Nov. 18, 2003

ISU alumna recognized for distance ed initiatives,
named national FCS teacher of the year

Considered a pioneer in the use of video conferencing for distance education, Steiner is the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences National Teacher of the Year for 2003-04.

Known as home economics until about 10 years ago, the family and consumer sciences curriculum has changed with the times. Perhaps nowhere is that change more evident that at Southmont, a school of fewer than 600 students.

About five years ago, the Indiana Department of Education added orientation to life and careers as an approved course for the family and consumer sciences curriculum. Steiner saw the move as a perfect way to use her family and consumer sciences background and post graduate work in guidance and counseling to benefit students. A careers course had previously been taught by school guidance counselors.

At about the same time, fiber optics and video conferencing equipment was installed at Southmont as part of a pilot program for distance education and Steiner was quick to embrace the new technology.

“I thought if it’s new and it has benefits for my students, then I want to use it,” said Steiner, a 1965 graduate of Indiana State University. “Having the new technology available to us makes education and learning more interesting and challenging for the students.”

From an initial offering of a few programs, Steiner’s distance education initiative called “Career Exploration - Going the Distance” has grown to include 18 sessions offered throughout the school year via the Web site of the Indianapolis-based Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (www.cilc.org).

“Jane’s program is one where she is able to bring careers that students at Southmont, which is fairly rural, would never even begin to see. So students are aware that the world is much larger than what they were originally able to perceive. Video conferencing is a way of making that appeal to them,” said Dawn Colavita, the center’s senior director of support services. Colavita was librarian at Southmont when Ameritech (now SBC) and CILC installed distance learning technology.

When race car mechanic Terry Nichols visited Southmont recently to discuss his career with Steiner’s class, young people at nearby Crawfordsville High School also benefited from the Indy car veteran’s expertise thanks to the video hook-up. At other times, Southmont students are on the receiving end, learning from professionals who might not have the time to visit the Hoosier heartland.

“Video conferencing better utilizes the guest speaker’s time. Conferencing allows the guest speaker to talk to my classroom and to several other classrooms at the same time. Students are interested in hearing bout the careers offered and to be able to interact with career professionals about the specifics of their career,” Steiner said.

This is the fourth year Southmont has offered the career series online. Two years ago, the orientation to life and careers course became a requirement for graduation.

“Each year I am impressed with how family and consumer sciences teachers have raised the bar for education,” said Karen S. Tucker, executive director of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

“Although there are thousands of FCS teachers who develop and implement innovative and cutting-edge education programs nationwide, only one exemplary program is chosen for this high honor and Ms. Steiner can feel particularly proud to be our 2003 FCS National Teacher of the Year,” Tucker said.

“We are on the verge of an explosion with distance learning, especially in video conferencing,” said Colavita. “Schools are facing a financial crunch all over the country and video conferencing is a way to provide students access to outside learning that they may have previously received from field trips.”

In its first six weeks of operation, a new CILC website received hits from 29 countries, Colavita said.

But video conferencing is not the only technology Steiner’s students utilize to research careers. They also create a PowerPoint presentation about a career cluster and use the Web to research colleges, universities and businesses and search for scholarships.

Despite the abundance of technology now available at Southmont, school administrators and students say Steiner hasn’t forgotten the human element.

“Mrs. Steiner has a strong background and dedication to kids. She has worked to build a strong department and is actually more of a coach than anything,” said Kevin Stewart, the school’s principal.

“She finds time to work with the students,” added Katrina Miles, a senior at Southmont. “If anyone needs help, she’s always there and she’s very understanding.”

Steiner credits a strong foundation provided by Indiana State for her long and successful career in education.

“They gave me the basis on which to become a good educator,” she said. “We had great programs that not only taught knowledge but skills. We had professors that were interested in the students. We had programs that involved us actively on campus. All in all, it was a good well-rounded program.”

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Note:  Photos and video for this story are available by calling (812) 237-3773.
Mrs. Steiner’s next video conferencing session is Dec. 12 and sessions continue through May.

Contact:
Jane Steiner, ISU alumna and family and consumer sciences teacher, Southmont High School,
(765) 866-0350 or jsteiner@southmont.k12.in.us

Writer:
Dave Taylor, ISU Public Affairs, (812) 237-3743 or devtaylo@isugw.indstate.edu

ISU Public Affairs:
(812) 237-3773 or http://isunews.indstate.edu