From: Alan Wilson
Date: Sat, 16 Jul 1994 05:47:51 GMT
basic contact info:
Alan Wilson, Chair
North Shore Community Net
Central Avenue Public School
81 Central Avenue
Elliot Lake, ON P5A 1L4
V 705 848 5106 (S)
V 705 848 2989 (H)
F 705 848 9225
organizational committee structure
Chair: Alan Wilson ( Teacher, North Shore Bd. of Ed.)
Secretary: Mike Courtin (Laurentian University Field Study Lab)
Ways & Means: Mike Blatchford (Sault College)
Allan Gibbons (Librarian, N.S.B.E.)
Peter Harris (Principal, N.S.B.E.)
Mike Lewis (Director, N.S.B.E.)
Craige McQuarrie (Reeve, North Shore Township)
Dugal McQuarrie, (Clerk, N.S.T.)
organizational status
Actively pursuing a regional plan that will link the three main
communities of Blind River, Algoma Mills and Elliot Lake. Right now in the
midst of preparing a request for funding through our regional "Working Group"
(set up to help economic development within the area.).
critical local plans, priorities, deadlines
The initial plan was a "true" Free-Net approach, but with the last mine
gasping its last breath - leaving the local Board of Ed. the biggest business
in town - it quickly became apparent the funding of ongoing operating costs
would be more than just a "song & dance" each year. Thus, we revised the
model to be based on cost recovery - a cost that could be shared among the
communities of the North Shore. The "hub" (Algoma Mills) readily saw this as
a great adjunct to their overall "redevelopment plans." They are now our
official sponsor and helping to raise the $35K startup costs. Also, the
boards of education see this as a way of keeping up with David Cooke's
promises of linking all boards throughout the province and we anticipate a
late fall "grand opening."
software
Having been personally involved with the Ontario Teachers' Federation
"Creating a Culture of Change" project - one that links all provincial
teachers to a "free" conferencing system, "The Electronic Village"- I have
become partial to the software, the developer and its ease of use. It runs on
a Pentium box that apparently "plugs into the wall" - certainly a main concern
of communities with a dearth of Unix techies.
national concerns
1. The potential for splintering into "Free" vs "Restricted"
with endless arguments about the "Vision."
2. Development of affordable, quality, educational "connections"
that reflect a Canadian perspective.
3. Policies that reflect a fair and equitable blending of the
"commercialization of the net" taking into account regional
disparities and needs.
4. Issues of "local calling" radii for remote regions.
5. "Standardization" of front-end software.
6. "Qualifications" of resellers of Internet connections.
7. Establishment of Technical & How-To advice groups.
8. Government policies that may arrive "after the fact."