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About
Burns Technology Center
 Mission:
At the Burns Technology Center, we believe that exploring new ideas and methods
is crucial to enriching education and improving quality of life. We help students
of all ages take advantage of learning opportunities that technology and
great instruction make possible.
How to find us:
We are located just inside the EPS
(Engineering and Physical Sciences) Building, which is just east of the Strand
Union on the MSU campus. Look for the "Wind Arc" sculpture outside.
We are in EPS 128, just to the right of the main doors.
See our Google Map for directions.
History:
 The Burns Technology Center of Montana State University was created in 1993 by MSU and the Montana Board of Regents to develop and demonstrate cost-effective telecommunications applications and distant learning strategies. The BTC successfully incorporates technology into traditional teaching and learning, as well as extends the university into the homes and communities of every Montanan. In addition, the center’s distance learning programs reach people and communities across the United States and beyond.
The center is named in honor of U. S. Senator Conrad Burns for his national advocacy and leadership in using telecommunications to meet local and national needs.; Senator Burns’ vision of using telecommunications to overcome the limits of physical and cultural isolation and to enrich learning intersects well with the goals of the center—to create dynamic learning experiences using innovative methods.
Montana’s rural and widely-dispersed population makes it a natural “test bed” for innovative telecommunications uses. The BTC uses this environment to create and test new models to provide dynamic learning experiences to all types of learners.
Support:
As an outreach center of Montana State University, the BTC is largely funded by fees for service, grants and contracts, and private donations. Some recent examples of accomplishments and benefits to Montana from private support include:
- Donation of over $350,000 in software from Microsoft that has been distributed to hundreds of rural schools, healthcare providers, tribal colleges, and small businesses throughout the state.
- AT&T funding for the BTC Technology Leadership Institute provided training to hundreds of K-12 teachers and school administrators throughout Montana in the incorporation of technology in the classroom.
- Motorola donated a Canopy Wireless Network that BTC installed on the Rocky Boy Reservation. This network connects educators, health care providers, tribal agencies, and tribal elders with the first broadband connectivity available on the reservation.
- Provided course design and development, faculty training, and program delivery for three new MSU graduate distance degree programs that provide educational opportunities to several hundred non-traditional (off-campus) students annually.
Click here to support our work.
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