by Dave Spreen, TCETP Volunteer Coordinator and SMUG Member
This first bulletin could be subtitled "How We Got Here" and is written in consideration of those members of SMUG who have not been online Smuggler's BBS. Future bulletins will detail progress on specific projects such as the Blackberry Bramble Network currently being organized primarily online in the Current Projects folder in the Tele-School conference.
Like others, it started for me the day I brought our first Mac home a year ago. My kids, 8 and 10 years old, soon preferred "playing" on the computer rather than watching their favorite TV shows. A thread began to develop in the "Chit-Chat" online conference about ideas related to the use of computers in education and the interest began to grow. Steve [Kayner] and Casey [Meaden], Smuggler's BBS Administrators, created a special conference for members' kids called "YoungSmugglers" which is quite active considering the low fertility rate of SMUG members!
About a half dozen of us [SMUG members] arranged to meet in late December 1993, to consider the fact that we might be able to help local schools with plans to implement online computer telecommunications and have some fun in the process. The Tri-County Educational Telecommunications Project (TCETP) was founded and Smuggler's BBS provided the platform. In January 1994, the "Tele-School" conference was created to focus on this special area of interest. Soon this conference was shared (gatewayed) with Northcoast Electronic Town and The Hallway. The Hallway shares the SchoolNet/LearnLink conferences which are carried by over 30 FirstClass school BBSes from around the world. If your not online, this is just a hint of what you're missing!
An online TCETP member list of folks, their interest/skill and how they could be contacted grew to a dozen. Soon after, an educational programs archive folder was created and continues to grow. In addition, some of the messages in the Tele-School conference contained such useful information that a message archive folder was developed as a reference file. Members of the TCETP decided another off-line meeting should be convened to help structure the association and provide direction for the future. The meeting was held April 28, 1994, at the Humboldt County Office of Education and was attended by 23 people representing 14 schools/districts and 6 businesses.
A TCETP Mission Statement and Bylaws were adopted (copies available by request) and a committee was formed to work on a User Group Connection Awards Program (UGCAP). The proposal for the UGCAP '94 grant is the Blackberry Bramble Network or BBN project. Following is a brief description of the BBN project which is actively being organized this summer.
The Blackberry Bramble Network is a partnership between the Sequoia Mac Users Group and Humboldt County Office of Education. The American Association of University Women, Humboldt County Historical Society, Humboldt State University and Humboldt County Library are also committed to participating. The community organizations will provide volunteers who in many cases are experts in their fields and can supply technical assistance and training to teachers. The libraries will provide resources and access to existing databases and the Humboldt County Office of Education will coordinate the project and be responsible for the distribution of donated computer equipment to schools. At least five local businesses are also willing to contribute resources and expertise and all of the school districts we have approached are eager to participate in this project.
The Blackberry Bramble Network project is intended to facilitate the development of online telecommunications in the schools of at least three rural northern California Counties through the development of a database of local history. Although compiled and created by students, the completed database will be available to and useful for the whole community. The use of the online network to create a local history database will provide a "hands on" meaningful experience for students and teachers. The students will not only develop a sense of the history of their local area, but will learn to communicate and work together through an electronic network. The project is also the first step in developing long term, mutually beneficial community partnerships between schools (elementary, secondary and college) community organizations (AAUW, SMUG, the Humboldt County Historical Society, several Senior Citizens organizations) and businesses. Any school is welcome to participate. The equipment from UGCAP will be donated to the Humboldt County Office of Education to distribute to schools that would otherwise be unable to participate. We anticipate that by planting the seeds of computer telecommunications in participating schools, that the concept will spread like the Blackberry vines that grow wild here on the Northcoast to all of our schools, eventually benefiting 1000 teachers and 21,837 students in Humboldt County alone. There are 50 school districts in Humboldt and adjacent counties and our long term goal is to connect our network with those in the other counties.