UNL offers classes via satellite I
By Paula Lavigne
isenror Reporter
Students across the United States
can take classes at UNL without leav
ing their living rooms through the
university's distance-education
classes.
With satellite or computer links,
the classes allow people who cannot
come to the University of Nebraska
Lincoln to take advantage of the
university’s resources.
Three weeks ago, A*DEC, a dis
tance education consortium of state
universities and land-grant colleges in
the United States, replaced the satel
lite link AGSAT.
Janet K. Poley, A*DEC president,
said the university could offer aca
demic courses, non-credit extension
programs and short courses.
The access is more important than
the method used, she said.
“It’s simply a distance education
program to extend the walls of cam
pus,” she said. “We really don’t care
what technology we use.”
The set-up works like this: An in
structor at UNL teaches from a class
room or studio equipped with video
cameras.
The cameras can be manually op
erated or hooked up to a voice control.
When students speak, the camera fo
cuses on them.
The technology on the receiving
end is simple. Remote students may
go to receiving sites such as commu
nity colleges or extension centers, or
they can nave the classes beamed to
their backyard satellites.
In most cases, the students on both
ends can have an open, two-way audio
exchange. A toll-free number allows
remote students to call in with ques
tions.
Same classes have a two-way video
exchange, where not only can the re
mote student see the instructor, but the
instructor can see the students. Cur
rently, this exchange is not available
to most remote students.
M Joan Laughlin, associate dean of
the College of Human Resources and
Family Sciences, said her college also
offered masters degree programs via
satellite for interdepartmental human
resources and family science.
Laughlin said the distance-learn
ing classes were suited for non-tradi
tional students — most of them be
tween 30 and 50 years old—in rural
Nebraska.
A survey of 104 students in the
distance program showed that if the
degree programs were not available at
remote sites, 56 percent would not
have taken the class, she said.
Almost 100 percent of the students
were female, she said, and 62 of the
students had children living at home,
which made it impossible for them to
move or commute to Lincoln.
Students were asked to rank the
classes on a scale of one to seven,
with seven being the highest,
Laughlin said, and the average rank
ing was six.
Nancy Betts, associate professor
of nutritional science and dietetics,
taught a distance-education class last
semester.
“It took some getting used to,” she
said. “At the beginning, I was terrified
by being on TV altogether.”
In the end, she said she grew to like
television teaching because itallowed
her to use high-tech video and visuals.
Her class had two-way audio but
one-way video. She said that presented
a problem because she couldn’t read
the body language of the remote stu
dents.
The students on campus were tra
ditional graduate students, she said,
while the remote students were older
and had been out of school for a num
ber of years.
The on-campus students had a
stronger science background, she said,
so she did not know when she had to
explain concepts.
“Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s
happening,” die said. “The students
are a little nervous about being on TV,
and are a little nervous about calling
in.”
New postmark seals state’s approval
By Catherine Blalock
Staff Reporter
Nebraska football fans have yet
another way to remember the
Comhuskers’ National Championship.
They now can get a postmark fea
turing a Nebraska football helmet and
the words “National Championship
Station Memorial Stadium Finished
Business.”
Nebraska post offices introduced
the postmark last week. By Tuesday,
1,450 postmarks had been distributed.
Diane Persson, a post office em
ployee, said requests for the postmarks
were attifsi coming mostly tromresi
dents in Nebraska who were sending
letters and postcards to others in the
United States. Now, requests are com
ing from across the country, Persson
said.
“We’re averaging 200 a day,”
Persson said.
The postmark is available until May
21 at the Main Post Office. Fans can
also get the postmark at Memorial
Stadium on Friday. Two National
Championship Postal Stations will be
open from 5 pjn. to 9 p.m. under the
north and south sides of the stadium.
“It’s a collector’s item,” said Susan
Frink, a spokeswoman for the
Post Office. “It’s there to honor the
football players and fans. Fans are
having fun cancelling out the Florida
stamps.”
Fans also can buy National Cham
pionship postcards for $1. The post
cards have a picture of the Sears cham
pionship trophy on them.
Fans are limited to 50 free post
marks per person. After that, they must
pay 5 cents for each extra postmark.
The postmark can be printed on
anything, Persson said. However, she
said, flat and ncnslick surfaces work
best.
The only requirement is that the
item to be postmarked has a first-class
stamp on it. ~ ‘ ~ ‘ ’ «r
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