The Consortium for the Development of Professional Materials for Vocational Education at Ohio State University was organized in 1978 for the purpose of developing high-quality curriculum materials for training leadership personnel in vocational and technical education in the United States, and to pilot test and demonstrate new instructional…

This paper reports on a computer conferencing pilot project initiated by the Consortium for the Development of Professional Materials for Vocational Education and developed at the Center on Education and Training for Employment at Ohio State University. The report provides an introduction to computer conferencing and describes the stages of the…

In 1983, Oklahoma State University (OSU) dedicated a multi-million-dollar Telecommunications Center, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for the production of live video and audio conferences as well as taped instructional materials. The center was also equipped with a downlink for the reception of programs transmitted by satellite. Unlike…

An online professional development course, Telecommunications and Information Access, offers educators the opportunity to earn graduate credit, learn about an emerging technological field, and interact using a telecommunication network. This independent study course offered by the University of Oregon and the International Society for Technology…

The Alliance Library System (ALS) is one of 12 regional library systems in Illinois, providing a full spectrum of support services for 300 member libraries of all types (public, school, academic, and special) located in west central Illinois. This paper describes the process by which ALS implemented a voice/video/data network connecting their four…

Mount Saint Vincent University (Nova Scotia), in cooperation with the Atlantic Satellite Network, has been involved in offering credit courses using videoteleconferencing since 1983. Distance University Education via Television (DUET) is a unique use of videoteleconferencing which complements the need for current information and for the…

The creation of the Virginia Tech Teleport Facility and the installation of a nine-meter (diameter) C-Band satellite uplink antenna provided the initial impetus for the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service (VCES) to explore the use of satellite technology for information and program delivery. The $600,000 uplink became operational in September…

The recommendations in this paper are based on the findings of a survey of 32 institutions that had subscribed--for a fee--to receive live via satellite one or more of five staff development teleconferences for school teachers and administrators. The teleconferences, which were one-way video/two-way audio productions, were broadcast during 1985-86…

Fifty-three secondary educators in six Alaskan school districts participated in a Carl Perkins grant project to integrate academic and vocational education and thinking skills. The first year of the project combined onsite and distance delivered instruction on the development of interdisciplinary units and integration models. An electronic college…

This paper discusses the concept of diversity of course components in the context of an online staff development course at the United Kingdom Open University. In addition to FirstClass computer conferencing and Web content, RealAudio was used in both synchronous and asynchronous modes. The purpose of its use was to add diversity and focus, which…