What's New for the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project's Web Site?
Technology Summer '96: Opportunities for
Educators
May 31, 1996 -- The U.S. Department of Education's Office
of Educational Technology has set up a
Web site to
list opportunities for learning how to integrate technology into
instruction. Their goal is to highlight professional development
technology opportunities available this summer in every state. If
your district, university, company, non-profit or other
organization is offering a summer professional development course,
institute or seminar in instructional technology, simply use the
online
form to enter the information.
If you are interested in finding out what is available, listings
include information about the content area, grade level, delivery
method, sessions, dates, credit, cost, location, contact and
addresses where online materials can be found. For additional
information, contact Gwen Solomon at gwen_solomon@ed.gov.
Retail Marketing Opportunities on the Internet
May 31, 1996 -- The
Greater Washington Board of Trade
in conjunction with the
Potomac KnowledgeWay
Project, is sponsoring a three-hour
seminar on "Retail Marketing Opportunities on the Internet and the
World Wide Web: Can it Work for Me?" Topics include Internet
demographics, how retailers are using this new interactive
communications medium, an overview of equipment needs and costs
and resources in the greater Washington region. Participants will
also have the opportunity to visit a variety of retail Web sites.
The seminar is on Thursday, June 13, 1996, from 7:30 - 10:30 a.m.
at the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, 1801 Robert Fulton Drive,
Reston, Virginia. Space is limited. For more information, please
contact TracyBaynard@bot.org or call 202-857-5936.
Internet Network in Russia
May 31, 1996 -- According to Reuters, billionaire financier
George Soros said his non-profit foundation plans to underwrite a
five-year, $100 million program to install Internet connections at
universities across Russia. "We are providing the equipment, the
training and the staffing on the ground," he said. "The whole
program is $100 million in the next five years."
In a recent speech in Houston, Soros said he remains concerned
Western democracies have missed an opportunity to create open
societies in the former Soviet Union. "The West didn't really
engage itself to help in the transition" since the end of the Cold
War, he said. The Internet network he envisions may help in that
transition by improving communications and promoting education
through online classrooms across Russia.
"It is a way of keeping Russia more open and building what I call
open society. More equally, it gives the foundation a network to
reach the people outside Moscow," Soros said of the online
network, which he said has the support of the Russian government.
Soros plans to travel to Russia in June to open the first of 32
Internet centers in Yaroslavl, an ancient city 160 miles northeast
of Moscow.
A money manager whose net worth is estimated at more than $1
billion, Soros has set up a global network of foundations in 24
countries throughout the former Soviet Union and in South Africa
and Haiti.
Getting Online: Communities on the Internet Conference
May 31, 1996 -- Around the world, communities and non-profit groups
are looking at the Internet as an essential survival tool
economically, socially and culturally. "Getting Online," a
conference sponsored by
InfoLink, will bring
forward community views on development of the information highway
while opening dialogue among non-profit organizations, the
electronic community networking movement, communications
policy-makers and the Internet industry. The conference will be
held on June 21-23, 1996 at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
Participants in "Getting Online" will hear from communities and
non-government organizations that have made the leap into
cyberspace. Participants in "Getting Online" will share
front-line ideas on the most affordable, appropriate ways of using
the Internet to meet basic community needs. Other items on the
agenda include:
- what community groups can accomplish by going online;
- ways of using electronic networks to create jobs and bring
communities together; and
- factors that can limit community and non-profit uses of
electronic networks.
Contact InfoLink to learn more about the conference and to
register
online. Individuals may also register and obtain additional
information via email at
infolink@fox.nstn.ca
or by calling 1-800-265-3973.
A Good Lawyer on the Internet
May 24, 1996 -- The Internet has provided a whole new field of
opportunity for writers to publish their work beyond the
traditional publishing environment. Stephen W. Comiskey recently
published a book on the Internet,
"A Good Lawyer: Secrets Good
Lawyers [and their best clients] Already Know." His goal was
to create a small book to be for all who practice law what Strunk
and White's "Elements of Style" is for all who write. The book is
designed to "give law students some guideposts for practicing law
honorably and some compass points for ethics. "A Good Lawyer" says
succinctly what Comiskey believes is rightfully expected of a good lawyer.
However, "A Good Lawyer" is not just for lawyers. It is for
clients, potential clients and anyone curious about the legal
system and legal processes in the United States. In a recent
review of
the book, Gannett News Service's Pulitzer Prize winning journalist
John Hanchette wrote, "
The result is a compendium in
which each nugget of experiential wisdom stands on its own, but
presents a seamless whole -- sort of like what might result if the
famous 4th century B.C. Chinese scholar and military strategist
Sun Tzu ("The Art of War") were asked to write about attorneys:
cosmic thoughts on cosmic subjects, but of bumper sticker length."
Comiskey is a
partner in the law firm of Comiskey & Hunt based in McLean,
Virginia. A Good Lawyer may be downloaded or read online.
Mario Morino Gives Keynote at High Tech Awards Dinner
Mario Morino, chairman of the board of the
Potomac KnowledgeWay Project and
chairman of the Morino Institute, presented
the keynote address at the 10th Annual Greater Washington Region High Tech
Awards Dinner on May 15, 1996. The
speech focuses on the
opportunity the greater Washington region has to come
together as a community to seize the economic, educational and social
opportunities of the communications revolution in part by recognizing and
nurturing a network-centric entrepreneurial community today. Highlights of
the speech include four key strategies to position the region as the global
hub of the knowledge industry in the 21st century, the need to understand the
transforming change and opportunity of the communications revolution and
examples of how each business leader can make a difference by doing their part.
FreBon Announces Worldwide Bridging Services - Facility Based
in Greater Washington
May 20, 1996 -- FreBon International Corporation, a videoconferencing
integrator, has recently installed a new multipoint control unit (MCU) for
videoconferencing. This service allows up to 20 certified videoconferencing
sites to be bridged together at transmission speeds from 112 Kbps to full T-1.
The MCU can connect 3 to 20 standards-based systems (ITU H.320) from any
manufacturer for an interactive conference.
This new multipoint bridging facility, located in greater Washington, offers
onsite and worldwide users electronic and bridging services. According to Fred
Mueller, executive vice president of FreBon, "This multipoint bridging service
(facility) will definitely fill a need which exists in the Eastern Region."
FreBon's multipoint bridging services are available 24 hours a day on a scheduled
basis. Through July 30, interested potential users may be registered and certified
at no charge by calling the FreBon Help Desk at 800-723-5273 or by sending an
email to bfleig@frebon.com.
Surf the Wave to Free Summer Classes
Explore the Internet, sharpen your creative writing skills or learn to
surf the World Wide Web this summer at Spectrum Virtual University. The
University is repeating several of its most popular courses and
introducing a dozen new "focus groups" that will provide valuable
opportunities for hands-on learning.
All summer classes are free to the public. Enrollment deadline is Friday,
June 14. Classes begin Monday, June 24 and run eight weeks. Visit the
University's virtual campus
and complete their 3-minute online enrollment form. For information on how
to register by email, send a message to
spectrum@horizons.org.
Greater Washington Entrepreneurs Honored at 10th Annual High Tech Awards Dinner
May 17, 1996 -- Over 1,000 members of the business community gathered to honor and
recognize this region's top entrepreneurs and technology companies at the Greater
Washington Region High Tech Awards Dinner. Presentations include:
The Used Computer Mall
May 17, 1996 --
The next time you need to buy or sell used equipment, parts or supplies visit
The Used Computer Mall. the online used computer
equipment marketplace. Features include hundreds of new listings every day, free buy and
sell ads for end users and close to 1,000 dealers indexed by brand and type. Also available
is MicroPricer, an online publication which lists thousands of asking prices for used
computer equipment. Email address is mail@usedcomputer.com.
A New Mailing List: Blindsport
May 17, 1996 --
Blindsport, a new mailing list, focuses on sports for the blind. Topics include announcements
of upcoming tournaments, how to make sports more accessible to the blind, results from
tournaments and events, sports training camps and other related topics. To subscribe, send a
message to jmeddaug@cris.com indicating you want to subscribe to the "blindsport" list
(do not send listserv commands as this is not a listserv address).
Tri-State Assistive Technology Programs Form Partnership
May 14, 1996 -- Through a unique collaborative effort, the three state
technology programs from Virginia (VATS), Maryland (MDTAP) and the
District of Columbia (DCPAT) have joined together to sponsor a Tri-State
Conference on assistive technology. The purpose of the conference is to
learn more about the assistive technology programs and services across
the three states in hopes of building interstate networks to assist
users and providers of technology. The conference will be held on
Wednesday, May 29 through Friday, May 31, 1996 at the Radisson Plaza
Hotel at Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
The theme of the conference is Assistive Technology: Across the Life
Span. Many respected leaders in the field of assistive technology will
gather to share their knowledge and personal insights. Bonnie O'Day, a
member of the National Council on Disability and staff member at the
National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., will present the
keynote address. Dr. Katherine Seelman, director of the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, will close the
conference with her vision of assistive technology and possible future
opportunities from a federal perspective.
Concurrent sessions on Thursday, May 30, are designed to share
innovative approaches to assistive technology throughout the three
states. The sessions on Friday, May 31, will include parents and family
members to discuss the impact of technology on their lives.
Additionally, there will be technology exhibitors from across the three
states throughout the conference.
For more information, please contact Sandra Mason via email at
vatskhk@aol.com, by phone
804-662-9990 or fax 804-662-9478.
Cliff Kendall of Computer Data Systems Named Board of Trade
"Leader of the Year"
May 7, 1996 -- Clifford M. Kendall, chairman of the board of
Computer Data Systems, Inc. (CDSI), recently received The Greater
Washington Board of Trade's 1996 "Leader of the Year" award. Each
year the Board of Trade recognizes an
individual whose service to this region has been outstanding.
Recipients of this award have demonstrated years of leadership,
vision and practical guidance to the business community in greater
Washington.
Kendall has guided CDSI's growth for 27 years. CDSI started with only
four persons in 1968, and now employs over 3,000 and generates more
than $220 million in annual revenues and has been recognized by Forbes
Magazine as one of the country's 200 best small companies.
Kendall has played a major role as civic entrepreneur and catalyst
for the region's technology sector. As chair of the Board of
Trade's Technology Committee, Kendall led the effort to complete
the first documentation of the technology industry's presence in the
region. During his three year service as chairman of the
Suburban Maryland High Technology
Council, his actions led to the establishment of
the Montgomery County Technology Enterprise Center, an incubator
for entrepreneurial high tech start-up firms generating new
companies and jobs for the region. As chair of the Montgomery-
Prince George's CEO Roundtable, he targeted the revision of the
Maryland's Transportation Funding Formula as that group's highest
priority. That unprecedented, historic revision was enacted this
year.
Other awards include recognition as the Greater Washington Area
Master Entrepreneur Award sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP, Merrill
Lynch and Inc. Magazine and the 1995 Suburban Maryland High
Technology Council's Leadership in Technology Award.
Kendall has demonstrated leadership in his dedication to higher
education as well. He serves on the Board of Visitors at College
Park, and is a member of the Advisory Council for the School of
Business and Public Management at The George Washington
University. Currently, Kendall teaches in the graduate program at
John's Hopkins University.
Kendall serves as president of the Greater Washington Salvation
Army Advisory Board and serves on the board of the Kiwanis
Foundation of the District of Columbia and the Kawanis Clinic
Foundation, Inc. He is a past president of the Kiwanis Club of
Washington, D.C. and is active with the Lighthouse for the Blind
and the Montgomery County Education Connection.
The Board of Trade is a regional chamber of commerce representing
over 1,000 businesses in the District of Columbia, Maryland and
Virginia.
Presenting The Commons: A New Discussions Area At the Potomac KnowledgeWay Web Site
May 6, 1996 -- Got a question about Internet access but don't
know where to find the
answer? Need volunteer help or looking to fill a job opening? Want to find
people who share your interest in digital video production? A new
Potomac KnowledgeWay Web site feature, the Commons, can help you with this and more.
The Commons is the first part of a new area of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Web site dedicated to
helping you make connections and solve problems. It is part bulletin board
and part discussion group where you can post messages, requests for
assistance, invitations and announcements, questions and answers--all in
real time on the Web. Commons is free-form. It's a place where everyone in
the region can come together to collaborate. You can search through Commons
to find postings about a particular concept or browse existing messages.
Commons is based on Proxima Corporation's Podium product. Proxima has
donated the software and provided hours of help installing and adapting it
for the Potomac KnowledgeWay Web site. The Project thanks the kind folks at Proxima, it's
President Raul Fernandez, and especially to programmers Kevin Hsu and Jesse
Caulfield for their kind support.
You can find Commons by selecting "Connections" from the Potomac KnowledgeWay's home
page, then choosing
Commons and Forums. The Forums section
will be coming
soon. Forums will work like Commons, but will be focused discussions around
particular issues, the Internet And Law for example. They will have
discussion leaders to facilitate interaction.
Visit Commons soon and tell us what you think. We encourage you to use
Commons often. Check back frequently to see what new postings have been
made and who has replied to your messages. Commons has just started. The
more people who use it, the more it will become a valuable tool for you and
your organization.
Regional Effort Results in Over 120 Computers Donated
to Inner City Schools
May 6, 1996 -- As a result of Tech Day '96, over 120 computers,
286's and 386's, were collected, refurbished and donated to D.C. schools
and learning centers. Tech Day '96 was organized by The Lazarus
Foundation and the National Computer Recycling/Mentoring
Association.
Tech Day '96 was the area's largest computer round-up and
recycling effort with 11 collection sites throughout greater
Washington. This event brought together many of the leading
recyclers in the region, including The Lazarus Foundation,
Computer Reclamation and 2nd Chance. In addition to collecting
the computers, over 200 participants learned the art of computer
recycling through hands-on experience at the area's first computer
recycling assembly line.
Sponsors included Microsoft Corporation, US Tech Corps, the Morino
Institute, Americans Communicating Electronically, the National
Grants Management Association, the Points of Light Foundation,
Tech Corps-DC, Tech Corps-MD and Reach for Tomorrow. Tech Day '96
was also sponsored by the
Computer Recycling Action Team of
the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project.
For more information about Tech Day '96 or to find out how to
donate additional equipment, please call 202-628-TECH.
100 Attend GBCC Internet Seminar: KnowledgeWay Presents Keynote Address
May 6, 1996 -- On April 23rd, over 100 participants attended the
Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce seminar, "How To Make
The Internet Work For You And Your Business". The seminar offered two
tracks: "Go From Novice to Navigator" and "Net-Friendly Marketing."
Participants also saw live demonstrations and participated in lively
interactive discussions.
The keynote address was presented by Cathy Lange, a member of the Potomac
KnowledgeWay Project Team and owner of BusinessWorks of America, Inc.
Ms. Lange spoke about the Internet, its role in the communications revolution
and how the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project is serving as a catalyst to help
the Metropolitan Washington Area capitalize on its strengths and position
itself for the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
Additional support for this program came from the following companies:
Comsoft Learning Center, WebFirst, Internet Interstate, Firefly Communications,
Harper West and Bell Atlantic.
First Clio Gold Award in Cyber-Advertising Goes to Greater Washington Firm
May 6, 1996 -- Proxima Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, received
the first Clio Award in the field of cyber-advertising at the 37th Annual
Clio Advertising Festival and Creative Expo Gala Awards held in San
Francisco on May 3, 1996. Proxima
won the award for their web site design for the pantyhose-maker Leggs.
The Clio Awards honor advertising excellence worldwide.
With much of the Internet targeted towards men, the Leggs
site is a haven for female internauts. It combines subtle marketing
of Leggs products with a small library full of wisdom and resources for
women. Visitors to the site can get health and fitness, political, legal,
entertainment, personal finance, career and style information, and they
can go to discussion forums and chat about all those topics with other
site users. The site also offers users the opportunity to test their
heart rate, use an interactive calculator for budgeting and send messages
to their Congressional representatives.
The Leggs site is indicative of what our distinguished panel of judges
were looking for, said Clio Marketing Director Peter Zapf. The judges
wished to honor and recognize Web site designers who use creativity and
thoughtfulness, not mere technology, to communicate with impact.
Other web sites recognized by the Clios for their combined interactivity,
information, fun and marketing include
Duracell USA,
Joe Boxer and
Molson Canadian Beer.
In addition to recognizing web sites for the first time, the Clios
launched its own web site during the award festivities. The
Clio Awards site brings
advertising creatives from around the world together via modem
for discussion on advertising and related topics. Users can access
information on all Clio winners and view samples of great creative
work.
Gaithersburg Library, Microframe Technologies and Hewlett-Packard
Team-Up To Sponsor Internet Classes
May 3, 1996 -- John Makulowich, internationally known Internet
trainer and columnist, will present a series of seven free Internet
seminars in the Fall 1996.
The special Internet Seminars are being presented in cooperation
with the Gaithersburg Public Library in Gaithersburg, and sponsored by
Microframe Technologies, Inc. and the Hewlett-Packard Company.
The seminars will show users how professionals benefit from the
Internet. Details of the seminars, scheduled for September, October and
November, are at
http://www.cais.com/makulow/workshop.html.
Questions about the seminars should be address to john@trainer.com.
InfoBITS Event A Success
May 3, 1996 -- "You are the Potomac KnowledgeWay,"
explained Mario Morino, chairman
of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, to a crowd of more than 200
Arlingtonian's and other Northern Virginia business leaders gathered
at the infoBITS luncheon on Friday, April 26, at the Arlington
Renaissance Hotel. InfoBITS, now in its third year, is an annual
showcase of the Arlington information technology community and provides
educational opportunities for the Northern Virginia high-tech community.
Each year, infoBITS occurs during National Science and Technology Week
sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Morino discussed the pervasiveness of technology in society today and
especially in the greater Washington area and how it can be used to
enrich our professional and personal lives. The communications
revolution is happening and there is nothing we can do to stop it,
he explained. What we can do, however, is shape it and direct how it
impacts our lives. Ideas that were once considered futuristic are
happening today and they are happening fast. It's time to seize the
opportunities and prosper individually, as a community and as a world
leader in information technology. He also addressed the new breed of
entrepreneurs that is springing up around the country and especially
in this area, because of our indigenous network culture and high numbers
of knowledge workers and net-savvy workforce. He charged the audience
to get involved in the Potomac KnowledgeWay or get left behind the curve.
Prior to the luncheon, infoBITS featured three concurrent workshops, on
getting involved in the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, marketing on the
Internet and selecting Internet service providers. For additional
information on infoBITS or the Arlington information technology community,
contact the Ballston Partnership at 703 528-3527.
Benton Foundation Summarizes FCC Filed Comments on Universal Service
May 3, 1996 -- As a public service, the Benton Foundation has
contracted Emilio Gonzalez, author of the National Telecommunication
and Information Administration's "Connecting the Nation", to write
summaries of comments filed in the Federal Communications Commission's
(FCC) proceedings on universal service. This work is available on
Benton's World Wide Web site at
http://www.benton.org/Goingon/telecommunications.html
These summaries are not intended to be nor should they be represented to be
comprehensive nor interpretive. They are a limited snapshot of the
positions filed on this issue. Complete filings are available from the
FCC.
The Benton Foundation's Communications Policy Project is a nonpartisan
initiative to strengthen public interest efforts in shaping the emerging
National Information Infrastructure (NII). It is Benton's conviction that
the vigorous participation of the nonprofit sector in policy debates and
demonstration projects will help realize the public interest potential of
the NII. Over the past two years the Benton Foundation has commissioned a
number of research papers on the subject of universal service and now hosts
the World Wide Web's most comprehensive
library of universal service and
access documents.