Distance education is beginning to play a larger role in schools around South Dakota, and Hecla's Lloyd Trautmann has been right in the thick of that development process.

      Trautmann was among the first to begin teaching students via interactive video when he was teaching in Hecla in 1994. Now he is one of five full-time instructors for the Dakota Interactive Academic Link's (DIAL) "Virtual School."

      Partcipating classrooms are connected with cameras and microphones so that teachers and students can see and talk to each other. An adult facilitator is also present on site in each classroom.

      "When Hecla was first part of the North Central Interconnect (NCI) group in 1994 and we began teaching classes on interactive video, a lot of people thought that type of teaching wasn't going to be around very long and was one of those "trends," said Trautmann. "But it's growing. I taught a total of 60 students this year, and we have 57 signed up for pre-algebra alone for the coming year."

      For its accomplishments in just its first year of operation, the DIAL "Virtual School" was recognized earlier this month by the South Dakota Distance Learning Association with the "Rising Star" award for its outstanding programs and practices in distance education.

      The DIAL Consortium is a group of 33 South Dakota schools that have come together to focus on developing and providing high quality distance learning opportunities and services for students. The "Virtual School" began classes in August, 2002, with 26 distance classes being taught to over 340 high school and middle school students.

      The statewide Digital Dakota Network (DDN) has provided the videoconference and Internet infrastructure for the origination and delivery of these classes. Additionally, the technology and assistance of the Todd County School District and Oglala Lakota College have allowed connections from the DDN to a recently installed video network on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

      Five full-time distance teachers from four different locations throughout the state teach the classes, along with four "shared" teachers from DIAL member schools. The goal of the group is to develop a sustainable model for distance education, and Trautmann, who taught for 34 years in the Hecla School District, is happy to be part of that effort.

      "When the Hecla and Britton School Districts decided to reorganize, I was old enough to retire and didn't want to displace anyone who wanted a job with the new district," Trautmann said. "Then this came up with the DIAL Consortium, and it's worked out great. I only plan to teach another two to five years, and it's almost like the last year's of my teaching career are turning out to be the most exciting and most rewarding."

      Trautmann has earned the label, "The Pioneer of Distance Ed," among his peers, and although he is quick to share any credit with others in the DIAL group, his innovations and direction have played a critical role in the development and promotion of distance education.

      "I'm a big supporter of distance Ed," said Trautmann. "It's not for all students or teachers, but it is a very viable means of education. And there are a lot of options out there."

      Trautmann teaches his distance education classes from a small room that resembles a television studio on the third floor of the Britton-Hecla School through a cooperative arrangement between the DIAL group and the district. No students are present on site, and teaching in front of a camera to students miles away does offer a unique set of challenges.

      "There are a lot of things to consider," Trautmann noted. "You don't want to just be a talking mannequin up there, and I have controls so I can vary what the kids are seeing. Even colors can be a distraction. I have a gray curtain as my background so I have to be careful of what I wear or I'll melt right into the curtain.

      "But the most difficult thing is adapting the curriculum to more than one classroom. We can have up to four classrooms in different schools on line at the same time," said Trautmann. "As a teacher with 35 years of experience, I still have a lot to learn."

      Personal visits do go a long way towards establishing the necessary personal connection. All distance education instructors visit schools of classes they will teach to meet the students. This year Trautmann has traveled to Baltic, Wessington, Wolf Creek, and Rockyford and Batesland Schools in Shannon County.

      "Making those visits has a big positive influence," said Trautmann. "And once you get that personal contact there's not a lot of difference whether you're teaching in a classroom or from the television camera. I try my best and think I'm pretty successful at making students feel like I'm there in person."

      The long-distance ed position also puts a premium on an instructor's creativity. In Trautmann's chemistry and physics classes students must be supplied with materials used in demonstrations and experiments that are economical, yet effective. He has put things like corn flakes, rice, dried beans, and mirrors to good use.

      "I've done a lot of curriculum development things through the years," said Trautmann. "Something like corn flakes can be used to teach composition of matter and rice can help get across the concept of molecules. A mirror can help teach physics concepts. We're not inventing anything but just showing how nature acts in a way that students can understand it."

      His enthusiasm for his job is contagious, even over a television screen. And it's obvious students respond to that.

      "You just have to do what is necessary to make that connection happen so that the students feel connected to you and you to them," concluded Trautmann.

      A couple of invitations to eighth grade graduations from his students this year are testament to the fact that he has been successful in that effort.