Bob Carlitz


Name: Bob Carlitz

E-mail: bob@info-ren.org

Organization: Information Renaissance

City and State: Pittsburgh, PA

Area of Employment: education

How I heard about Network Democracy:

This project developed out of the interactions that Information Renaissance had with the Federal Communications in providing testimony on the Telecommunications Act and its provisions for schools and libraries.

My experience in this area:

I have been involved with school and community networking for a number of years. The projects with which I have been involved include: Further information on these projects can be found on the Information Renaissance Web server.

What I hope to learn:

It will be very interesting to see how the concept of "Network Democracy" turns out in practice. Can the grass-roots educators and librarians who have led the way toward local connectivity and signficant applications of networking technology master enough of the arcana of telecommunications law to enable that law to be implemented for the maximal benefit of our schools and libraries? And, conversely, can the specialists on the legal and technical side learn enough about needs at the local level to develop networks that can best meet those needs. It's a big challenge, but the rewards are big enough to make it worth the effort.

Additional comments:

The Information Renaissance Web site builds upon past experience of other local networking projects, but it's a new site, and it can certainly use some improvement. Please let us know if you have suggestions to make or assistance to offer. You can write me at my personal e-mail address, given above, or you can send your advice to info@info-ren.org.