On March 29, 2001, Virent Broadcasting Co., held its premiere videoconference with four Ohio Schools to introduce its’ Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL) program. Six Living Historians videoconferenced "LIVE" to four separate elementary schools in southern counties of Ohio, from the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio.
On
December 31, 2003 Virent became a Non-Profit 501 C-3 corporation and have grown
in both presenters and conferences per year.
Since our premiere videoconference, through the 2005 - 2006 school year, our presenters have performed a combined 496
videoconferences and talked with over 14,880 students throughout 17 states.
In addition, Virents' presenters have participated in Megaconference IIX and IX which to five continents, over 400 sites and 50 states.
I
want to take this opportunity to thank all of Virents Living Historians, the
teachers and support people at the various D/L Labs that the Living Historians
have been able to video conferences from, and to all of the Technical
Coordinators, Teachers and D/L Directors at the schools that hired us. As
in any new technology, there have been some “bumps” that needed to be worked
out, but all of us, working together, were able to pull everything together.
To the left is a listing of some of our Living Historians. Take some time to view their photos, biographies, video clips and other information. Once you have decided which personality you would like to interact with your students, feel free to email us at: virent@att.net, or call 614-860-9558 to check on his or her availability. We are confident that your students will enjoy being a part of this new educational tool. Remember, each of our Living Historians has between 10 and 27 years of professional experience performing as their historical character, so you are guaranteed a virtual history lesson you and your students will never forget.
Again, my thanks to all of you.
Jim Spence, Founder