Featured Network: Gateway Technical College-VANguard
Jul 14, 2011
We have been providing distance education programs since: 1998 first as SWING and now as GTC-VANguard.
Number of member sites: 14 sites and growing.
Our membership includes (type of sites, eg, high schools, technical colleges, etc.): We have School Districts and serve one or two classroom locations at the district high school, 1 Residential State School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 1 World-renowned Museum (the Milwaukee Public Museum) and 4 Gateway Technical College Campuses
Our member sites are located in these Wisconsin counties: Walworth, Racine, Kenosha, and Milwaukee.
An interesting program we recently provided was: Classroom Connections” with Senator Kohl of Wisconsin. Senator Kohl chats with schools in Wisconsin a few times a year as his schedule allows via videoconferencing right out of his Washington, D.C. office. Thanks to Gaye-Lynn Clyde of the Milwaukee Public Museum who facilitates these unique connections and thanks also to Dawn Schueller, Senator Kohl’s Press Secretary who links us to the Senator.
The number of programs we offer on a typical day is: GTC-VANguard allows participating schools to share up to 15 classes a day via videoconferencing. Many of these classes are Gateway Technical College classes like American Sign Language and Developmental Psychology. The Milwaukee Public Museum connects with thousands of students all over the United States every year via videoconferencing.
Audiences attending our programs include: students from elementary, middle, and high school. We also have college students that have utilized virtual fieldtrips to enhance their Gateway Technical College classes. We hope in the near future to open up a world of programming for our local communities offering both enrichment options and student services aimed at potential Gateway students
Our most surprising success story was: The transition from SWING to GTC-VANguard with the whole-hearted support of our members who believe strongly in the unique benefits and opportunities that distance learning provides.
Our favorite tip for distance education teachers is: Be flexible and embrace chances to enhance your curriculum.
A popular topic area for our courses this year is: American Sign Language. It continues to be a great language option of intense interest year after year.
On average, the number of people attending our programs last year was: over 400 students. They took part in classes taught via videoconferencing and thousands more took advantage of virtual field trips offered by Milwaukee Public Museum.
A Virtual Field Trip we offered helped students learn about: the Lady Elgin, the paddleboat steamer known as the “Titanic of the Great Lakes”. She was a historic paddleboat steamer that sank in Lake Michigan in 1860. Students were brought directly to the wreck of the Lady Elgin through the use of interactive video-conferencing technologies. The students swam alongside the dive team as they explored the site. The program was designed to bring about awareness and interest in Great Lakes maritime history and offered by the Milwaukee Public Museum.
An interesting thing about our network is: GTC-VANguard opens a door for the college to be involved in not only our members’ instructional needs but also the communities that it serves.
At our network, we try our best to: collaborate with our partners to utilize distance learning technologies including videoconferencing, online learning, and on-ground instruction to meet the instructional needs of our partners.
For more information contact: •Jeff Robshaw CIO & Vice President, Learning Innovation Division, Gateway Technical College, Office: (262) 564-3676
•Mary Blue Virtual Learning Specialist, VANguard Initiative, Gateway Technical College, Office: (262) 767-5354
Our Network's web site url is: http://vanguard.gtc.edu/