The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture

Society Ready Graduates
Multi-media Classroom Learning Center

Issue

Across the country, post-secondary agricultural education programs are dealing with meeting university minimum enrollment standards, a shortage of secondary school agriculture teachers, and teachers needing resources and technical assistance that will take them into the 21st century. Teachers in remote areas still need to keep up with the demands and standards of the profession but often cannot attend professional development classes in person.

What has been done

A self-contained multimedia learning station, or "command center" has been developed to deliver distance education workshops to vocational teachers and students across the state. The instructor can capture classroom participation, E-mail, Internet, multimedia, video and 3-D image display. Using the system, one instructor can film a class at the university, producing a high quality video that can then be sent directly to off-site participants. Currently 7 courses are offered through this process.

Impact

The program is reaching a record number of undergraduate and graduate students, and educators in the field of agricultural education. Ninety clients who otherwise would not have been able to continue their education have completed distance education courses so far. The ultimate impact of the program is that educational standards for excellence in teacher and professional education can be met even in rural areas that do not have traditional university facilities.

"If it weren't for the new distance classes, I wouldn't be able to get my Master's in Ag Ed."


--Lance Fite, of Safford High School, Safford Arizona

Funding

Arizona Department of Education
University of Arizona Center for Computer and Information Technology
University of Arizona College of Agriculture
UA Department of Agricultural Education--Faculty Salaries
Grant money

Contact

Jack Elliot, professor, Department of Agricultural Education
PO Box 210036, Forbes Room 224
The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
Telephone: (520) 621-7173 FAX: (520) 621-9889
Email: elliot@ag.arizona.edu

This report is one of 29 impact statements submitted by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture to the USDA's 1999 CSREES Science and Education Impacts database in Washington, D.C. An impact statement is a brief summary, in lay terms, of the economic, environmental and/or social impact of a land-grant program. It states accomplishments and their payoff to society.
Located at http://ag.arizona.edu/impacts/2000/multimedia.html
Return to Impact report listing