High school students in four Missouri communities–Clinton, Appleton City, Calhoun, and Windsor–are sharing classes through Sprint’s interactive distance learning technology. Students in one high school can take courses offered at the others without leaving their own classroom.
A classroom in each school has a television screen and camera connected to a bridging unit that links multiple sites. Students and teachers using the equipment are able to talk and see each other in “real time” and carry on normal classroom activity despite being located several miles apart. Split screens allow users to view up to four locations simultaneously. Thus, a teacher at one school can interact with and call upon students at the other schools.
The project is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service grant program, which aims to give rural communities access to technology that will help them grow and compete economically.
