Contributed by: Melanie Van Liere (and Kenneth Pohl)
<vanlier@erols.com>
Date: Sat, 10 May 1980 18:37:02 -0700
In Norfolk, VA one public school has joined with the area cable carrier for internet access. This has been a great benefit for this one school. Also in this highly populated Navy area most schools have a sponsor, such as the crew of a ship, to help with electronics and wiring as well as tutoring. It is our belief that any major corporation is willing to help a school also.
Specifically at Lake Taylor High School we have made USAA a partner for education. They have donated 50 IBM 386 computers, miscellaneous equipment and offer technical support. This has been an invaluable collaboration.
We seem to have a split opinion on this topic. On one hand there is the fact that schools will not be as needy so they may not seek all the assistance from the local companies. On the other hand if the schools had the financial backing more companies would be willing to offer technical support or advice since it is less money than a major donation of computers and assistance.
An enhanced competitive environment will benefit education from new services starting. We believe that there is potential for new servers to enter the market as well as better packages to lower costs for education.
In our area there is no apparent structures in place. Each school looks for community partners and some have the ability to help with computer needs and some do not. There is no across the board set structures with our system.