
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 13, 1990                   TAG: 9006130206
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                LENGTH: Short

RU GETS COMMUNICATIONS GRANT

A two-year-old Radford University project devoted to improving oral communication skills has received a $203,000 grant from the state Council of Higher Education, marking the second time that the council has endorsed the program.

The grant, culled from the state's Funds for Excellence, will be used to expand Radford's Oral Communications Program into video training topics such as reducing speech fright, bolstering debating techniques and improving listening behavior.

Work on a speech-fright video already is under way and should be ready for use by 1991 spring semester - after testing this fall. Officials say that each one-hour video takes some 200 hours of work to produce.

"Interactive video has become a very useful tool in so many academic areas, but we are the first to put it to use for communication," Michael Cronin, the program's director, said in a statement.

"These will be individualized learning tools, not teaching tools. They are self-paced for use by students, faculty or anyone who has an interest in the subject," he said.

"These are not just taped lectures. We have to anticipate the where students will go with each question and anticipate all the typical incorrect answers."

The state council rarely funds programs a second time. Indeed, initial grants are intended to jumpstart a promising educational program. But because Radford's project uses new technologies, the council agreed to fund the program for another two years.

by CNB