Want to try a course over one of these TV Systems?

Each semester, Iowa Lakes Community College provides students with several distant learning options. Telecourses are one option that offers individuals the opportunity to take credit courses without having to come to campus for class. The lecture portion of the telecourse is either broadcast over Iowa Public Television, or, if it is College by Cassette, it is found in videos that are checked out through the campus libraries. Each course has a faculty member facilitator who provides instruction and guidance for the student throughout the semester. A textbook and telecourse study guide give direction and reinforcement to the lecture portion of the course. Assignments are completed on an individual basis during the semester.

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Since 1993, Iowa Lakes has also delivered some courses via the Iowa Communications Network ICN .  The ICN is a statewide fiber optic communications systems that provides interactive video, voice, and data services. Students in these classes can see and hear the instructor and students at the other sites. Students use the push-to-talk microphones to communicate with others. There are approximately 700 instructional television classrooms in school districts, colleges, universities, AEAs, public libraries, governmental agencies, and other locations throughout the state of Iowa.

Opportunities for enrolling in diverse course offerings via the ICN have expanded in recent years.  The ICN also connects these classrooms by satellite to the rest of the world.  As a result, Iowa Lakes is able to offer a variety of courses on all levels, including both undergraduate and graduate courses, to residents of our communities.

Iowa Lakes has used the ITFS "television system" to provide classes at each of its campuses and centers as well as to some local high schools for a number of years.  Many of the courses available over the TV system are used to obtain a degree, thus making it possible for students to earn and AA, AS, or AAS degree by attending any of the campuses.  

Classes are broadcast from one location to each of the other classrooms via the ITSFS television system. With cameras and microphones in all the classrooms, the student has an interactive one-on-one contact with the instructor, just as in a face-to-face class.    You can see, hear and talk to the instructor and with other students throughout the network. All this combines to make learning through television a "live" experience.

Iowa Lakes offers an average of 30 live interactive courses to approximately 700 students per semester over four channels. Televised classes are listed in the Schedule booklet published each semester.