Individuals, Organizations and Companies Honored for Outstanding Achievements

Washington, D.C. April 10 – The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) today presented it 2002 Distance Learning Awards at a ceremony held

in conjunction with the 2002

e-Learning Conference and Expo, the premier conference and exposition for the

distance learning industry. Eleven (11) awards were presented to distance learning

professionals, organizations, companies and institutions for excellence in teaching,

excellence in programming and outstanding individual achievements.

The USDLA awards program was created to acknowledge major accomplishments in

distance learning and to highlight those instructors, programs, and distance

learning professionals who have achieved excellence in the field. Categories

include Higher Education, Government, K-12 Education, Corporate/Business and

Telemedicine. This year’s winners cover a broad spectrum of educational expertise

from new approaches to collaborative learning.

The 2002 USDLA Distance Learning Awards were presented in the following categories:

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING TEACHING – Higher Education: to Dr. Allan Gray

for the Executive MBA in Agribusiness at Purdue University. Dr. Gray has designed

an outstanding course that draws on a wide variety of distance teaching strategies

and tools to both convey the fundamentals of quantitative decision analysis

and to engage the application of these concepts.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING TEACHING – Government: to Technical Sergeant

Matthew D. Jackson USAF, Instructor for the Command Post Craftsman Course, 334

Training Squadron, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. Sergeant Jackson launched

the first Advanced Distributed Learning course worldwide via the Air Force’s

Air Education and Training Command’s e-Training website, which resulted in the

implementation of web-based training for technical training in the Air Force.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING TEACHING – K-12 Education: to Mary Kay Stewart,

Distance Learning Instructor II, StarNet, Texas Education Service Center, Region

20. Mary Kay Stewart’s French classes are taught through the use of CD-ROM,

video illustrations, engaging on-air interactive activities and direct instruction.

Her use of Internet applications such as her class web page, web discussion

group, online notes and tutorials stimulate her students’ learning and assists

in relating real life cultural applications to the experiences of high school

students.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – Higher Education: to Kinesiology

Online Program, UT TeleCampus, The University of Texas System. The UT TeleCampus,

University of Texas System offers this unique collaborative fully online, interactive

masters degree for physical education teachers, coaches and wellness professionals.

The online format helps this under-served audience attain graduate education

through distance education.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – Government: to The Defense Acquisition

University, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Defense Acquisition University coordinates

the education of over 155,000 acquisition personnel worldwide. Nearly 42,000

students have completed distance learning classes since 1998. The re-engineering

of the Acquisition-101 course alone resulted in a 157 work-year return to the

workforce. This translates into an annual productivity return of $9,900,000.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – K-12 Education: to Florida Virtual

School, Orland, Florida, Executive Director, Julie Young. The Florida Virtual

School serves online learners any time, any place, and at any pace with more

than 60 courses for over 8,000 student enrollments across the state. From rural

dwellers to those attending low performing schools, Florida students find the

Florida Virtual School the perfect bridge across obstacles to their learning.

EXCELLENCE in DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – K-12 Education: to Colonial Williamsburg

Foundation, William White, Ph. D. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s dedication

to making American history come alive is unmistakable in electronic field trips

that blend historic content with the arts, literature, music, and science. In

consistently increasing numbers, students of all levels participate in multimedia

programming reflecting strong academic standards, which highlight our nation’s

culturally diverse beginnings.

EXCELLENCE IN DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – Healthcare/Telemedicine: to Arizona

Telemedicine Program, The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson,

Arizona. The Arizona Telemedicine Program continues to provide a variety of

educational programs for the rural telemedicine sites throughout the state of

Arizona addressing the needs of the culturally diverse communities they serve.

Clinicians can participate interactively in Medicine, Pediatric, Psychiatry,

Cardiology, Public Health and Nursing Grand Rounds distance learning programs.

EXCELLENCE IN DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMING – Corporate/Business: to AdvanceWork

International, Syracuse, New York for the Professional English Series, Professional

English, a completely portable, pocket PC-based program designed for non-English

speakers who need business English at work. Students learn conversation, vocabulary,

and grammar with interactive multimedia activities, including record-replay

and role-playing, all on a Pocket PC PDA. Live conversation and practice phone

calls with native English instructors follow each lesson.

MOST OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY AN INDIVIDUAL IN HIGHER EDUCATION: to Marcelo

Vera, Ph.D., Director of Distance Learning, College of Arts & Sciences at

the University of South Florida. Dr. Vera has published and created the CEED

web site for the propagation of distance education in the Spanish language as

well as designed, created and implemented full Web based bilingual courses.

In addition, Dr. Vera has presented numerous distance learning workshops, seminars

and short courses abroad and maintains a solid involvement in distance education

to provide direction to Latin American higher education institutions.

MOST OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BY AN INDIVIDUAL IN GOVERNMENT: to John Hickok,

Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Mr. Hickok, Knowledge

Management Officer, has shown outstanding vision and leadership in the design,

development and implementation of the on-line Defense Acquisition University

Project Management Community of Practice. This Community of Practice serves

a critical role by providing the global acquisition and logistics workforce

a means to collaborate and disseminate information as well as best business

practices.

The 2002 Distance Learning Awards were presented by the USDLA Awards Committee

members, Dr. Deborah Harrison, VTEL Corporation; Dr. Darcy Hardy, UT TeleCampus,

University of Texas System; and Marshall Allen, Oklahoma State University.

Recognized leaders in the field of distance learning judged 84 nominations

submitted to USDLA. Judges worked in teams of three to review and evaluate submissions

in each of the 5 categories. Higher Education, K-12 Education, Government, Corporate/Business

and Telemedicine/Healthcare. The judges for 2002 were:

• Ms. Tammy E. Adams, Director, Center for Distance Education, Louisiana State

  University and A & M College

• Mr. Kirk Bosworth, Instructor, University of Vermont, Distance Learning

  Network

• Dr. Sarah C. Cunningham, Director, Instructional Technology & Advancement,

  Central Community College, Nebraska

• Ms. Charlotte A. Donaldson, Lead Learning Strategist, Aurum Technology Inc.

• Mr. William A. Eastham, Jr., CQA, Vice President, Windwalker Corporation

• Dr. Karen Evans, Vice President, Distance Learning Product Development,

  SkyLight Professional Development

• Dr. John C. Ittelson, Professor and Director Interactive Design and Educational

  Application, California State University, Monterey Bay

• Mr. Donald S. Lake, Director, Distributed Learning, Los Angeles County Office

  of Education

• Mr. Steve Larkin, Chief E-Learning Strategies & Standards Department,

  Internal Revenue Service

• Ms. Phyllis Lentz, Research/Resource Specialist to Business, The Florida

  High School

• Mr. J. Stephen Lytle, Associate Professor, College of Health Professions,

  University of Central Florida

• Dr. Janet McMahill, Assistant Dean and Director of Continuing Education,

  Drake University School of Education

• Ms. Melodee Mercer, Lead Instructor for Dept of Veterans Affairs, VAROIC,

  Philadelphia

• Mr. Rusty Muns, Coordinator of Electronic Media Development, Oklahoma Department

  of Career and Technology Education

• Dr. Philip J.-L. Westfall, Director, Air Technology Network, Air Force Institute

  for Advanced Distributed Learning

About USDLA

The United States Distance Learning Association is a non-profit organization

founded in 1987 to promote the development and application of distance learning

for education and training. USDLA represents 2000 members from pre-K through

12 education and higher education, continuing education, corporate, military

and government training, home schooling and telemedicine. USDLA is a leading

source of information and policy for distance learning that focuses on all legislation

impacting the distance learning community and its varied constituencies. Since

1993 USDLA has continued to establish state chapters in all fifty states.