Distance Learning Programming and Resources A-G H-O P-W Lake County Science, Math, and Technology Project, Lake County, IL Students at more than 30 schools in Lake County, IL, learn how to use and share computer information by participating in simulated space missions. The project involves the entire school community.   Lansing-Jackson, Michigan A pilot distance learning network linked seven schools and colleges in the Lansing-Jackson, Michigan area, enabling teachers and students in different locations to interact by audio and video as if they were in the same classroom. About 20 activities were conducted on the network each week, including specialized courses that otherwise could not be justified for smaller groups of students at individual schools.   Laredo Junior College, Larado, TX; Incarnate Word College, San Antonio, TX A solution to the nursing shortage in Laredo,TX was created through a joint effort between San Antonio's Incarnate Word College and Laredo Junior College, thanks partly to a new multimedia education network. Students in Laredo link with students and teachers on the Incarnate Word College campus in San Antonio through an interactive two-way video classroom that will help prepare nurses to receive their bachelor's or master's degrees. A major benefit of the link is the ability to attend classes in Laredo while earning a bachelor's or master's degree in nursing. That capability is crucial to retaining graduating nurses who will remain in Laredo to serve the health care needs of the community with their advanced skills.   Lifetime (LIFE) (Cable in the Classroom) Lifetime classroom programming showcases award-winning documentaries that examine challenging issues such as child labor with Danger: Kids at Work, and acclaimed parenting and child development programs such as What Every Baby Knows hosted by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. Also featured are specially selected programs appropriate for Cable in the Classroom. The closed captioned, commercial-free programs air the first and second Wednesday of each month from 4-5 a.m. ET/PT. Support materials are available for certain programs. Check Cable in the Classroom magazine for more information. World Wide Web Site: http://www.lifetimetv.com Marcy Haley & Terrie Pologianis (212) 424-7000   New Mexico State University, Las Cruces and Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, Mexico The Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua in Mexico and New Mexico State University (NMSU) installed uplinks at both sites to link their students, faculty, and researchers. The Mexican government donated a full-time transponder on the Morelos satellite. Ultimately, the network will connect seven branch campuses throughout the state of Chihuahua. Video delivery of courses will begin when construction on the television studio is complete. Applications include data, voice, and fax. Lehigh University Students at Lehigh University have a television lounge called the World View Room. It brings them live broadcasts in 30 languages and they can immerse themselves in a foreign language and culture. They can hear a language as it is spoken in the country and pick up clues about the culture that they wouldn't ordinarily find in a textbook. The programming is provided by SCOLA. Students can view the programming Monday through Friday on a large rear projection television. The lounge also has monitors for shortwave radio broadcasts and racks with a variety of foreign language periodicals.   Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET) The Learning Community is a project of MCET. In response to Goals 2000, it uses telecommunications technologies to improve science, mathematics, and literacy education for children and adults. It is an integrated education program which connect learning in schools with learning in out-of-school settings for all members of the community; students, teachers, administrators, parents, families, and adult learners. Three communities are participating in The Learning Community as demonstration sites; Boston, MA; Hartford, CT; and New York City. Among the organizations involved in the school-community partnerships are public and parochial schools, centers for adult and community education, human service agencies, cable public access stations, local businesses, and technical assistance providers. It provides technical assistance to these teams and their communities through a range of activities, including workshops, summer institutes, electronic mail, meetings via picture telephone, interactive teleconferences, and site visits. School-community teams work with MCET staff to select innovative programming from the extensive menu of new and existing programs and to develop community-wide education pans that incorporate technologies and provide expanded educational opportunities for all learners. Learning Community instructional programming is being delivered through the Mass LearnPike, MCET's educational satellite network, as well as through a variety of other innovative technologies. Community sites in Boston, Hartford, and New York City are linked via PictureTel systems for two-way video teleconferencing. To expand the outreach, MCET collaborates with other networks including those in Maine, New York, Missouri, SERC, TEAMS and BCSN. Twenty states are served through satellite, telephone, and computer technology for students of all ages in science, technology, math, language arts, social studies, and staff development.   Mid-Minnesota Telecommunications Consortium - MidTeC The seven technical colleges in MidTeC, a leased 400-mile system, pool instructional and administrative resources via interactive television on fiber optic links provided by US WEST and analog video technology to interconnect the schools. St. Cloud Technical College delivers 80-100 classes per week. The system also connects with K-12 consortia. The system allows MidTeC members to offer low-enrollment and "off-sequence" courses that would be impractical for any single consortium member. Students attending one school may receive credits in their chosen field from other MidTeC schools. The result? More educational opportunities for students, and moreefficient use of instructor resources. The system is also used for administrative meetings and a variety of community meetings.   Mississippi 2000 Broadband fiber optic networks are used in the Mississippi 2000 project. This public/private partnership involves the state of Mississippi, South Central Bell, Northern Telecom, ADC Telecommunications, IBM, and Apple Computer. A public fiber optic network links secondary schools in Clarksdale, Philadelphia, Corinth, and West Point with the Mississippi State University in Starkville, the University for Women in Columbus, and the Mississippi Educational Television Network studio in Jackson.   Montana Montana's compressed video network links four sites: University of Montana, Montana State University, Eastern Montana College, and the state capital in Helena. A Missoula-Billings connection will be used to continue the successful MBA program which has been delivered to Billings via microwave for the past four years. Support has come from the Montana Department of Administration which allows the use of the state telephone network for the transmission. By utilizing the state network's video dial tone capability to spread out the compressed digital signal, transmission costs are expected to remain affordable for educational users. A multi-site control unit at Helena will permit program origination from any of the four sites.   Montana Educational Telecommunications Network - METNET METNET involves a number of activities and projects targeted primarily at K-12 education schools and agencies. METNET supports equipment purchases for the compressed video network and for K-12 satellite programming. It has a statewide electronic bulletin board system with 15 sites (higher education and K-12) serving as regional bulletin board nodes.   MSNBC (Cable in the Classroom) MSNBC is a breakthrough news and information service from NBC and Microsoft. It features both a cable service and an accompanying on-line service. Cable in the Classroom programming is still in development, but will focus on current news and information with an interactive spin, and usage of software and computers. World Wide Web Site: http://www.msnbc.com Network Contact: Mark Hotz at 201/585-6463   MTV (Cable in the Classroom) MTV's Community of the Future classroom series presents thought provoking programming on relevant social issues that concern young people today. Community of the Future segments air commercial-free Mondays at 4 a.m. ET/PT Monthly lesson plans and VHS dubs of the series are available free to educators by calling 1-800-246-8MTV. World Wide Web Site: http://www.mtv.com Laurie Cohen 1-800-246-8MTV from "A Technical Guide to Teleconferencing and Distance Learning," 3rd edition