NEH Targets Emerging Technology Grant For Elementary and Secondary Schools

Washington, DC, February 28, 1996 -- The National Endowment for the Humanities is currently offering grants through its new Teaching with Technology Program. Approximately $1.2 million is available for three-year grants of about $250,000 or less. The deadline is April 5, 1996. The program is designed to encourage elementary and secondary schools to start using emerging technologies to strengthen humanities-related education. Partnerships with other schools, higher education, nonprofit organizations, and particularly private sector businesses are encouraged.

For applications contact Frederick Winter, National Endowment for the Humanities, (202) 606-8377; e-mail, fwinter@neh.fed.us

Goodwill Industries International Presents Internet Strategy To KnowledgeWay Action Team

Reston, VA, February 23, 1996 -- Goodwill Industries International (GII) is leveraging the power of the Internet to deliver job training to people with disabilities and other special needs. This according to Hal Gangnath, Internet Grant Manager for GII. Gangnath, was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project's Disabilities Action Team. Hal is the driving force behind this effort to develop programs, equipment and facilitate staffing at seven initial Goodwill locations. In addition, people served by Goodwill Industries job-training programs will use the Internet for such programs as literacy training or job-readiness.

A GII project manager, a national advisory board and individual project representatives are selecting the training curriculum best-suited both for electronic delivery and the needs of the people served by the member Goodwill organizations.

This program by Goodwill Industries International was made possible by the awarding of a $250,000 matching grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of its Telecommunications and Information and Infrastructure Assistance Program.

Hal made his presentation on February 20, 1996, to the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project's Disabilities Action Team, which is comprised of volunteers from throughout the region, who are currently collaborating on the development and deployment of a regional services referral system for the disabled. The KnowledgeWay Action Teams were developed to focus on addressing specific social and business needs of the region through the effective use and implementation of interactive communications. Gangnath said he believed that the Project's Action Team approach provides a model that could be used at the local Goodwill level for getting communities aware of the potential benefits of the Internet.

CollegeTown -- Free College Search Service -- Hits the World Wide Web

Dunn Loring, Virginia, February 15, 1996 -- Yet another industry -- higher education -- has set its sights on the power of the Internet to beef up marketing to prospective "buyers." Driven by escalating competition for applicants and a compelling need to reach students earlier in their search process, scores of forward-thinking colleges and universities are adding a new online service to their mix of recruiting vehicles.

The KnowledgeWay (Virginia, DC and Suburban Maryland) is home for an innovative site on the World Wide Web -- CollegeTown -- now connects colleges with a worldwide student body that increasingly (and seemingly automatically) jumps online for information. CollegeTown enables students and their parents to "shop" for the appropriate college, contact colleges online, gather admissions information, and learn about financial aid and scholarships -- without leaving their keyboards.

CollegeTown is available for free to anyone with access to the Internet's World Wide Web. Here's a sample of what college-bound students and their parents will find at CollegeTown:

• Admissions -- Home College Tour on the Internet (virtual tours of campuses)
• Financial Aid -- Affordable student and computer loans, and scholarship information
• Library -- One-stop guide to online college libraries throughout the world
• Stadium -- Forrest Davis Prep Football Recruiting Guide, and student athlete database
• Main Street -- Businesses marketing products and services targeted to students, faculty, and parents
• Alumni -- Services bringing alumni together with their alma maters

CollegeTown was created by ReZun Interactive Concepts, Inc. Headquartered in northern Virginia, ReZun was founded in 1994 to develop, market, and support multimedia applications for the home consumer market.

Award Winning Legal Resources in the KnowledgeWay

MCLEAN, VA -- The legal firm of Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, LLP, located in McLean, Virginia has won the Silicon Webbernaut Award given out by the Web Council, LCC, for the Best Law Firm Website. The national award is given to that Web site which best demonstrates use and understanding of the Internet and its technology.

Venable is a full service business law firm founded in 1900. Their site contains more than 150 articles on a variety of legal topics, including Peter Martin's "Five Reasons For Lawyers and Law Firms to Be on the Internet." The article provides insight into the law and cyberspace and was based on a presentation made to the New York City Bar Association.

KnowledgeWay Businesses Help Non-Profits Move Onto the Web

VIENNA, VA -- Non-profit groups in the KnowledgeWay are joining their business counterparts in establishing a presence on the World Wide Web. BTG for example, an Internet services provider, has developed home pages on the Web for the Women’s Center of Northern Virginia, the Volunteer Center of Fairfax County and the Century Club of George Mason University. The home pages, hosted by BTG on its network server, detail the non-profits’ services and provide information to their members and volunteers.

"Moving online is a logical progression for these groups," said Tom Beck, Program Manager of BTG’s Internet Services. "They serve the fastest-growing technology center in the country, an area with a high concentration of firms with Web sites and residents with Internet connections. A home page is an efficient, cost-effective way to communicate with their supporters, members and clients.

For additional information, visit the Web locations for these sites or contact them by phone:

• Women’s Center of Northern Virginia
  URL: http://www.btg.com/women/
  703.281.4928
  

• The Century Club of GMU
  URL: http://www.btg.com/century/
  703.761.3141
  

• The Volunteer Center of Fairfax County
  URL: http://www.btg.com/volsrus/
  703.246.3460
  

BTG is a member of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, a regional non-profit organization committed to fostering the adoption and widespread utilization of interactive knowledge transfer and communications technology throughout the Potomac region. The Project's efforts target individuals and organizations across all walks of community life, including business, education, healthcare, government and local non-profit community organizations. By learning and applying this growing and increasingly pervasive interactive technology, regional communities will be better prepared to benefit from the dramatic social and economic transformation the technology is rapidly facilitating.

BTG's outstanding efforts to help non-profits develop and leverage an Internet presence reflects the mission of the Potomac KnowledgeWay. In fact, BTG's president and chief executive officer, Edward H. Bersoff, serves as the organization's vice chairman. Other businesses do similar work, such as Electric Press of Reston, VA, which has helped build and maintain the Crossroads. Additional information is available on the Internet for BTG at http://www.btg.com and for Electric Press at http://www.elpress.com.

Potomac KnowledgeWay Presented to Montgomery County Businesses

BETHESDA, MD -- Potomac KnowledgeWay Board Member George Newstrom outlined benefits of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project to Montgomery County businesses during "Show Biz ‘96." Newstrom, a vice president at EDS, spoke at the Keynote Luncheon during the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber’s business exposition presenting seminars and networking opportunities while showcasing the diversity of products and services from the Chamber's membership. "Show Biz ‘96" was co-sponsored by Bell Atlantic, Lockheed Martin, the Gazette Newspapers, the Washington Business Journal, WTOP and Cable TV Montgomery.

The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project is a regional non-profit organization committed to fostering the adoption and widespread utilization of interactive knowledge transfer and communications technology throughout the Potomac region. The Project's efforts target individuals and organizations across all walks of community life, including business, education, healthcare, government and local non-profit community organizations. By learning and applying this growing and increasingly pervasive interactive technology, regional communities will be better prepared to benefit from the dramatic social and economic transformation the technology is rapidly facilitating.

Chamber President Bruce Drury believes that those who developed the concept of the Potomac KnowledgeWay project were forward thinking to include the whole region--Northern VA, DC and MD suburban area. "It is a regional vision and initiative that is meant to be inclusive and to highlight the tremendous assets of this area," Drury said. He believes the Project can tremendously benefit the chamber members as well his own firm of Watkins, Megan, Drury & Company, who has offices in Bethesda, Tyson’s Corner and Washington, DC.

Bruce and Tom Bennett, Executive Director of the Chamber are ready to take action to get their Chamber involved with the Project. A steering committee will be formed and meet this month to establish a direction and membership. Cathy Lange, who works with the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, will help them establish a Net-Worker program, which provides a systematic approach to help organizations and their leaders engage in the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project. The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce has nearly 700 business members and is the second largest Chamber in Montgomery County.

The Town Hall Series Kicks Off