Using telecommunications to meet the staff development and networking needs of educators of the gifted in small or rural school districts

These are the facts of the problem facing Wisconsin's educational system: Four hundred and thirty districts (two‐thirds rural) across an area 160 miles wide and 330 miles long. Fifty thousand educators, very few of whom have had course work in meeting the needs of the gifted. A state Jaw requiring that the gifted (intellectually, academically, creatively, artistically, and in leadership) be identified and served appropriately. Problem finding resulted in the need to provide a mix of credit and noncredit learning opportunities at times and in places convenient to teachers. The solution is a blending of new technologies (computers and television) with older technologies (telephone and federal mail) in developing a statewide learning community.