ICN Press Room Archive

December 31, 2007

ICN in the News

Heartland AEA’s December ICN newsletter is now available at:

http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/tech/icn/PDF_Files/ICNNewsDec07.pdf

December 27, 2007

Annual Report Now Available

The ICN Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report reflects the activities of July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007. It was an exciting year with many positive examples regarding the Network's wide-reaching effect on Iowa citizens. More....

December 3, 2007

E-News Update

Enews from September through December 2007 are now posted in

ICN Newsletter Archives

November 6, 2007

ICN in the News

Featuring Andy Ryan

October 25, 2007

What’s Hot in Science?
by Tim Huegerich, ICN Intern

Seeing a lack of students entering the science field, one Iowa college professor is taking it upon himself to promote the field to Iowa youth. Iowa State University professor Dr. Larry Genalo sparks students’ interest in science by offering programs over the Iowa Communications Network through IPTV’s K-12 Connections educational sessions. More.....

October 3, 2007

October ICN E-Newz

Did You Know...

Wednesday September 26, 2007

ICN in the News

One of Iowa’s smallest public schools has highest ACT composite score and principal acknowledges ICN is part of the reason.

More......

September 11, 2007

UNI Campus Visits Over the ICN

Another university is reaching out to show their campus to students around Iowa over the state’s fiber-optic network. The University of Northern Iowa becomes the second Regent university to offer high school students a virtual visit to campus via the ICN’s full-motion, interactive video in one of 398 K-12 distance learning classrooms throughout the state. The University of Iowa has had a similar program for about five years.

The sessions for students to learn about UNI will begin October 2. They will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., every Tuesday and Thursday until October 30. These sessions will cover information on admission requirements, academics, financial aid and general information. A panel of current UNI students will also be included to interact with the students.

UNI recently completed similar sessions for high school counselors to learn about new admissions information as well as other university updates. For more information on how your students can participate in these ICN sessions, contact the UNI admissions office at (800) 772-2037 or (319) 273-228, or by e-mail at admissions@uni.edu.

August 29, 2007

A northeast Iowa school led the way once again in usage of videoconferencing

The Waukon High School room connected to the ICN for a total of 1,136 hours from July 2006 through June 2007 to provide additional learning opportunities for the community. For six to seven hours a day, high school students and adult learners took college credit classes ranging from medical-related to statistics to entrepreneurship and marketing. Younger children participated in educational, interactive sessions offered by Iowa Public Television. Educational and community professionals received training and attended state-wide meetings without the high costs of travel. The site was also used for confidential telemedicine purposes.

More......

August 9, 2007

Welcome Back!

Welcome back, educators! The new school year brings excitement on the horizon at the ICN!

More in the August Monthly ICN E-Newz Update

August 2, 2007

Hundreds of Iowans Attend Elder Law Series

Hundreds of older Iowans acquired important legal advice recently over the Iowa Communications Network (ICN). The Iowa Department of Elder Affairs and Iowa Legal Aid’s Legal Hotline for Older Iowans presented three seminars on elder law to 26 ICN sites around the state, visiting with many Iowans who may not have had easy access to the information had it not been for the ICN. Sponsors estimate over 800 older Iowans and their caregivers were reached by the sessions spanning the months of June and July.

Deanna Clingan-Fisher of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs has presented over the ICN in the past and recognizes the benefits the network provides state government and Iowans.

“People like the convenience and not having to travel to a large metropolitan area to receive training or important information. The ICN is especially important to our agency because of the people we serve,” said Clingan-Fisher.

More......

July 20, 2007

Iowa Students Continue to Benefit from State Network

Over 50,000 students and teachers benefited from distance learning opportunities delivered over the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) by Iowa Public Television (IPTV), during the 2006-2007 school year. Almost 7,000 hours of learning were delivered through K-12 Connections, providing opportunities for students, educators, and school personnel to learn through live, interactive sessions, without worrying about travel time or high gas prices. The sessions were provided at no cost to the students, teachers, or school districts.

Through the free K-12 Connections experience, students explore worlds near and far, interacting live with presenters. Professional development sessions are provided for teachers and other district staff. Popular topics this year included Internet Safety for students and parents, conversations with Iowa Supreme Court Justices, food safety classes for food service professionals, certification classes for school nurses, and School Security issues.

More.......

June 21, 2007

New DPS Building Features State-of-the Art ICN Room

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house held for the Department of Public Safety’s new building featured a state-of-the art ICN room. The classroom was one of the first rooms people could see on the tour and all who saw it appeared impressed. The room features a large projection screen and flat panel monitors and can be separated into three smaller classrooms.

The renovated building, which was known as the Harvester Building, is a registered historic place. It is the first time that all branches of DPS have been located under one roof.

ICN Employee Donations Top 1,000 for Jamaican Orphanages

ICN employees have donated over 1,000 personal care items for two orphanages in Jamaica. The donations will be delivered by a team of volunteer doctors and nurses from Blank Children’s Hospital.

The donated supplies for the boys’ orphanages were donated over a period of two weeks. The volunteers were surprised and overwhelmed with the generosity of ICN employees. The donated items were bar soap, deodorant, disposable razors, black socks, new toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Team Jamaica volunteer doctors and nurses will deliver the items to the orphanages later this summer on their yearly mission to provide free medical care to Jamaican children.

May 30, 2007

Education Appropriations Bill, SF 588, signed yesterday by Governor Culver

The Education Appropriations Bill, SF 588, signed yesterday by Governor Culver, provides language creating weighted funding for high schools that share ICN classes. The ICN has proposed such language for several years, in order to create a more level playing field in regard to shared classes. This year an incentive for the high school teachers of those classes was included.

The weighted funding will:

1. Allow classes sharing via ICN video services to receive supplemental funding. All districts involved in the sharing of a class will receive funding. This includes time spent using ICN video as part of hybrid classes.

2. Provide an incentive for high school teachers to teach over the ICN. Instructors teaching the shared classes will receive half of the funding received by the district providing the class. If the instructor’s contract provides additional pay for teaching a class using ICN video services, the instructor shall receive the greater amount of either the amount provided for in the bill or the amount provided for in the instructor’s contract.

This does not take effect until July 2008, but may be instrumental in school district budgetary and curriculum planning for the 2008-2009 school year.

Thank you to all the members of the education community that voiced support for this legislative language. We are proud of our partnership with education and pleased to be able to help make the sharing of ICN classes more financially attractive for school districts and teachers.

E-Newz Update

This is the last full ICN E-Newz Update for the summer. There may be occasional updates for timely sessions offered during the summer.

Thank you to all the schools who take the opportunity to use the ICN to enhance their curriculum for students, engage the students in opportunities for diversity, or for professional development of staff and administrators. It's an incredible educational tool that is the envy of other states. More......

Drake University magazine features ICN and Freedom Calls

The premier issue of Drake University's new student-produced magazine, THINK, arrived in April. The cover story features information on Freedom Calls and ICN. The writer, Ian Matthews, was at our press conference and wrote this extensive article on “War in the Digital Age.”

May ICN E-Newz

Did You Know...

The Iowa Department of Education has received an Advanced Placement Test Fee Reimbursement grant for May 2007 Advanced Placement (AP) exams. This grant will be used to encourage low-income students to take the AP exams by providing reimbursement for Advanced Placement Test fees. Attached is the 2007 AP Test Fee Reimbursement document with additional information. Please share this information with your AP coordinators. More.....

Chief Justice Marsha Ternus Shared Her Thoughts

Iowa’s judicial leader says her upbringing in Vinton played an important part in preparing her for the position as chief justice.

Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, a Vinton native, shared her thoughts with Washington High School seniors in Vinton, during an annual day devoted to bringing the courts to the classroom over the Iowa Communications Network.

The first question offered up by students was about qualities it takes to be chief justice.
Chief Justice Ternus credited her Vinton upbringing as important in developing skills and character. Ternus said growing up on a farm, and being a 4-H member, allowed her to learn the importance and rewards of hard work.

“I learned a level of accountability and commitment to my community. I have a sense of responsibility to give back and I am able to do that through public service. I think sensitivity to the importance of doing that was gained by growing up in a community like Vinton,” Ternus said.

She said the most important skills she uses are the basics of reading, writing, research and analytical skills, and public speaking.

Chief Justice Ternus has served on the court since 1993 and is the first woman to serve as chief justice. One Vinton student asked how important it was that she was the first female chief justice. Chief Justice Ternus said it wasn’t that important to her on a personal level, having always tried to work hard and earn respect based on how well she performed her job.

“Still it is important for our community. Growing up, such a thing never occurred to me. I didn’t know anyone who did something like that. It shows young women they can do something if they set their mind to it,” said Ternus.

During the one-hour session, Court of Appeals Judge Van Zimmer, a resident of Vinton, stopped in to the ICN classroom at the State Judicial Building to say hello to the Vinton students. He would participate in a later session about the appeal process, which included a live viewing of an appeal proceeding.

Law Day is an annual national recognition day set aside to celebrate the judicial system and how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share. May 1 was designated in 1961 by a joint resolution of Congress as the official date for celebrating Law Day. Law Day 2007 in Iowa gave schools the opportunity to visit with state Supreme Court justices about topics ranging from Iowa’s early civil rights cases to court interpretation of law and the appeal process.

April 25, 2007

ICN Internships

The Iowa Communications Network (ICN) is seeking college students interested in summer 2007 or fall 2007 internships. Positions are possible in five different ICN bureaus. More on the focus of each internship area

April 18, 2007

Cap Bill Passes

The ICN “Cap Bill” passed the Iowa Senate, Tuesday afternoon, with a 48-0 vote. This bill increases the authorized spending limit from $1 million to $2 million and calls for an annual adjustment that reflects changes in the consumer price index. ICN can enter into contracts exceeding $2 million in time of disaster or Homeland Security incidents, with Executive Council approval. The legislation also calls for all ICN to list all contracts exceeding $1 million in the agency’s Annual Report.

The last step in this process is execution into law by the Governor.

John Gillispie

April 11, 2007

Gillispie Reappointment Confirmed

The reappointment of Iowa Communications Network’s top executive has been confirmed by the Iowa Senate.

ICN Executive Director John Gillispie was confirmed by a 50-0 vote on Tuesday, April 10, 2007. The Code of Iowa requires appointments to be reevaluated every four years.

Gillispie was first appointed to the leadership position in 2002 and was recently reappointed by the agency’s governing board, the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission.

Gillispie brings more than 20 years of private-sector telecommunications and information technology management experience to his role as ICN Executive Director. He also serves as Chief Operating Officer of the state’s technology arm, the Information Technology Enterprise (ITE) of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS).

At the helm of Iowa state government’s two most valuable technology operations, Gillispie oversees systems that touch thousands of Iowans every day. Children in rural Iowa communities share teachers over the ICN and have high-speed access to the Internet. State government workers connect over an ITE network, with their telephone calls and Internet access routed over the state’s fiber optic network.

Gillispie also serves as the vice president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). An Illinois native, Gillispie and his wife live in Ankeny, Iowa.

Mahaffey Reappointed

Michael W. Mahaffey’s reappointment to the Iowa Telecommunications and Technology Commission was confirmed by the Iowa Senate on Tuesday, April 3. Governor Chet Culver reappointed Commissioner Mahaffey to the ITTC in March. This commission term will begin May 1, 2007, and end April 30, 2013.
Mahaffey has been Poweshiek County Attorney since 1979. He also operates a general trial law practice specializing in agricultural, corporation and probate law. Mahaffey has served on the ITTC since December 2005. He previously served on the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission from 2001 through 2005.

April 6, 2007

April ICN E-Newz

Spring is finally here (knock on wood!)
If you're like me, you're glad to get off the boring treadmill and do your daily walking outdoors! Walking is America's favorite exercise and the because of the unique ICN network, Iowans have the opportunity to learn from the country's foremost expert on walking...Mark Fenton! More.....

A Special First Anniversary Gift – Across the Miles

Amber Suckow of Waterloo received was “lured” into the Waterloo Public Library ICN room for a very big surprise…

http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/top_
story/2c8a33150c300ded862572a30047e06d.txt

March 30, 2007

Foreign Language Newsletter Features ICN Article

The Iowa World Language Association spring newsletter features a story from earlier this year about BGM HS and their Spanish instruction over the ICN. The IWLA is dedicated to keeping foreign language instruction alive in Iowa.

http://www.iwla.net/pubs/intercambios/index.html

An Iowa Soldier Shares His Daughter’s Third Birthday via the ICN

We received this thank you and photo from a family that benefited from the Operation Hometown Link initiative offered through the ICN.

“We thank everyone so much for all they did to make this happen. I'm really glad things worked out like they did as there were a LOT of people there to help us celebrate.

Thanks again for all your efforts. We look forward to doing it again sometime!”

OHTL
( L to R) Aaron, Kent, Angel and Becca