Distance Learning

2 More Illinois Districts Join Distance Ed Consortium

• By Leila Meyer
• 02/15/16

Two small Illinois school districts have joined a distance education consortium for dual credit college-level courses, bringing the total number of member districts to four, and a fifth district may soon join them.

Wethersfield and Galva school districts started the distance learning lab three years ago in collaboration with Black Hawk College to expand the number of dual credit courses available to their students. Dual credit courses are college-level courses open to high school students, allowing those students to earn both high school credit and college credit for completing the course. The courses may be taught by either a qualified high school teacher or college instructor at a high school or college. Annawan Unit District and AlWood Community District have now joined the consortium, according to a story in the Star Courier, and Cambridge School District may also join at a later date.

Wethersfield and Galva school districts have each designated a classroom in their high school as a distance learning lab with interactive video and audio connections and a large, flat screen display at the front of the classroom. Each semester, the consortium offers a different dual-credit course taught by a teacher at one of the high schools or an instructor from Black Hawk College, according to the Star Courier. The courses are scheduled before the regular school day begins.

Along with the announcement that Annawan and Cambridge school districts would be joining, the consortium also announced that they would be offering new dual credit courses in sociology and psychology.