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 Womens 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 BTGs 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:
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 Chambers 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, Tysons 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
The Town Hall Series encourages neighborhoods, communities and institutional groups to
sponsor events for their citizens or constitutents that will introduce topics about the
Knowledge Revolution. A detailed
description of this program is available.