Participants in the first Wisconsin teleconference, a seminar for physicians held in 1965, would hardly recognize distance learning as it exists today with its global reach and web-based delivery mode. Distance learning systems spread into areas exhibiting a need for outreach services, thus proliferating in the Midwest and other areas of the U.S. characterized by sparsely populated and largely rural areas. The Division of Pharmacy Professional Development (DPPD) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy recognized this need and has offered at least one teleconference course per year since 1966, using pre-recorded lectures with live Q & A sessions. The intent of the original Educational Teleconference Network (ETN) was to embody the “Wisconsin Idea” where education influences and improves people’s lives beyond the university classroom. With ETN, information was disseminated to rural communities underserved by traditional educational offerings. Originally, ETN participants had to meet at designated sites around the state that were equipped to handle the amplified telephone calls, a format that continued with few modifications for the next 40 years.
Since 2010, the ability to broadcast over the internet eliminated the need for designated sites. Anywhere in the world, pharmacy practitioners with high-speed internet access can participate in DPPD’s Distance Learning Experiences (DLE). Pharmacist learners still can congregate at designated sites and learn together, but most choose to participate from their home or work sites. Slides with audio accompaniment are followed by the Q & A session using a “chat” window on the computer screen, with questions visible to all. Even if multiple questions are typed at once, only one question appears at a time. The current format also frees the speaker from having to be present in Madison for the synchronous Q & A session. The 2015 Fall DLE series, “Updates in Infectious Diseases,” exploits this flexibility and features faculty from across the U.S. The Infectious Disease DLE course kicks off DPPD’s fall pharmacist programming for 2015. The Fall Milwaukee Symposium on October 2 will cover the Pharmacist’s Role in Public Health. The Alumni Weekend program will cover Pain Management on October 16. Finally the Fall Madison Institute, covering Opioid Use, Abuse, and Controversies, will be held on November 11.