Classes in HDTV in Brazil

Three of the most renowned universities in São Paulo have signed a partnership with a television  network to create a system of long-distance teaching using HDTV. This partnership will result in a TV channel called Univesp (Virtual University of the State of São Paulo) that will offer courses for over 6600 students. The main focus will be on qualification courses for high school teachers. Univesp will also offer undergraduate courses in Education and Biology, among others.

The content will all be available through HDTV technology, allowing for different types of interaction between students and teachers, such as attendance control and exam administration. Since Univesp will be an open channel, anybody with a television (an overwhelming percentage of Brazilians, rich and poor) will have access to the content, which will also be available online.

Initiatives such as these allow those that are too busy to attend classes to keep themselves educated and also creates a new channel for the disenfranchised who live in remote regions of the country to learn. Brazil already has a strong tradition in long-distance learning, as seen through the Tele Curso 2000, focused on elementary education and technical skills, but none of the interactive resources were available when it was launched in 1994.

[via Info Plantão]