Connect With ICS
Presenter
Marcia Baird
Director, Instructional Communications Systems
University of Wisconsin-Extension
Title
Introduction: Connect with ICS
Description
An introduction to the services and support provided by Instructional Communications Systems.
Date Recorded
March 2006
Text:
Hello. Welcome to Instructional Communications Systems—located in The Pyle Center in Madison. I’m Marcia Baird, Director of ICS.
ICS is a technology service unit of University of Wisconsin-Extension. It’s my pleasure to introduce you to our organization and how we can help you. Our staff has worked with educational technologies and services for more than 40 exciting years. We were proud to be one of the early adoptors of teaching and learning technologies.
Back in 1965… that meant designing and managing an interactive audio network so the Continuing Medical Education department could provide professional development programs to doctors… wherever they practiced in Wisconsin.
Today we continue that tradition…adding many other technology options…continuing to take pride in bringing NEW technologies and services to faculty, staff, and learners.
Although the technologies have changed over the years, there’s one thing that certainly hasn’t changed at ICS– and that’s our overall mission and commitment: to strengthen the “Wisconsin Idea – making education accessible to learners wherever they live and work.
So, what are some of the specific services we offer? Well, there’s a full array … everything from planning and instructional design to training on a specific technologies, from multi-media support to help with designing web-based services, from webconferencing to webcasting, from videoconferencing to podcasting.
Each week our program coordination and technical staff support more than 400 technology events.
For example…Cooperative Extension uses WisLine audioconferencing for statewide staff meetings, and for smaller regional and program area meetings. For UW-Madison Engineering Professional Development, they’ve chosen WisLine Web – webconferencing – for weekly project discussions with practicing engineers who are enrolled in a Master’s program, but spread across the country.
Increasingly many departments and agencies are offering audio or video streams of their programs on the Internet…allowing more people to access them live and also around the clock, after the event. Others package their programs and materials on CDs or DVDs for greater access.
Our instructional design and training staff can help you select the right technology tools to meet your objectives – and help you learn how to use them effectively. There are many learning options.
Sometimes it’s a videoconferencing workshop like the one offered for Dane county area high school teachers … sometimes it’s a hands-on, small group training session, like the one that showed state agencies how to use webconferencing for software training. ... And sometimes it’s the option of web resources, case studies, or online tutorials.
On behalf of all of us at ICS, we invite you to Connect with us. We’re here to help you connect with your learners, your teams and colleagues at a distance, your organization. Contact us at: 608-262-3465 or go to our web site at www.uwex.edu/ics for more information.
Connect with success and connect for positive impacts: ICS is here to help.
