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BROADCASTING AND MEDIA INNOVATIONS |
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Creates links and opportunities to benefit people of all ages, using broadcasting, distance education and online services to deliver valuable content for individuals, students and communities |
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• Message • Broadcasting and Media Innovations • Business and Manufacturing Extension • Cooperative Extension • Outreach and E-Learning Extension • FY 2003 expenditures • FY 2003 contacts and enrollments • Partners |
Broadcasting and Media Innovations brings the university to a growing number of Wisconsin people through radio, television, distance education and other leading-edge technologies.
Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) news and public affairs programs reached an average of 571,000 people each week, serving viewers of all ages as well as local classrooms. WPT won the prestigious USC Annenberg Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism for its 2002 election coverage, which included a Web site, analysis of political advertising, candidate debates and other innovative coverage. Use of interactive conferencing services through the Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) unit continues to grow, as more universities and state agencies look for effective and efficient ways to convene statewide discussions with their employees, partners and customers. During 2003 use of WisLine Web conferencing, a new combination of telephone and Internet conferencing, increased by 88%. In addition to managing distance conferencing services, the ICS unit last year developed a new Web application capable of sifting through multiple, separately maintained data sources and displaying one unified set of results. This is the engine that now enables Wisconsin teachers to search the IDEAS Web site (http://ideas.wisconsin.edu) for curriculum resources managed by many different groups.
Datacasting, the ability to transmit vast quantities of digital information over the air, will enable WPT to transmit teacher guides, full-motion video, audio and graphics to televisions and computers in homes, businesses and schools. In other efforts to develop and apply new technology, ICS is partnering with WiscNet, a statewide cooperative of educational and public service/government organizations, to research the viability of Internet-based videoconferencing, and is developing a next-generation network to support educational institutions statewide, including the Wisconsin Technical College System. Working with other UW campuses, Broadcasting and Media Innovations is exploring new ways to use advances in digital technology. In the next year, this work will focus on enhancing classroom and online teaching at the university level and creating digital video repositories at UW libraries. Just as digital technology is revolutionizing television, digital radio broadcasting or High Definition-Radio will enhance the capabilities of the public radio networks. The financial challenge of converting 27 WPR transmitters will pay off with superb audio quality and the ability to send data and text as part of the over-the-air signal. annual report home |
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