The East Central Minnesota Education Cable Cooperative(ECMECC) is a consortium of 14 school Districts and a Technical and Community College utilizing two-way interactive television to expand educational opportunities for students and community members in East Central Minnesota. ECMECC is 42,000 students, 2700 faculty/administrators and 2200 education support staff. We utilize technology, information and communication tools to expand educational opportunities for students, staff and community members.

 

Member school districts are: Braham, Cambridge-Isanti, Chisago Lakes, East Central, Hinckley-Finlayson, Isle, Milaca, Mora, North Branch, Ogilvie, Pine City, Princeton, Rush City, Pine Technical and Community College, and associate members: Elk River 

ECMECC was originally formed in 1983 and operated in conjunction with the local cable company.  The co-op began sharing courses between six area schools in the fall of 1984.  Each school district could produce a “live” video and audio signal from its interactive classroom.  The following year a seventh school was added, with three more to follow in the spring of 1994 along with Pine Technical and Community College.  In the summer of 1999 the original system was replaced with a fiber optic system which has the possibilities to be connected with other sites and learning institutions throughout the state of Minnesota, making educational opportunities for co-op members almost endless.

 

In January 2006 a new fiber optic based network operating at gigabit speeds was put into place ushering in a new era of shared network services including Internet access, firewalls, virtual servers, learning management systems, video, backup and much more. ECMECC continues to offer two-way interactive classes within our membership schools using Mpeg 2 video. We are connected to the statewide network, offering and receiving courses and attending virtual field trips using H.323 video.  Our high capacity network backbone allows sharing of data applications and allows ECMECC members high bandwidth egress to Internet II applications and the commodity internet. In 2008, ECMECC began supporting instructional technology and providing professional development. Today, ECMECC continues to make great things happen for students and staff in our fifteen member entities and beyond.

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Click HERE to view our service milestone timeline