Featured Network: University of Wisconsin-Extension
Feb 01, 2008
We have been providing distance education programs since: Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) has been providing distance education technology and services since 1965. Over 100 years ago, the University of Wisconsin-Extension began offering independent learning courses, helping to build the Wisconsin Idea.
Our membership includes (type of sites, eg, high schools, technical colleges, etc.): ICS provides teleconferencing and multimedia services for educational, governmental, and non-profit organizations in Wisconsin and beyond. We are a member of the Four Lakes Distance Education Network.
Our member sites are located in these Wisconsin counties: We support education, government and non-profit organizations in all 72 Wisconsin counties
An interesting program we recently provided was: More than 400 bailiffs, court staff and judges at 53 locations participated in and completed a three-hour jury bailiff training. Webcasting was also set up to capture the event.
"The videoconference option for training the bailiffs would allow the team to conduct one training session from a central location to multiple remote sites across the state. In addition, the session could be streamed live on the Internet for those who were not able to travel to a videoconference location and, in addition, the session could later be edited and burned to a DVD for use on Courtnet (Wisconsin’s Circuit Court internal website for court staff). Clerks of court would then be able to have new jury bailiffs view the training as part of their orientation and training." More information about this program on the ICS Effective Practices web site.
A showcase program we are offering is: Educational Interventions for Children with VCFS (Velo Cardio Facial Syndrome)
The instructor, DonnaCutler-Landsman is an educator with 30+ years of experience who has spoken internationally on the topic of VCFS and education. She approached ICS with the need to present a series of four programs to an international audience. After consulting with our instructional design team, she decided to deliver the programs via webcasting, with the option to deliver archived programs via CD.
The number of programs we offer on a typical day is: On any given day, there can be over 100 events running over our networks and supported in UW-Extension's three Madison conference centers.
Audiences attending our programs include: Engineers, librarians, health sciences professionals, educators, agricultural workers, lawyers, state employees, and anyone else interested in professional development opportunities. Students (K-16 and beyond) also take courses provided on our networks, as do members of non-profit organizations.
A typical day at our network involves: Keeping all the videoconferences, audioconferences, webconferences, webcasts, and training programs running smoothly, plus providing the instructional design and training services needed to ensure program success.
Our favorite tip for distance education teachers is: We have 147 of them! See the new book by our own Rosemary Lehman and Rich Berg:
147 Practical Tips for Synchronous and Blended Technology Teaching and Learning
On average, the number of people attending our programs last year was: Enrollments are tracked by the sponsoring departments.
Students taking our programs often comment on: Here's a quote from someone who recently attended a WisLine Web program: "WisLine Web is a great technology to use. Seeing it used in the UW-Extension Adult Learning course, inspired us to use it for our training. We are now exploring the use of other technologies as well"
An interesting thing about our network is: We are unique in that we are not one network. ICS provides the technical equipment, services and support for the distance learning technologies and networks used throughout the state and beyond.
At our network, we try our best to: Be on top of the new and emerging technologies, share our experiences with others, continually be in touch with our users to understand their needs, and provide expert advice on how to effectively use the technologies to provide opportunities for enhanced teaching and learning.
For more information contact: Marcia Baird, Director
Instructional Communications Systems
UW-Extension
marcia.baird@ics.uwex.edu
Our Network's web site url is: www.uwex.edu/ics