Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 13:47:12 -0400 From: wright@CoSN.ORG (William Wright) To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [VIE:216] Introduction to 6/9 draft of Internet plan Alliance members- As you know, we will meet on Monday, June 12, (8:30-3:30 at VTC, Randolph) to talk about the working draft of the Internet plan. We said that we would have the draft (first of several) there, but I want to post it so you can see it early. Some major points: * this is an early working draft; we will expand it after you look at it * there will be focus groups in June and July and other chances to respond * the final is due on October 1 (over 3 1/2 months from now) * the draft on the Web site (www.itc.org) will be up next week I will start with the intro (contents, audience and purpose, statement to you) and Part 5 (Plan for technical support, training, and professional development), then the other 7 parts (each in a separate e-mail message on this list). You can send ideas to vie@itc.org (this list) or to John Hedin (jhedin@ssi.edc.org). Bill Wright wright@cosn.org --------------- Contents Preliminary outline i. Who is this document for? ii. Why do we have this Internet plan? iii. How to use this Internet plan? Part 1. What is the Internet? Part 2. How can the Internet help improve teaching and learning? Part 3. What access do we have now? Part 4. What models do we suggest? Part 5. A plan for technical support, training, and professional development Part 6. How does a school connect a LAN to the Internet? Part 7. What funding mechanisms does Vermont need? 7.1 Why do we need sustained funding? 7.2 Models of other state funding mechanisms 7.3 What legislative action do we suggest? 7.4 What regulatory action do we suggest? Part 8. Increasing Awareness Part 9. Resources that can help us carry out this plan. Introductory statement to the Alliance This first draft of a plan for bringing the Internet to Vermont's schools and communities reflects your ideas. In the meetings of stakeholders held in Randolph on February 14th and on April 11th (and many other meetings around the state, and in online discussions) you said repeatedly that this plan must go beyond pipes and wires -- that it must plan for technical support, training, and professional development. By this we mean training for those who will manage and maintain the server for a school or community -- as well as ongoing training and professional development for teachers who will, we hope, use technology across the curriculum to help students reach the goals of Vermont's Common Core of Learning. In this document we plan for a communications infrastructure that helps all Vermonters -- not just K-12 students. As our economy becomes more knowledge-based and service-based, all Vermonters need to become more aware of the potential of internetworking. The training and professional development must be ongoing and must help build local capacity in all communities. This plan supports learning on demand and lifelong learning. For example, a farmer in Lower Granville, Vermont, might be able to get her master's degree in hospital administration from her laptop, without having to miss a milking. A group of soybean growers around the state might work with a niche market as providers of tofu -- and sell to the international market. They could use the Internet to explore this, set up a co-op, and communicate with each other. (A group of farmers in Nebraska is doing this -- collaborating on a niche market venture that sells tofu to a Japanese venture.) A student in Windsor and his father might expand on his interest in computer science by taking a course at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico. This plan for bringing Internet to the state tries to deal with the problem that Vermont -- and many other states -- face: the fact that schools and people in rural areas have to pay more than their urban counterparts do to have access to advanced telecommunications services. For example, there are several Internet service providers in Chittenden County, but the Northeast Kingdom may not have the population density to attract these providers. Until the technology changes, we suggest that a fund be established to provide seed money for community networks. We see these as cost-sharing arrangements in communities where the anchor tenant may be a school in one place, the library in another, the hospital or health-care center in a third. Funding for community networks must encourage public-private cooperation and must, as the federal NTIA program does, ask the community to provide matching funds and a plan for sustaining the venture. (See Part 4 for models and page 4-3 for other recommendations.) We need to make it very clear that this is not a telecommunications plan for Vermont, but a plan for Internet use for schools and communities in the state. The state needs a total telecommunications plan, but that will come from the Telecommunications and Technology Council of Vermont (TTCV). We adjusted the focus of this plan when the Governor's Chief Information Officer was able to offer two levels of Internet connectivity to schools (see attached letter). With GovNet, the state is making a bold effort to "kick start" the development of the Internet in schools and communities. We feel that this effort will increase awareness and encourage many schools to get started with connections to the Internet. This plan builds on that effort -- and other connectivity efforts -- with technical support, training, and professional development. This is an early working draft. We will hold focus groups in June and July, and submit the final of an Internet plan on October 1, 1995. To have them considered for the next draft, by June 30th, send your comments to the John Hedin, Internet Plan Coordinator, . Audience(s) and Purpose(s) Audience: The general Vermont community Purpose: Inform them in general terms about what this is all about. They will, after all, help pay for this. Audience: The Vermont State Legislature, Telecommunications and Technology Council of Vermont, Joint Information Technology Oversite Committee (JITOC) Purpose: Give part of the picture for an overall telecommunications plan, which is much broader than this Internet plan; talk about universal access; give them ideas for how we might link all schools (382 buildings) for science, math, and technology reform. Audience: NSF and other funding agencies Purpose: More funding for implementation of plan The next level beyond this Internet plan. A goal is to link the communities these schools are in. We want to begin to give access to parents, board members, and members of the community. We will encourage the "anchor tenant" idea that the Vermont Business Roundtable suggests. In one community the anchor tenant or hub may be the school, in another the hospital, etc. Audience: K-12 schools/communities. That is, stakeholders, teachers, parents, business people. Purpose: Inform them of the possibilities that the Internet offers them in their particular role. For example, it can help them gather information about what other boards, selectboards, associations are doing. Show how they can go to first level in first year or two (e-mail, news, some World Wide Web). Help them understand how they can move to greater connectivity in Internet use (include training, professional development, etc.). Give models: If you have this ..., we suggest this... i. Who is this document for? NSF, policymakers in Vermont, K-12 schools/local communities, the general Vermont community. ii. Why do we have this Internet plan? While the Internet plan for Vermont must serve the best interests of the people of Vermont, we must remember that the National Science Foundation has funded this plan as the first of a two-step process. After VISMT submits an Internet plan, NSF will consider a proposal for support under its Networking Infrastructure for Education (NIE) program. A goal of that particular program is to "hasten the development of a widespread high-performance electronic communications infrastructure in support of education reform." This is a plan for bringing the Internet to Vermont's schools and communities. It is a plan so that NSF can consider more funding; more importantly, it is a plan for the various stakeholders in Vermont. This includes policymakers who can help solve the problems of access and equity and who can develop creative funding mechanisms to sustain this vital communications infrastructure beyond any federal grant. iii. How to use this Internet plan. We have used informative subject headings so that the readers can easily find the sections that interest them. For example, policymakers may want to look at Part 7 (What funding mechanisms does Vermont need?) or to the subsection, (Models of other state funding mechanisms). The plan puts great emphasis on training and professional (and personal) development. You should look at Part 5 (A plan for training and professional development). We have tried to be specific (who will do what by when), but we want to be flexible. This is where we want your ideas. We also want this to be a living document. Those who want to make comments can send electronic mail to vie@itc.org. You can send comments without subscribing to this electronic mailing list. If you *do* want to subscribe to this list (and receive other comments) send e-mail to listproc@itc.org with no subject and sub vie YourName in the body. For example, sub vie Mary Smith. Again, you can simply send comments to vie@itc.org and not join the Internet mailing list. To send your idea to one person (not to the list of subscribers who read vie@itc.org) send to John Hedin at jhedin@ssi.edc.org Those with access to Netscape, Lynx, or other World Wide Web browsers can go to the document and see other resources (examples of a community network, examples of Vermont home pages, the Texas survey of how other states are connected, a similar survey by NASA, etc.) by pointing to http://www.itc.org Those who simply want to mail comments can send them to John Hedin, Internet plan coordinator, VISMT, 29 Church Street, Box 6, Burlington, Vermont 05401. The phone and fax number is (802) 658-8424. Bill Wright - CoSN and ITC CoSN's new membership office: 1250 24th St. NW, Suite 300 1555 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20037 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 466-0533 Voice: (202) 466-6296 info@cosn.org wright@cosn.org Fax: (202) 462-9043