INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications

The activities of [http://www.intelecom.org INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications] can be traced back to the late 1960s and to the foresight of Elton H. Rule, general manager of KABC-TV in Los Angeles and later President and Vice Chairman of the Board of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Convinced that broadcasters have an obligation to provide educational opportunities for adults, as well as children, Rule issued a challenge to colleges in the southern California area. If a group of institutions could work together in the development of college credit television courses, he would supply production facilities and personnel, as well as local broadcast time to air the programs.

Eighteen community colleges accepted the challenge, and INTELECOM was formally established in the Spring of 1970. Early telecourses were similar in format to the SUNRISE SEMESTER series broadcast by CBS from 1957 to 1982. Over the years, each successive project became more sophisticated in academic design and production techniques. Instead of trying to duplicate the instructor's role, course designers began to take advantage of the unique contributions of various production techniques and technology.

outhern California Consortium for Community College Television

In addition to production and distribution, INTELECOM serves as the managing and fiscal agent for The Southern California Consortium for Community College Television – a distance learning consortium which has grown from 18 member colleges from its founding in 1970, to today's membership of 15 Community College Districts representing 31 southern California community colleges. We also provide our member colleges a variety of consultative services related to their distance learning programs.

INTELECOM serves the consortium in several ways:

* Producing credit and non-credit telecourses;
* Acquiring or leasing additional media for use by the consortium;
* Offering a number of other support functions, including staff development and course workshops.

In addition, INTELECOM owns and operates the Community College Instructional Network (CCIN) - a wireless cable system owned and operated by INTELECOM, with signal strength reaching Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties. The channel broadcasts in excess of 100 hours of educational programming per week for the benefit of enrolled distant learners and the community.

Telecourses

Distance learning courses, commonly referred to as telecourses, from INTELECOM integrate video lessons, a textbook, a distance learning study guide, an exam bank and faculty guide, and online content. The courseware is distributed through a variety of methods: public television (PBS); cable, ITFS, MDS, and satellite systems; video streaming; and campus course management systems, such as WebCT and Blackboard Inc.

Telecourse components include:

* Broadcast-quality video lessons featuring leading experts and authorities, case studies, dramatic recreations, and computer generated graphics;
* a course textbook or worktexts;
* a customizable online component in HTML and WebCT formats;
* a correlated study guide with content overview and self study aids;
* a faculty guide and exam bank.

The design of distance learning courses from INTELECOM make them appropriate for use across the range of distance learning programs: telecourse, web-enhanced, hybrid curriculum, online courses.

Digital Delivery

INTELECOM also owns and operates the [http://www.intelecomonline.net INTELECOM Online Resources Network] . This is an online database of short-form video clips that can be streamed as part of online, hybrid or traditional classes. The development of the video learning object repository comes in response to increased demand for short-form video clips for use within online courses.

The INTELECOM Online Resources Network resides on a dedicated server hosted and maintained by Seattle Community College TV using their [http://iriseducation.org IRIS Education] service. Digital delivery of all content is via the [http://www.pnw-gigapop.net Pacific Northwest Gigapop] and managed using the Media Publishing System (MPS) of [http://theplatform.com thePlatform] .

Member Colleges

* Allan Hancock College
* Antelope Valley College
* Citrus College
* El Camino College
* El Camino College Compton Center
* Bakersfield College
* Cerro Coso Community College
* Porterville College
* Long Beach City College
* Los Angeles Mission College
* East Los Angeles College
* Los Angeles City College
* Los Angeles Harbor College
* Los Angeles Pierce College
* Los Angeles Southwest College
* Los Angeles Trade-Technical College
* Los Angeles Valley College
* West Los Angeles College
* Palomar College
* Pasadena City College
* Santa Ana College
* Santiago Canyon College
* Riverside Community College
* Crafton Hills College
* San Bernardino Valley College
* College of the Canyons
* Saddleback College
* Irvine Valley College
* Moorpark College
* Oxnard College
* Ventura College