Connecting Schools to the New Learning Network at Dartmouth College

Educators and K-12 students in Vermont and New Hampshire will soon 
be able to use the New England Telephone network to dial into 
text, audio, video, and image-based educational resources provided 
by Dartmouth College and others.  Dartmouth College, New England 
Telephone (NET) and NYNEX Science and Technology will collaborate 
in a three-year project to develop the NYNEX/Dartmouth Learning 
Network.  The network will connect campus facilities with schools, 
libraries, and museums in the area.   The network's initial phase 
will link several Dartmouth sites with Lebanon High School (NH), 
Hanover High School, the Howe Library in Hanover, Thetford Academy 
(VT), St. Johnsbury Academy (VT), Hartford High School (VT), and 
the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT.  The project will 
focus on three objectives:

1.  To create a networked community to establish voice, video, and 
    data communications and to make accessible networked  
    information resources to K-12 educators in rural New Hampshire  
    and Vermont.  The network will:

    -- Provide K-12 educators with networked access to each other  
       and to currently available and newly developing information  
       resources.  A range of electronic information is envisioned  
       which will be accessible to teachers, staff, students,  
       parents, and other individuals, groups, and organizations  
       within rural New Hampshire and Vermont and around the  
       world.

    -- Provide K-12 educators with multimedia course materials  
       developed by Dartmouth College faculty, particularly in the  
       areas of language and science.

    -- Provide an opportunity to collaborate with other  
       information providers and equipment manufacturers.

2.  To act as a test site to investigate the applicability of  
    prototype technologies and broadband network services.

3.  To apply what is learned in the K-12 arena to provide workable  
    applications over telephone and cable television networks to  
    homes and other aspects of surrounding communities.

"We at Dartmouth are excited about our participation in this 
project," says Bruce Pipes, Dartmouth associate provost for 
academic affairs, "because it will test the feasibility of 
extending our philosophy of easy and open access to technology-
based teaching and learning resources to a broader, more diverse 
educational community."  Plans call for the Learning Network to be 
ready in time for the new school year.  Most of the NET network 
facilities are already in place, with the balance to be installed 
over the next few months.

NYNEX will provide the technology for the project through its 
fiber-optic cable system already in place.  NYNEX hopes that by 
working with the high schools and Dartmouth College, the Learning 
Network will allow patterns to develop that will help schools 
improve their curricula and may lead to new information products 
and services.

For more information, contact:
Larry Levine
Kiewit Computation Center
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH  03755-3762
(603) 646-2710
.