MICROMENTOR WAS ASKED BY THE EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA CABLE COOPERATIVE, A CONSORTIUM OF SEVEN RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS, FOR HELP IN DEVELOPING FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS USING MICROCOMPUTER-VIDEODISC TECHNOLOGY, WITH CABLE TV AS A DISTRIBUTION MEDIUM.

MICROMENTOR WAS ASKED BY THE EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA CABLE COOPERATIVE, A CONSORTIUM OF SEVEN RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS, FOR HELP IN DEVELOPING FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAMS USING MICROCOMPUTER-VIDEODISC TECHNOLOGY, WITH CABLE TV AS A DISTRIBUTION MEDIUM. THEIR PURPOSE WAS TO TUTOR AND DRILL LARGE NUMBERS OF STUDENTS INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT OCCUPYING A TEACHER'S TIME. MICROMENTOR'S INTERACTIVE VIDEO COMPUTER LITERACY PROGRAM WILL BE USED AS A PILOT PROGRAM TO TEST A SYSTEM THAT WOULD SATISFY THEIR NEEDS. STUDENTS WILL ACCESS A VIDEODISC PLAYER AND INTERFACE AT THE "HEAD" END OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S CABLE TV NETWORK USING A MICROCOMPUTER IN THE LIBRARY OR COMPUTER LABORATORY, USING ONE OF SEVERAL POSSIBLE CONFIGURATIONS. THE PROGRAM WILL ALSO BE ACCESSED FROM THE HOME ON A COMMERCIAL CABLE TV CHANNEL. THE DELIVERY OF INTERACTIVE VIDEO EDUCATION VIA CABLE WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT APPLICATION BREAKTHROUGH. IT WOULD ENABLE ANYONE ON A CABLE NETWORK WITH A PERSONAL COMPUTER TO ACCESS INTERACTIVE VIDEO PROGRAMS 24 HOURS A DAY. THIS SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW FLEXIBILITY, MAXIMUM USE OF EQUIPMENT AND WOULD REQUIRE LESS HARDWARE AND COURSEWARE TO SERVE THE SAME NUMBER OF STUDENTS.