Utah Education Network

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Utah Education Network
Type Non-profit organization
Founded 1989
Headquarters University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, Utah
Industry education

data networking

public broadcasting
Website http://www.uen.org
The statewide Utah Education Network is headquartered at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City.

The Utah Education Network (UEN) is a not-for-profit consortium of higher and public education, libraries, state government and business. UEN’s high speed computer network connects Utah colleges and universities as well as the state’s school districts and libraries. The Network facilitates interactive video conferencing, provides instructional support services, and operates a public television station (KUEN) on behalf of the Utah State Board of Regents. UEN services benefit more 750,000 students and educators throughout the state of Utah. Network headquarters are in Salt Lake City at the Eccles Broadcast Center on the University of Utah campus.

Contents

[edit] History

The Utah State Legislature formally established UEN in 1989, but the statewide collaboration of public education and higher education started more than two decades earlier when KUED-Channel 7 signed on the air in 1958. The station built translator towers to beam its signal to remote communities, and later engineers placed microwave link equipment on some of those towers enabling two-way teleconferencing for education and government. In 1987, KULC-Channel 9 (now UEN-TV) started broadcasting as Utah’s Learning Channel, and in 1994 UEN started UtahLINK, the Internet component of the Network. Today all three delivery systems (broadcasting, teleconferencing and Internet data communications) operate under the UEN name.

[edit] Key services

  • High speed, statewide data network for K-12 schools, colleges and libraries
  • Pioneer, Utah’s Online Library, accessible from school, work and home computers
  • High school and college courses via live Interactive Video Conferencing (EDNET) and the Utah Electronic High School
  • Blackboard Vista hosting for all Utah higher education institutions
  • College telecourses, GED, Workplace Essential Skills and Instructional Television on UEN-TV
  • Online resources for educators at www.uen.org and my.uen.org
  • Free professional development workshops for educators
  • Statewide planning and coordination of educational technology
  • Lifelong learning resources for everyone from pre-schoolers to senior citizens

[edit] EDNET

EDNET is a distance education program provided through the UEN network, making use of their network backbone, facilities and support. Until 2005 this was mainly accomplished through the use of a Broadcast Television Network, with a few outlying rural areas connecting through IP-based Interactive Video Conferencing means; however, over the summer of 2005 this was converted to a state-wide IP-based IVC system. The current standards make use of Tandberg Management Systems to control events, which are broadcast to multiple classrooms state-wide. Each classroom consists of a Tandberg teleconferencing unit, camera and a monitor of some sort. In addition, some rooms have: document cameras, pc connections, large format screens, microphone mixers, Crestron media control touch-screens and controllers and various other hardware.[1] This allows for a richer experience and is done to increase effectiveness of delivered material and student learning. EDNET is seeking to continue to improve the system, including the expansion into newer technologies as they evolve.[2]

[edit] Selected statistics

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  • Over 800 locations for Interactive Video Conferencing.
    • 2,951 conferencing events per week, averaging 421 per day in 2004.
  • 33,100 students taking 9,993 full-time credits in 2003-2004 High School and College Credit (through Concurrent Enrollment).
    • 153,737 semester credit hours of concurrent enrollment courses in 2004.
  • 60,000 students taking courses online via the Utah Electronic High School.
  • 11,461 educators trained (2005-2006).
  • 31% increase in class sessions offered (2005-2006).
  • 671 class sessions offered (2005-2006).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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  1. ^ http://www.uen.org/distance_ed/downloads/roomdesc.pdf
  2. ^ http://www.uen.org/ueninfo/downloads/uen_plan.pdf

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Education_Network"