Released: July 20, 2006
Contact: Susan Sullivan, 317.263.8849, ssulliva@ihets.org

INDIANAPOLIS—IHETS’ best known service—IHETS Television, which was launched as a microwave system in 1969 and evolved into a satellite-based network in 1993—retired this June after nearly 40 years of continuous operation.

At its peak in 2001, the satellite network included eight digitally compressed video channels serving 425 receive sites in Indiana and across the country. And while it is difficult to accurately estimate how many Hoosiers furthered their education and career goals via this once cutting-edge technology, it is safe to say hundreds of thousands of students and adults of all ages and backgrounds participated in its televised programs. Thousands of these individuals were able to complete entire undergraduate and graduate degree programs in areas ranging from nursing to engineering to the MBA using this technology.

But all things come to an end, especially in the ever-evolving field of communications technology. Today’s students (many of whom are working adults with children) want and need more flexible programs that fit their fast-paced lifestyles—and that means online, interactive courses delivered via the Internet to desktop computers, whether at home, the office, or a local learning center.

Enter IHETS Interactive Meeting! Members can use this fully-managed service and its robust suite
of tools including two-way video and audio, text chat, application sharing, electronic whiteboard, annotated PowerPoint presentations, and more for flexible teaching and learning options.

• Ball State University is now using the service to deliver 19 summer courses, a number which will grow to 22 this fall. Other institutions delivering fall courses with IHETS Interactive include Indiana State University and Indiana Institute of Technology.
  
• Saint Joseph’s College is using IHETS Interactive to preserve the valuable time of their board members by eliminating their travel time to and from campus for meetings. Other higher education institutions plan to conduct a variety of university business using the service to save time and travel funds. Using IHETS Interactive for committee meetings, professional development workshops, and other activities allows faculty, staff, community members, business partners, and others who are geographically distant to fully engage and collaborate with one another.

Note that faculty, staff, students, and others with Meeting accounts can also utilize IHETS Interactive Presenter, which allows streaming video, audio, animation, and other multimedia files and functions to be integrated with Microsoft PowerPoint to create rich, dynamic presentations.

To see Meeting in action, your institution’s faculty and staff are invited to join us for our second annual virtual brownbag series, Second Wednesdays@Noon. These hour-long professional development programs target instructional technologists and faculty throughout the state who want to share information and ideas on using technology for teaching and learning. The 2006-07 schedule will be posted in August. For an idea of the topics discussed, see last year’s schedule.

If you want to schedule a class, meeting, workshop, or other event or to learn more about scheduling policies, please follow the scheduling information posted on our Web site. You’ll find the scheduling request forms, policies, and contacts along with other important information to get the ball rolling.

You are also encouraged to get a test account and explore IHETS Interactive Meeting on your own. Get creative—put it to the test!

IHETS provides live technical support for IHETS Interactive Meeting and Presenter from our Help Desk analysts between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. On-call Help Desk staff are available on the weekends and holidays.

In addition, IHETS can provide one-on-one and group training and demonstration sessions on your campus or at our facility. We’ve also developed (and will continue to refine and improve) training material and other documentation for faculty and student users of the system.

Questions? Contact us! E-mail interactive@ihets.org or call 317.263.8900.

 

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