The following is a summary of our most recent meeting. Please let me know as soon as possible if I have omitted or reported anything in error.

1. Review and Approval of January 13 and 14, 200 Minutes -

   We reviewed our minutes from the January 13 and 14, 2000 meeting. There were no changes to be made to these minutes. Dale Gardner moved and Chuck Walter seconded to the motion to adopt the minutes. All were in favor.

2. Round Table Discussion -

   Round Table discussion was in two parts. This first part is before we broke for our trip to the Bathysphere Underwater Biological Laboratory (BUBL) at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The following topics were discussed during the round table discussion.

   • New ideas for virtual field trips
   • JoAnn Schlecter volunteered her BOCES to be a clearing house for electronic field trips with the idea of each site contributing $2,500 a year to her BOCES to maintain that site. We need to have further discussion on this topic at our first meeting in the fall.
   • Joe Price was asking if BOCES was having any problems with schools dropping out. Some indicated they had schools leaning in that direction, others were fairly stable. There was considerable discussion on this topic.
   • Agreements with Colleges for Providing Classes Pat McGuire indicated that he has a college agreement document that he is willing to share with us to show us how they establish a relationship with their local college.
   • How Internet instruction impede, or enhance distance learning.
   • Higher education interactivity Some BOCES’ sites have a lot of activity with colleges and universities, while others are still trying to develop these.
   • PDL(Partners in Distance Learning) Several of our members had attended the recent PDL session in Harrisburg, PA. Most felt that the conference did not have much to offer, indicating that our infrastructure in distance learning was in much better shape.
   • Mike Bayba distributed flyers from King College. King’s College offers point to point distance learning courses for high school students. Contact information is included in the flyer
   • On August 2, 2000, there will be a summer conference on distance learning in Madison, Wisconsin.
   • Scheduling Priorities: There was considerable discussion regarding the various approaches that BOCES uses to assign distance learning courses to schools. Most seem to use a first-come, first-serve approach.
   • The group also compared the use of distance learning for professional development between regions.
3. BUBL Project

   At approximately at 2:45 we broke and walked over to the Rochester Museum and Science Center to experience the Bathysphere Underwater Biological Laboratory experience. This was the most enjoyable instructional opportunity that we had the pleasure to experience that day.

4. Round Table Discussion-

   Round table discussion was continued from day 1 using items we had discussed earlier in these minutes.

5. NYSCATE Conference Planning

   Mike Bayba reported the activities of the NYSCATE Subcommittee. The conference will take place November 19, 20, and 21 in Syracuse, New York. The group reviewed our tentative presentation itinerary that was prepared by the subcommittee. Those who volunteered to take responsibility for a presentation at the conference are required to submit a draft of their presentation proposal to Ellie by May 19, 2000. Ellie will consolidate the drafts and forward to NYSCATE’s planning board. The subcommittee will continue to meet in preparation for the conference, and Tony will try to arrange a preliminary walk-through at the Syracuse Convention Center for July 10 or 11. The conference will also be an agenda item for our meeting in September.

   Time restrictions prevented us from a lengthy discussion regarding teacher training or the integration of room systems and equipment. We will try to discuss these issues at the September meeting.

6. Bell Atlantic

   Representatives from Bell Atlantic visited the group to address our needs for the NYSCATE conference. Bell Atlantic indicated that they will take care of our network needs, such as the ability to broadcast the keynote address to our distance learning rooms.

7. Subcommittee Reports

   Mike Sylofski circulated the master mailing list for all to update. He will send it to Steve soon so that it can be added to our website. I believe at this time the website has been updated.

8. Technical Committee Reports

   The Technical Subcommittee videoconferenced on a few occasions in order to discuss technical issues pertinent to NYSCATE’s November conference. Additionally, we will identify new types of technology and arrange for demonstrations at future meetings. Roger Blackington of Monroe BOCES has joined the Technical Subcommittee.

9. Meeting Dates for 2000-2001

   The following dates were established for next year and include tentative locations.

   October 5 and 6	Binghamton
   January 11 and 12	Location to be determined
   May 3 and 4	Location to be determined

   Note:  There will probably be some mini meetings in the fall in order to plan for and test our presentations and demonstrations for the NYSCATE conference.