Distance learning gets $126K boost from USDA
12/03/2014
KEARNEY — From foreign language classes to virtual field trips, a $126,989 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Educational Service Unit 10 will allow schools to take advantage of unique curriculum opportunities that may not otherwise be available.
The 2014 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant provided by the USDA will fund videoconferencing technology in 38 school districts across 19 counties.
“As technology has evolved, so has our way of communicating, even within schools. No longer are schools simply a building in a district,” said John Stritt, distance learning coordinator for ESU 10. “We have the ability now to share beyond those borders and provide new and enriching activities for students as a result of these grants.”
Stritt noted that this is the third time that ESU 10 has received this specific grant from the USDA.
The grant will allow for the purchase and implementation of servers, software licensing and USB video cameras, which Stritt said will enable rural school districts to offer distance learning classes currently unavailable at their schools. Some examples are foreign language and music classes that teach specialized instruments. Stritt said virtual field trip options also exist, allowing students in far-flung corners of the state to tour the State Capitol and other historic landmarks that may be hard to reach because of distance or a lack of travel funds.
“It is our goal to make services available to rural residents all over America and, in our case, all over Nebraska,” said Maxine Moul, Nebraska Director of USDA Rural Development. “I think the benefits to our rural communities are very, very positive.”
Moul recalled seeing distance learning in action for the first time in the early 1990s in a school in Dunning that used videoconferencing technology to teach Spanish to high school students. Moul, who served as lieutenant governor to Ben Nelson from 1991-1993, marveled at how distance learning has progressed throughout the state since that time.
“I’m very proud of the schools, the ESUs, the community colleges in the state of Nebraska because they truly think that they are on the cutting edge of this,” she said.
Stritt said ESU 10 will purchase the distance-learning equipment toward the end of the current school year and intends to install the equipment during the summer and begin using it next school year.
ESU 10 is one of 17 units throughout the state. The organizations work with school districts to provide supplemental services, training and support.
By Josh Moody