Thanks to Ohio SchoolNet’s Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL) initiative and the efforts of the Lawrence County Educational Service Center (LCESC), five county high schools will be receiving video conferencing equipment.

Thursday, March 01, 2001

Thanks to Ohio SchoolNet’s Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL) initiative and the efforts of the Lawrence County Educational Service Center (LCESC), five county high schools will be receiving video conferencing equipment.

Don Washburn, LCESC project director, was informed last week that Interactive Partnerships Without Boundaries (IPWBI), a 28-high school consortium which spans seven counties, was awarded a $1.75-million grant from Ohio SchoolNet.

Included in the consortium is Collins Career Center and Dawson-Bryant, Fairland, Rock Hill and South Point High Schools. The grant was facilitated by LCESC.

Each high school has a pioneer team consisting of two to three teachers, the principal and receives guidance from LCESC supervisors.

The IDVL initiative has three project goals: to provide teachers access to resources so that new work can be created by and for students; to provide teachers and administrators professional development for using distance learning to enhance classroom, school and district activities and; to provide students, teachers and administrators the educational technologies to communicate and collaborate. Washburn says the technology will "help bridge the gap due to geographic isolation" and brings educational tools to the classroom for the benefit of students, teachers and the community.

"The LCESC is exited that our initiative was successfully funded and looks forward to continuing to work with our schools to obtain other grants and funding opportunities to help provide the best educational system possible for our teachers and students," Washburn said.

"The schools in Lawrence County have a history of working well together as a team and distance learning makes the process much easier," he added.