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 By Elaina Loveland In rural areas of Missouri, many schools have difficulty attracting teachers for specific subjects, yet students at these schools must still take courses in these subjects that are required by the state for graduation. An organization called GreaterNET has found a solution to the problem: offering courses to school systems via Interactive Television (I-TV). Located in Blue Springs, Missouri, GreaterNET is an independent, not-for-profit, member-based organization whose mission is to broker I-TV courses across Missouri and provide support services for K-12 schools involved in two-way interactive television. GreaterNET offers support services such as I-TV project management, training, grant writing, and technical consulting to its school and higher education institution members. Ellen Ervin, executive director of GreaterNET, describes I-TV as similar to videoconferencing. "We use the same technology as corporations use when they have video conference calls. This technology allows students and teachers to interact live through television the same way," she said. The idea to start GreaterNET began when three I-TV cluster coordinators in different regions in Missouri realized that schools' increasing course needs could not be fully met within their clusters -- they needed to collaborate in order to maximize course offerings to schools. The Rural School and Community Trust provided initial funds to get the organization "off the ground" in January 2001. The Rural Trust's support of GreaterNET is part of an innovative program of rural Education Renewal Zones (ERZs) in Missouri. The goal of the ERZ initiative is to improve rural education and teacher preparation through the use of technology. Besides GreaterNET, the ERZ collaboration includes two teacher training institutions, a technical college, the state education agency, and a variety of technical support organizations. "What's unique about GreaterNET is that we don't just have a catalog of courses for schools to choose from," said Vicki Hobbs, treasurer and member of the board of directors. "Instead, we attempt to match every course need that each school has. If a school needs a course in geometry, we find a way to make it happen." GreaterNET's most requested I-TV courses are in the foreign languages, particularly Spanish. This fall, GreaterNET has contracts to offer 13 Spanish I classes, nine Spanish II classes, two photography classes, one physics class and one college algebra class. Twenty schools are participating in GreaterNET's I-TV course offerings and several more schools are interested, but are looking for funds to purchase the technology needed to provide I-TV. Gary Cutts, principal of Eminence High School in south central Missouri, said that he has been using I-TV courses for five years and has been working with GreaterNET since its beginning. This year, Eminence High, which serves 160 students in grades 7-12, will offer Spanish I, Spanish II and medical terminology courses through Greater Net. "In a school of our size, we only need about two hours of foreign language instruction per day and cannot afford to hire a full-time teacher when the need is low," he said. "I-TV courses are a great alternative." Events | Services | Newsroom | Contact Us | Search © 2003 The Rural School and Community Trust 
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