US/ND-1: Thoughts from the First 10 Years..
Thoughts from the First 10 Years..
Dennis Golombek (golombek@localnet.com)
Sat, 31 Aug 1996 13:22:05 -0500
Hi to all!
These musings are my own and do not reflect those of my school district
or that of the Buffalo Free-Net.
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After being involved with educational telecommunications for 10
years(starting with a list server that our moderator set up) I've seen
interest in this area grow from it being viewed as a pleasant after
school activity for a few "geeky" gifted students to one that has become
seen as necessary for all students "if affordable." The genie came out
of the bottle.
Over the past decade we've gone from dealing with the former New York
Telephone Co. in search of grants for added lines so as not to interfere
with office functions. In those days there seemed to be no education
plans from the phone company and we waited a few years until they got
religion and started sponsoring some grants around the state to help
tele-education. An elementary school in my district actually received
one of these grants for a 5th grade project. That classroom is one of
the few in the district that has a phone in it.
I'm now glad to see that NYNEX(nee New York Telephone) is helping to
sponsor this seminar and seems to be much more active in education.
Teachers I talk with are leary as to what may happen when once again the
company is absorbed by Bell Atlantic and tries to learn its new market
area.( Steve Kohn may have an idea about this?)
Everything has gotten better except the costs. Hardware, software,
greater speed. Anyone here remember FTPing with a 300 baud modem?
Teachers are finding Netscape and other browsers much friendlier than
some UNIX account they had in college. ISDN is now being promoted where
as a few years ago I was told by a phone company rep I'd never have a
need for it.
A suggestion I'd like to make is that the phone companies actually
increase their association with the K-12 educational communities. I know
they have sales reps assigned to their major education customers like
colleges and universities. These reps know the telephony side of their
business. The companies should also employ reps who can understand the
needs of teachers in the trenches at the K-12 level.
Several years ago a few of us began the Buffalo Free-Net(BFN), the first
freenet in New York State. The process of getting the system up and
going was greatly helped by staff from the State University of New York
at Buffalo which agreed to house our boxes and allow staff to help with
the more technical problems. This "town and gown" relationship helped
foster a great relationship with the Buffalo & Erie County Public
Libraries and the Western New York Library Resource Council. Many others
have volunteered greatly to run their SIGs.
"Technology Tuesdays" are offered at the main library in downtown
Buffalo where the community can attend and learn how to use the BFN.
Many Tuesdays there is standing room only at these classes. The BFN now
has several thousand members and keeps growing. I assume these members
help provide a good profit for their phone companies. To paraphrase
Field of Dreams: If you build a network it will be used.
When our K-12 students graduate some may have access through their
post-secondary institutions. Those who don't attend college are able to
remain online through a freenet or community-net at a rate cheaper than
some ISP. Asa matter of fact I still get e-mail from former students
from around the country who use these networks. It's a thrill to hear
from them and one of the things that makes teaching wonderful.
Sorry for the ramblings. Later!
Dennis