By Odd Haddall, Distance Education Coordinator 
UW-Platteville 
 

The Southwest Connection 

General Psychology, Introduction to Engineering, Engineering Graphics, and Principles of Sociology are a few of the distance learning classes from UW-Platteville open to area high school students, delivered on one of Wisconsin's newest interactive distance education networks, SRTNC (pronounced "certaincy"). Launched in August of last year, this full motion, interactive television network (Southwest Rural Telecommunications Network Consortium) combines twelve sites spread out in southwest Wisconsin, an area which was not very well equipped with distance education facilities.

The main pattern for UW-Platteville is to offer dual-credit classes (classes where students receive both college and high school credit) to high school students during the day and professional development classes for teachers outside regular class hours. UW-Platteville has increased its dual-credit offering from three classes the first year to eight the second year, a remarkable growth which shows the need for this network and also the need for what the University contributes. In the future, UW-Platteville wants to explore the possibility of nontraditional combinations, such as dual credit classes in late afternoons or early evenings, open to other community members as well as interested high school students.

Community groups have already started using the network actively for teleconferences and meetings, giving SRTNC a foothold in the local community as well as educational circles. A very successful opening ceremony brought interested parents, teachers, school board members and other community people in to observe and participate in the fully interactive sessions. It didn't take long for people to seem remarkably comfortable with the technology.

Other school districts are actively seeking to become members and Wisconsin's technology initiatives are also likely to help the network grow. Two additional benefits are the Internet connection that most school districts signed up for in connection with SRTNC and the word-of-mouth publicity that the network receives.

In addition to UW-Platteville, the other SRTNC members are the school districts of Black Hawk, Cuba City, Darlington, Iowa-Grant, Mineral Point, Platteville, Riverdale, Shullsburg and Southwestern, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College and CESA #3 in Fennimore.