects included: distance education sharing, articles on Distance Education and Instructional Technology programs in and outside of the UW System, the regular publication and "in your face" professional development, the Clearinghouse and feature articles on interactive teaching. Several found the interaction aspect of DESIEN least worthwhile, but qualified that by saying that they often didn't have time to interact and were most interested in scanning for information. Only one other electronic newsletter was listed as preferred, the Chronicles "Today" format, one that is easy to scroll and read through rapidly.

One hundred % read DESIEN electronically; 80% also print the issues and file them; 42% also print and circulate them among colleagues/staff; 33% also forward them electronically to their colleagues and 17% access issues in the Archives.

Comments and suggestions included: DESIEN stimulates informal discussion among interested faculty; expand DESIEN to a wider group of participants (this actually began to happen in mid-1996, as participants began to share issues with colleagues and participants increased from 75 to 104. Also at its November meeting, the University of Wisconsin-Extension Distance Education Committee (DEC) suggested expanding DESIEN). Another comment suggested shorter pieces that can quickly be scanned. Many appreciated the Campus Updates. One respondent suggested that updates be collected and input only on a quarterly basis.

Recommendations for additions/changes to DESIEN were: add sections on how campuses spend distance education money and how decisions are reached; add a section on instructional technology and the blurring between instructional technology and distance learning. Discuss technology knowledge transfer and the formative and summative evaluation of distance learning/instructional technology.

Thanks to all who sent in their forms. We value your opinions and comments. Pat and I will be meeting in December to plan the integration of your new ideas.

________________________________________________________

FOCUS

"Extending the Walls of the Classroom:
The Audiographics Project of the UW Centers"
Hal Schlais
Faculty Liaison UW System

The UWC is conducting a fairly extensive, curricularly focused distance education project using the audiographics (AG) technology (See notes 1,2 below). The primary purpose of the project is to expand the curriculum by providing students from around the UW Centers' campuses improved access to sophomore level courses. This project focuses particularly on science and mathematics courses which are not usually offered because of traditionally low enrollments.

The UW Centers has one of the largest freshman/sophomore enrollments in the UW System (See Notes 3 below). However, because that enrollment is divided up among its thirteen campuses, sophomore courses in specialty areas were not offered on many of the campuses because of low demand. To combat this fragmentation in its sophomore curriculum, the Centers began looking for alternative methods of teaching those courses at a distance. In 1991, Frank Gonzalez pioneered the Centers' use of the AG technology, offering two courses in the engineering program.

Based on that initial effort and Frank's continued success, an Audiographics pilot project was begun in 1995. During the 95/96 academic year, the Centers worked with Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) at UW-Extension, to offer an increasing number of its instructional staff a sound introduction to the AG technology and strategies for teaching at a distance.

In 1995, eleven courses were offered, seven in science and mathematics and two in music and Spanish. This academic year the Centers will offer a total of thirteen different courses via the AG network. Of the six fall semester courses (See Note 1 below), four were in science related areas, one in women's studies and one in music. The spring semester will have six science related courses with a single music course offered.

Continued program evaluations are being done to ascertain both student and instructor satisfaction and student success. Where statistics can be checked, students seem to succeed academically in a manner very similar to that of the more traditional delivery techniques. Anecdotal information indicates that instructors feel the technology is quite effective for delivering the science and mathematics based materials. However, instructors are beginning to incorporate additional technologies into their courses such as email, web pages, and desktop fax capabilities. This, fueled by the emergence of standards-based desktop videoconferencing, is requiring an examination of the current AG technology for delivering courses at a distance.

________________________

Notes

1) 1996/97 Centers' courses via audiographics - Fall 1996/Spring 1997: Chemistry 343, Organic Chemistry; Chemistry 363, Organic Chemistry; Graphics 102, Eng. Graphics; Des. Geometry Computer Science 260, Assembly Language; Mechanics 201, Eng. Mechanics; Statics Mechanics 202, Eng. Mechanics; Dynamics Mechanics 203, Strength of Materials; Math 262, Introductory Linear Algebra; Math 271 Ordinary Differential Equations; Math 223, Calculus III; Music 271, Music Theory; Music 272, Music Theory; Women's Studies 101.

2) Audiographics: A computer based technology which uses telephone technology for connection. It provides for two-way audio with a shared "white board", in the interactive area on the screen on which the students and instructor can both see and write on at the same time.

3) In the fall of 1995, the UW Centers ranked second in the UW System only to UW Madison in enrolling freshman and sophomore students. The Centers had a fall of 1995 freshman/sophomore head count of 9,267 and UW-Madison had one of 11,118. Source: UW System 96/97 Fact Book.
________________________________________________________

CAMPUS UPDATE

(Please add new information about your institution's distance education progress below.)

UW CENTERS -

UW-EAU CLAIRE -

UW-GREEN BAY -

UW-LA CROSSE -

UW-MADISON -

UW-MILWAUKEE -

UW-OSHKOSH -

UW-PLATTEVILLE -

UW-RIVER FALLS -

UW-PARKSIDE -

UW-STEVENS POINT -

UW-STOUT -

UW-SUPERIOR -

UW-WHITEWATER -
________________________________________________________

FROM THE DISTANCE EDUCATION CLEARINGHOUSE
NETNEWS
Michele Jacques
"The Wisconsin Satellite Program Database"

Distance Education Clearinghouse
on the web at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html

This month the Wisconsin Satellite Program Database has made its debut on the web. The purpose of the database is to provide information about all types of programs which are delivered via satellite. You can find the database's homepage at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/sat/

The database is fully searchable by subject, date, and keyword. You can also obtain a linkable list of all the titles which are currently in the database. Search tips are provided for those who would like more information about how the search engine performs. Additional links to program provider web pages will lead you to further information developed by those who sponsor and/or deliver the programs.

A typical record in the database will include the program title, series title, times, dates, fees, if any, and a description of the program. Subject headings as well as program format and type are also included on the record. Technical coordinates are supplied, when available.

The Wisconsin Satellite Program Database is a collaborative effort of three Wisconsin institutions: the University of Wisconsin-Extension, the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the Wisconsin Technical College System. Each have contributed to the content and upkeep of the database.

The Satellite Program Database has been available since 1988. It first was accessed through a bulletin board system, then on the gopher, and now via the web. This new web version is updated continually; as soon as the data is entered, the changes are reflected on the web. We encourage you to take a look at the site and bookmark it as one of your distance education resources.

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

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

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW, COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE - Intellectual property law, copyright and fair use doctrine are increasing in importance, as well as confusion, creating a barrier to the educational use of distance learning technologies.

Recently, in preparation for a series of compressed video workshops, I realized I would need copyright clearance for an article I wanted to use for a business case study. According to the magazine in which the article appeared, I needed to contact the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). In a matter of an hour I had a permission sheet faxed to me. Then by giving a PO number, signing the sheet and faxing it back, I was able to copy a specified number of copies in 48 hours. The permission is valid for the semester.

The CCC is a not-for-profit organization created at Congress' suggestion to help organizations comply with US copyright law. CCC provides authorized users with a lawful means for making photocopies from its collection of more than 1.75 million titles. It also provides access to compliance mechanisms, like the Academic Permissions Service, where CCC customers can report their use of copyrighted materials. These mechanisms facilitate compliance for copying beyond fair use and provide a 'one-stop' compliance model. Access to an Electronic Reserves service is in process. Electronic Reserves is an area that is emerging for academic institutions that seek to maximize access to intellectual resources derived from scanning print resources and/or electronic media, i.e. CD-ROMs. To learn more about the Electronic Reserves Project, contact Jeff Rosedale's Electronic Reserves at: http://www.cc.columbia.edu/~rosedale/
(Rosemary Lehman)
________________________________________________________

FYI

NEWS AND REMINDERS:

NEW ELECTRONIC PEER-REVIEWED ONLINE JOURNAL: The American Communication Association is announcing the debut of its lead publication, the American Communication Journal. Dedicated to the analysis and criticism of significant communicative artifacts, the Journal is: 1) exclusively a WWW publication and 2) provides the scholar with the opportunity to hypertextually reference supportive materials available in Cyberspace. Audio, video, graphics, virtual reality, live interactivity are all at the researcher's supportive disposal. The Editorial Board is currently accepting submissions and is anticipating that the first issue will be released online this summer, August 1997. For information on style and guidelines, contact: Tyrone L. Adams tyadams@aol.com

FREE VIDEOCONFERENCE: December 11, 8:00 p.m.-9:30 p.m., "POWER TO THE CHILDREN School Funding and Tax Reform: Finding the Common Ground" brings together key individuals and organizations to work in the critical next step toward solving the school funding and tax reform dilemma. While designed for Illinois, other states will find the dialogue dynamics, issues and action process to be useful for their own school funding challenges. The videoconference will originate from the University Park studios of Governors State University. To Register as a Downlink Site: Call 708-534-4095.

WEBFAIR '97: Judging will take place for entries submitted to WebFair '97 during Spring Semester of 1997. Visit the WebFair '97 homepage at: http://webfair.wisc.edu Wisconsin students (groups or individuals, K-16) will use the WWW to describe an academic project they are doing on a web page.

ORLANDO MULTIMEDIA '97, February 19-21, 1997: Orlando Multimedia '97 will be held at the Hyatt Orlando Hotel, Kissimmee, Florida. The Conference and Exhibition is sponsored by the Society for Applied Learning Technology. This 15th Annual Conference and Exhibition is on "Interactive Instruction Delivery and Distance Learning Systems". For more information or to register call: 1-800-457-6812.
________________________________________________________

ENDNOTE - A recent study "The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study" demonstrates that students with online access perform better than those without that access. "Overall, students with access to Scholastic Network and the Internet produced better projects than students without online access. They received higher scores in all nine learning measures. The higher scores were statistically significant for five of the nine measures. In particular, students with online access were more effective in their ability to: present their work, state a civil rights issue, present a full picture (who, what, when, where, why, how), bring together different points of view and produce a complete project.

These results are particularly striking because both experimental and control classes undertook the same projects and both were encouraged to take advantage of computer tools and resources in the Civil Rights Unit. Teacher reports and the makeup of the projects submitted confirm that students in the control group did use computers although they did not go online. This targets online use as a key differentiating factor in student performance within this study."

Source: CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) 508-531-8555 http://www.cast.org/

(The above information was forwarded to Hal Schlais by Susan Barry of the ERVING Network)

________________________________________________________

DECEMBER ISSUE: FOCUS - New Mission and Direction for DESIEN

________________________________________________________

DESIEN ARCHIVE: An Archive has been created for past issues and interaction comments. Locate at: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/desien.html

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 recipients 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 input 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 Pat Takemoto and Rosemary Lehman. The owner of DESIEN is Rosemary Lehman, lehman@ics.uwex.edu. Please contact Rosemary if you have concerns or problems. ListServ: DESIEN-List@uwex.edu