LA PLAZA--NEWS FROM THE MOUNTAIN Volume 1, Number 3, May/June 1994 This is the third issue of the La Plaza TeleCommunity's newsletter that is designed to keep you up-to-date on the progress of the La Plaza Telecommunity. A separate May issue of "News from the Mountain" was not published because of the NTIA grant proposal writing crunch at the beginning of May. The newsletter is available online or in hard copy. If you do not already receive "La Plaza'--News From the Mountain," please let me know, and I will gladly add you to our subscription list. Richard W. Bryant, Editor, and Director of Projects & Development La Plaza TeleCommunity P.O. Box 1828 El Prado, NM 87579 Direct Tel/fax: 505-758-1919 rbryant@hydra.unm.edu ***************************************************************** Information in this newsletter may be freely distributed, but it must include a reference to the source: La Plaza--News from the Mountain Vol x, No. y, Month, Year. ***************************************************************** WHAT IS A COMMUNITY NETWORK? Nancy Willard (WILLARD@EDLANE.LANE.EDU) recently posted a description of community networks on the listserv, Communet. It is reproduced here for those who still may not be sure. ------------------------ I was asked to provide a brief description of community networks and thought that my description might be helpful for others so it is being posted here. Community Networks Overview Community networks utilize advanced computer and telecommunications technologies, the "information highway", for local public interest information sharing and communication. Community networks will provide all people with the ability to independently access a wide range of information, gain a greater understanding of the issues facing society, communicate more fully with other people and with the institutions that serve them, and participate more fully in the democratic process. Community networks are not just "on-ramps to the information highway"; they are the local "commons". They provide an electronic location for community access to the vast amount of public interest information available within the community through various agencies, organizations, and individuals, as well as the opportunity to discuss community affairs online. Community networks are also not just a service that is provided "for" a community, they are a service created "by" a community Community networks hold the promise of improving the quality of life for all Americans. Community networks will help to insure that we do not become a society of information "haves" and "have-nots". Those who are in danger of becoming the information "have-nots" include those who are poor, uneducated, live in rural communities or depressed urban areas, or are fearful of technology and change. Community networks will provide access to those without computers through public access terminals and also provide training and support to their users. Community networking is a grassroots movement fueled by visionary people in communities throughout the U.S. and the world. Many of these local programs are being developed through partnerships of libraries, education institutions, public broadcasting, cable access television, local governments, social service and health organizations, and community members. Most of these programs are seeking to establish both local information and communication services and public access to the Internet, however, it is recognized that the most important role community networks will play in the future is in providing local information and opportunity for local dialogue, not the technical means of access. Community networks are established as non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporations and seek funding through a variety of sources, including user contributions, fees, corporate sponsorships, government, foundation grants and in-kind support from community collaborators. Source: Nancy Willard, Information Technology Consultant, 788 W 23rd Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97405 (503) 344-9125 LA PLAZA RECEIVES EQUIPMENT GRANT FROM U.S. ROBOTICS In late May, La Plaza received an equipment grant for modems from U.S. Robotics valued at about $3,200. Unfortunately, because of a misunderstanding, the modems are not usable for the equipment that we have. Currently, we are attempting to exchange these modems for ones more easily used for La Plaza equipment. LA PLAZA SUBMITS NTIA PROPOSAL La Plaza was one of about 1,300 organizations and partnerships around the country that submitted a NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) grant proposal in early May. The NTIA is the federal organization overseeing the National Information Infrastructure (NII) or the so-called Information Superhighway. For this first round of grants, the NTIA had $26 million to be put toward the NII. Next year it is expected that $100 million will be spent. If funded, this grant would provide La Plaza with the funds to be fully operational and provide remote site access to the system. Partners in this proposal included the University of New Mexico Taos Education Center, Apple Computer, and the Fielding Institute. FIELDING INSTITUTE AND LA PLAZA PARTNERING In a new partnership, the Fielding Institute will be providing La Plaza with consulting expertise in the following areas: -Technical -Distance Learning--curriculum development -Grantsmanship -Organizational Development -Rural Economic Development. One of the Fielding Institute's main areas of expertise in distance learning, as most of its graduate courses are taught through distance technologies. Fielding will provide expertise to assist La Plaza in acquiring in formation on methods and resources for distance learning. A unique contribution involves developing a distance learning model for people to learn how better to use La Pl aza resources. Because many requests for help will be unique, with potential users at many different skill and educational levels, La Plaza and Fielding will have the opportunity to develop a new model for user assistance, perhaps using the "mentor-type" contact available to help the learner/user to identify what needs to be learned, where to get the resources needed, and how to proceed. LA PLAZA SUBMITTING NUMEROUS GRANT PROPOSALS La Plaza also is writing a number of other grant proposals to obtain private foundation funding for the La Plaza project. We are currently in the process of writing both letters of inquiry and grant proposals. "LA PLAZA TELECOMMUNITY EMERGENCY" As many of you know, La Plaza issued a call for help on the Internet on 8 May 1994. We would like to thank very much all of those who supported La Plaza. The plea was successful in that dialogs were opened and misunderstandings assuaged. LA PLAZA INVITED TO APPLE COMPUTER "TIES THAT BIND" CONFERENCE La Plaza was invited to participate in the recently held Apple Computer "Ties that Bind" conference in Cupertino, California. Patrick Finn and Paul Cross from La Plaza attended the conference at Apple's expense. Finn gave a well-received presentation on partnering in community networks. For those of you online, much of the conference proceedings are on the gopher site at the Well (gopher.well.sf.ca.us). LA PLAZA PARTICIPATES IN TOWN OF TAOS CELEBRATION La Plaza participated in the recent Town of Taos Celebration of its incorporation. Events were planned for the entire first week of May and La Plaza provided a demonstration of the prototype system, live Internet, and demonstrations of the new Apple QuickTake 100 digital camera. Over 100 people stopped by the La Plaza booth over the week's time. A number of La Plaza volunteers showed visitors around cyberspace. They included: Elizabeth Winter, Linda Moscarella, Adelmo Medina, and Jett Loe. Richard Bryant coordinated the event. LA PLAZA INVITED TO COLORADO RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING La Plaza's Richard Bryant was invited to speak at the 20 May conference in Durango, Colorado, sponsored by the Colorado Rural Development Council. Bryant spoke about the development of La Plaza and presented the La Plaza prototype demonstration. LA PLAZA AND LOS ALAMOS COLLABORATION MEETING Representatives from La Plaza (Patrick Finn, Richard Bryant, Paul Cross, and volunteers, Marty Meltzer and Steve Kenin,) met with Los Alamos representatives (Rick Ulibarri, Bonnie Yantis, Greg Shannon, and Nate Bobbitt) concerning our Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant on 8 June. The meeting was very productive, and it appears that the SBIR grant will be rolled-over to FY 1995. This means that La Plaza will be able to utilize the T1 data line, equipment, and LANL services for another 16 months. La Plaza wishes to sincerely thank the folks from LANL for their efforts regarding La Plaza and this SBIR grant. HOW ABOUT A 9% RETURN ON DIRECT MAIL? A Northern New Mexico entrepreneur, who took the winter/spring La Plaza Internet course, and conducts summer workshops covering various artistic media such as painting, sculpture, pottery, etc., recently reported a 9% return on a direct mailing to America Online subscribers. First, a search was made of the profiles of AOL users looking for individuals who had indicated an interest in the arts. After sending about 300 very low-key messages to these individuals, within a few days, about 9% requested the printed brochure. Not bad considering the typical return on direct snail mail is 1%. INTERNET COURSE COMPLETED For approximately 15 weeks that ended the second week in May, La Plaza conducted basic Internet classes every Monday night at the UNM-Taos Education Center. The classes were free and usually well attended. La Plaza volunteer, Marty Meltzer, designed the introductory part of the course and used the Whole Internet Users Guide and Catalog by Krol. The last 5-6 sessions were run by Richard Bryant. Only one computer was available for the class to use, but even with this limitation, most students were able to get a good introduction to the resources and techniques of the Internet. For the last 5-6 sessions, students were encouraged to get hands-on experience searching for information using gopher/veronica and ftp/archie. Usenet also was explored. A hearty thanks to Buck Little who also assisted in the development of this course. LA PLAZA PLANS TO OFFER TWO-DAY INTERNET WORKSHOPS La Plaza will offer two-day basic Internet workshops during the late summer. Announcements will be made when these workshops are scheduled. If you are interested, please call or email Richard Bryant (505-758-1919; email (rbryant@hydra.unm.edu). .