Original Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) Original member districts (7) - Braham, Cambridge-Isanti, Milaca, Mora, Ogilvie, Pine City, Princeton
First ITV classes were offered between member districts. Courses included, calculus, advanced algebra, shorthand, accounting, psychology, sociology, Latin, German and French. •The original technology utilized microwave towers to transmit broadcast quality video between member districts and the hub location in Cambridge. East Central Cablevision was the operator of the system. Each ITV room had a channel on the local cable television system. Classes were “joined” by dialing the correct channel for the host and remote districts on a standard television set. • Initial start-up costs offset by a state “model site” grant of $125,000. • 160 students served in first year. • The ECMECC budget for the first year (including start-up costs) was $558,610
Minnesota Department of Education establishes the East Central Minnesota Education Cable Cooperative as a Telecommunication Services cooperative, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 471.59 and assigns the district number 6003-50.
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Original JPA is amended to reflect statutory definition of the cooperative.
East Central, Hinckley-Finlayson, Rush City, Cambridge Community College and Pine Technical College join as full members. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe joins as an associate member. The 1990 JPA is amended. The ECMECC sites (ITV rooms) at Mora, Ogilvie, Milaca, Princeton and Cambridge were connected with microwave transmission equipment. The sites at Rush City, Hinckley-Finlayson, East Central and Pine Technical College were connected with fiber-optic transmission equipment. Braham and Pine City each had two classrooms, one using microwave and the other using fiber-optics.
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Chisago Lakes joins ECMECC as an associate member
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US West / Qwest fiber network is installed initially for video/ITV services. ECMECC member districts now can share data as well as video.
North Branch joins ECMECC as a full member.
ECMECC begins a one-year “Integrating Technology in the Classroom” project funding by a $209,165 federal E2T2 grant administered by the MN Department of Education. The project hires two full-time technology integrationists to assist nearly 70 teachers with technology integration projects.
ECMECC receives a $130,000 grant from Qwest used to purchase h.323 video equipment (Polycom) for video conference use in ECMECC member districts. The first “virtual field trips” are held with this new equipment.
ECMECC offers a two-day exam prep course to help technology coordinators prepare to pass the Minnesota Power Limited Technician Licensing exam. Successful completion of the test results in a license from the MN Board of Electricity to install and work with low voltage power applications.
ECMECC offers it's first continuing education classes for those holding the PLT license from the MN Board of Electricity. These classes continue to be offered annually.
Start of 7-year contract with US Cable for gigabit fiber circuits to serve ECMECC member districts. US Cable installs fiber that allows for high-speed Internet services to schools as well as enhanced cable television service (and subsequently Internet/phone services) to most ECMECC communities.
ECMECC districts begin using Nettrekker for safe Internet searches and Internet based research.
Chisago Lakes joins ECMECC as a full member. St. Francis joins ECMECC as an associate member.
ECMECC districts join Infinity Online Collaborative (formally MnCOLA) to offer supplemental online courses. ECMECC pays membership fees on behalf of member districts.
ECMECC is awarded a $366,254 grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. The grant funds 22 portable h.323 video (Tandberg) devices in ECMECC member district schools to be used for video conference applications.
ECMECC member districts complete technology audits during Winter of 2007 paid for with ECMECC funds. Audit results are used, in part, as needs assessments for district level comprehensive technology planning.
Eight ECMECC member schools hold a joint professional development day with activities for different subject areas at each of the eight sites.
New Executive Director is hired. Long-time ECMECC Director, Steve Hallan officially retires in October 2008.
ECMECC partners with Pine Technical College and receives a Department of Labor grant for updated ITV equipment.
ECMECC begins building data center services (with SAN and VMware infrastructure) in the Pine Technical College data center.
Technology Integration Specialist position is created and hired.
Offsite backup storage service begins.Districts can store data backups in the "ECMECC cloud".
Eight ECMECC member schools hold their second joint professional development day.
St. Francis joins ECMECC as a full member upgrading from previous associate status.
ECMECC begins a virtual server service allowing districts to move physical servers from their local buildings to the ECMECC cloud.
TechCheck pre-paid services program starts. Service allows districts to pre-buy technology support services from Tech Check, LLC. at a reduced rate.
ECMECC and Lakes Country Service Cooperative are awarded a $475,803 grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. The grant funds h.323 video (Tandberg) devices and audio/video upgrades in ECMECC member district ITV rooms.
Nine ECMECC member schools hold their third joint professional development day.
ECMECC begins offering summer technology professional development workshops.
Elk River joins ECMECC as an associate member. ITV rooms are created at four district high schools.
Four ECMECC member schools hold their fourth joint professional development day.
ECMECC member districts complete technology audits paid for with ECMECC funds.
ECMECC Joint Powers Agreement is amended to reflect modern language, updated mission and activities and members that had been added. Member list now includes, Braham, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes, East Central, Hinckley-Finlayson, Milaca, Mora, North Branch, Ogilvie, Pine City, Princeton, Rush City, St. Francis and Pine Technical College. Elk River is an associate member.
ECMECC offers 2nd year of summer professional development workshops. Now offering graduate credit options through Hamline University.
Elk River, North Branch, SCRED and St. Francis cooperatively purchase a desktop management and helpdesk product called Kaseya. The product is hosted on the ECMECC cloud.
ECMECC develops electronic textbooks (flexbooks) for grades 6, 7 and 8 (algebra) mathematics
ECMECC enters into an agreement with Pine Technical College to purchase 40% of a PTCC contract employee for data center and network administrator services.
2.5 year contract begins with Midcontinent Communications (who had recently purchased US Cable) for gigabit wide area network.
ECMECC develops electronic textbooks (flexbooks) for grades 5 and 9 (intermediate algebra) mathematics and grades 6, 7 and 8 science.
ECMECC ends service paying membership in Infinity Online Collaborative on behalf of member districts. Any districts wishing to continue with Infinity membership will now pay their own membership fees to the Infinity Collaborative.
All full member ECMECC districts join the Minnesota Partnership for Collaborative Curriculum using pooled funds.
ECMECC is awarded a $238,294 grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service Distance Learning and Telemedicine program. The grant funds h.323 video (Cisco) devices and audio/video upgrades in many ECMECC member district ITV rooms.
ECMECC sponsors development of 6th and 7th grade mathematics courses for the Minnesota Partnership for Collaborative Curriculum.
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