ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 2, 1996 TAG: 9604020070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
THEY CAN SEE, HEAR AND communicate by satellite with just about anyone anywhere, and lots of other neat stuff.
On a recent morning, Principal Linda Bigger Brown greeted her students at William Ruffner Middle School from nearly 3,000 miles away.
She spoke to them by satellite from educational studios in Scottsdale, Ariz., from which courses and programs are transmitted to a learning lab at the Roanoke school.
The students could see their principal on a large screen at the front of the room and ask her questions by telephone.
They wanted to know whether Arizona had mountains, cacti, snakes and wolves. They asked about the size of the city and the educational studios she was visiting.
Brown answered the students' questions, reminded them to get to class on time and do their homework while she was away.
"While I'm here, I will be learning how we can better use our [satellite] lab," she told them. "I hope we can expand its use as an instructional tool when I get back."
Brown was in Scottsdale for a users' conference at the studios of Educational Management Group, an educational telecommunication company that provides video courses by satellite to about 3,800 schools across the country.
EMG's interactive network provides daily classes and courses on a broad range of subjects - from foreign languages and history to such topics as Polynesian dancing, farm animals, dinosaurs, caves and how animals get to the zoo.
This month, the distance-learning satellite company will offer a series of classes on Wall Street that will teach math principles and introduce students to the stock market.
EMG is owned by Simon and Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom Inc. Founded in 1988, EMG has grown more than 25 percent a year. EMG, a subscription-based service, does not carry advertising.
Each month, the satellite network explores a different part of the world through classes that focus on its geography, economics and cultures. In recent months, there was a series of programs on Egypt and the countries of the Pacific rim.
Through EMG, students have traveled electronically to the Amazon to study the rain forest; to Hong Kong to observe world cultures; to Canada to accompany paleontologists on a dinosaur dig; and to New Zealand to interview Antarctic research scientists.
"It's a way to get children interested in subjects. And if they get interested, they are likely to learn more," said Tom Fitzpatrick, a science teacher at Ruffner and director of the school's satellite learning lab.
"It's like an electronic field trip for the students. They can see different parts of the world or other things they've never seen."
Fitzpatrick said the lab is used three or four days a week by various classes, depending on the courses and programs offered.
Ruffner students can watch live broadcasts from the Phoenix studios. The school also can tape classes and programs so students can see them later.
The network publishes a monthly schedule of available courses, and the schools select the ones they want to receive.
Teachers at Ruffner also can ask the educational company to provide custom-made classes or programs on topics their classes are studying.
"I can call and tell them what we want. They will do the research and shoot the video for it," Fitzpatrick said.
Recently, a Ruffner class was studying caves and wanted to know more about them. Fitzpatrick sent the request to the company. Within a few days, a program on caves was provided, complete with a video of underground caverns.
"They'll research almost anything you request," he said. "It's part of the services they offer."
Fitzpatrick said the satellite network supplements classroom instruction and offers an additional instructional tool for teachers.
Ruffner students can match wits and compete with their counterparts across the country in educational games and contests scheduled on the network.
Schools on the satellite system can tape their own productions and exchange them with other schools, too, Fitzpatrick said.
Ruffner has access to the educational network because it is a federally funded magnet school with the latest in educational technology. Three other Roanoke magnet schools, William Fleming High, Fairview Elementary and Forest Park Elementary, also are linked to the service.
The fee for the service is determined by the number of students and the programming selected by a school. A typical fee can range from $25,000 to $150,000 a year, according to Andrew Giangola, vice president for communications for Simon and Schuster.
Sandra Burks, director of Roanoke's magnet program, said representatives from several school divisions in Virginia have visited Ruffner to learn more about the network, but she doesn't know of a nearby locality that uses it.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Brownby CNB