Using videotaped lectures to practice American Sign Language (ASL) used to be a pretty tiresome process for hearing-impaired and other students at the University of Rochester (NY). In order to access the videos, students had to trek to the campus library, reserve an audio/visual station in the media center, take out the appropriate tape, and watch it right then and there. In the spring and summer months, the process was manageable but inconvenient. In winter, however, with lake-effect snow blowing off Lake Ontario, the journey to and from the campus library became possible only for the intrepid. But last year, digital video revolutionized the ritual for Rochester's ASL students. With the help of the cLabs digital video solution from cDigix (www.cdigix. com), the school has been able to digitize the entire library of videotapes and offer them online through a portal of digital media that includes movies, MP3s, and more. Lisa Brown, manager of the school's Educational Technology Center, says that today, students in all of the school's 14 ASL classes can practice hand signals from the privacy of their own dorm rooms, all with a few clicks of a mouse. ASL at the University of Rochester is unique, the school certainly isn't the only institution to improve its video technologies. A handful of other colleges and universities are starting to deliver high-definition video in various formats, both online and via handheld devices. In particular, schools such as the University of Nebraska, Case Western Reserve University (OH), and the University of Michigan are blazing trails, adopting exciting video initiatives that are opening up new avenues of learning for students and teachers alike.