 University Television Center director David Hutto. |
High school students in Clarksdale who want to learn more about video technology and broadcast communication go to a classroom in their own school. Thanks to a fiber optic link with a location on the opposite side of the state, they're able to receive instruction from experts at Mississippi State. The video and computer link allows students to see their teachers-at-a-distance, to ask questions, and to get immediate answers. They also get immediate homework assignments, much to their dismay.
Clarksdale is one of seven sites in Mississippi linked in the Mississippi Fibernet system. High schools in Philadelphia, Corinth, and West Point benefit as well. Also on the network are sites at Mississippi State, the Mississippi School for Math and Science, and Mississippi Educational Television. Courses may be taught at any site and received simultaneously at all sites, with two-way communication possible from the originating and the receiving locations.
The technology has given students opportunities to take classes in subjects ranging from creative writing to statistics. Courses taught from the studios of Mississippi State's Television Center have included fine arts and others. Mississippi's system has served as a model for a number of other states, including New York.
"The Television Center is in the middle of life at Mississippi State, and, in many respects, the life of Mississippi," said David Hutto, director. "As more people become aware of the effectiveness of video to shape and form opinions and to communicate information, I think we'll see the importance of broadcast technology grow."
Mississippi State was involved in development of the Fibernet system more than two years ago, and it continues to provide programming for students and teachers around the state. More recently, the Television Center has worked with the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, the state's community colleges, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center to develop the interactive Community College Network.
Dedicated last July, the network links 16 community colleges, UMC, and MCES to provide nursing and allied health classes for students who might otherwise not be able to take the courses. It is a project of the Mississippi Rural Health Corps. The network also plans to offer continuing education classes for teachers and professionals and broadcasts of art and cultural events.
In other distance learning activities, the Television Center has worked with the university academic and continuing education divisions to deliver by satellite professional development courses in topics ranging from emerging technologies to total quality learning.
"One of the most widely viewed programs was a teleconference coordinated by the Division of Continuing Education. It originated here on our campus and was distributed in conjunction with the Public Broadcasting System's Adult Learning Satellite Service," Hutto said. "It featured David Langford, a nationally recognized expert on total quality management in education. More than 40,000 people at more than 400 sites in this country and overseas saw this program from Mississippi State."
Satellite technology also has allowed the Television Center to offer development courses for math and science teachers in Mississippi, as well as graduate courses for teachers.
"Increasingly, Mississippi State's Television Center is gaining recognition as a program provider," Hutto said. "Both satellite and fiber optic technologies have the advantages of being interactive. Students and teachers can receive feedback from others on the system. It's the next best thing to being there, and it's an efficient way to deliver instruction to multiple locations."
A building block approach to the physical facility has allowed the Television Center to make transitions and evolve to meet the needs of campus, Hutto said.
"We were established in 1988 when Dr. Zacharias appointed a campus committee to study various broadcast units at the university," he explained. "The committee recommended pooling physical and human resources, bringing them into one facility." The College of Veterinary Medicine, which had an industrial television area, was designated home for the newly formed University Television Center, and Hutto was charged with directing the consolidated efforts.
From that beginning, the Television Center has worked to stay on the edge of the technology that is transforming the way people communicate and learn. The center maintains a staff of three engineers that do most maintenance and all systems design in-house. The staff also includes an operations manager, several producers, a distance learning coordinator, a video graphics specialist, and a studio facilitator, as well as student workers.
"We now have the technical resources to compete with any institution in the nation," Hutto believes. "Our mission is to use these resources in the most effective way possible to support the university."
Providing support to units across the campus
When aerospace engineering seniors won a national competition that allowed them to build a one-third scale model of the National Aero-Space plane, they wanted to document their efforts. The Television Center was on hand each week to track progress and shoot footage. The result was a documentary about the project that now can be used to recruit students, showcase university research facilities, and highlight the aerospace program at Mississippi State.
"We're working with a number of colleges and departments to develop video recruiting materials," Hutto explained. "There's an immediacy and power to the motion, color, and music that video offers."
The Television Center is a part of the university's advancement division, which also includes the offices of alumni affairs, development, and university relations. Working with University Relations, the Television Center has initiated an innovative video package that is now aired weekly by television stations in each of the state's major markets, Hutto said.
"News You Can Use" features the expertise of Mississippi State faculty members on a wide range of practical issues. In 60-second spots, they share tips on everything from how to choose a pet to how to get youngsters interested in reading and how to use credit cards responsibly.
"The approach benefits Mississippi State by sharing knowledge that benefits citizens of the state," Hutto explained. "It's part of the university's message that we're all here to serve Mississippi."
The Television Center also has been a central player in the university's first-ever major gifts campaign. To explain to the campus family—faculty and staff, alumni, and friends—the need for such a campaign, the Television Center worked with other advancement units to develop a campaign video. Three versions of that video have been used in awareness meetings around the country.
The Television Center also coordinated a national satellite event to help train volunteers who have worked in The Campaign for Mississippi State. To date, that effort has raised approximately $87 million toward a $110 million goal.
Programming seen by thousands
Each week, thousands of Mississippians tune into the state's educational television station to watch a program that is produced in the University Television studios. "Farmweek," hosted by Artis Ford of the university's agricultural communications office, is the only statewide agricultural program in Mississippi, Hutto said.
"The agricultural communication office produces 'Farmweek' each week, a total of 50 programs a year," he explained. "This program takes information about agribusiness in the state and about research at Mississippi State to a large audience."
And it does it effectively, he points out. "The program has been recognized with numerous awards."
The Television Center also has a comprehensive sports video section, producing 27 coaches' shows and eight regional call-in shows each season, Hutto said. The call-in shows, distributed by SportSouth, have the potential to reach four million homes in seven states.
"Our university public service announcements air during each one of the shows, creating additional awareness of Mississippi State University's programs and strengths," he noted.
Game footage of key plays and coaches' interviews sometimes have the potential to reach even larger audiences. "We've had footage picked up by the Cable News Network, ESPN, and other national outlets," Hutto said.
Closer to home, the Television Center provides programming for its own local cable channel, MSTV 30. Students with cable access in residence halls and local apartment complexes can tune into a variety of programs, including a monthly talk show hosted by university president Donald Zacharias, as well as replays of basketball and football games and several women's sports, Hutto said.
And here's listening to you, too
Most recently, the Television Center has been the force behind the launch of the university's 24-hour campus radio station, WMSV.
The student-run, 14,000-watt station went on the air March 21, 1994, with the Television Center providing design and engineering. Its musical format is alternative and album-oriented rock, with a heavy emphasis on public affairs programming, said station manager Steve Ellis.
"We have two half-hour newscasts daily that are a roundup of national, state, and campus news. We also have a number of public affairs programs devoted to areas such as women's and minority issues and the environment."
The Television Center continues to have administrative responsibility for the station, which in its first year has chalked up a host of state and national awards, Hutto said.
Among honors: The National Association of College Broadcasters recognized student disc jockey Genniver E. McKey of Port Gibson and student news director Jay Houts of Pleasant Grove, Ala., as tops in the nation. Both earned first-place honors, McKey as an on-air personality and Houts for a news report he did on the Starkville chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
The station also earned five first-place awards for news and public affairs programming from the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters, and it was recognized by the College Music Journal as one of 50 core stations in the nation.
"This kind of recognition says a lot for the commitment and the talent of Mississippi State University's student volunteers," Hutto noted.
Looking toward the future
Broadcast and multimedia will continue to have a profound effect on the way we process information in the future, Hutto believes. "Our challenge is to be a resource and a catalyst for using new technology effectively."
For instance, he points out, several institutions in the United States are offering complete degree programs via interactive broadcast technology. "It's a cost effective way to expand enrollment."
Hutto predicts that multimedia will be increasingly important in the teaching enterprise, with the availability of presentation software such as Power Point that can enhance information with graphics and charts. "We want to look at new ways to help faculty use desktop media in instructional television," he said.
The center is working with the Department of Music Education to establish a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) project that will allow faculty and students to create original musical compositions using computer technology. A complete digital music and sound facility now is operational.
And with the expansion of cable and cable channels, many new programming opportunities will emerge. "In the long run, we'll probably see a combination of delivery by telephone and cable," he predicted.
"Mississippi State, and the state's institutions of higher learning, need to be poised to take advantage of the new technology."
And with the groundwork already laid, that's exactly what the University Television Center has in view.
Updated and adapted by Chris Brown <brownc@ur.msstate.edu>.
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