This item was posted to the Internet List "net-happenings".
Mr. Komoski wanted to share with you the following information
about a recently formed coalition to help provide developing community
networks with required assistance and software tools. I share this
publication in the hope that some of you may give me some feedback
and others interested in joining the coalition can get in touch with
us.
LINCT is a not-for-profit coalition of socially-concerned
organizations working with affiliated businesses and local governments,
libraries, schools, and social services to help communities achieve
universal, equitable access to integrated, community-wide electronic
information and learning services. LINCT does this by stimulating
the growth of grassroots community telecomputing cooperatives, to
which it provides strategic advice and technical assistance. In addition
to helping communities integrate local services, LINCT helps communities
to build low-cost, locally-managed on-ramps to the national
information highway. Through the BET Initiative LINCT helps
communities to recycle used business computers to poverty-level and
low-income families and seniors who may earn them by learning how
to use them through training provided by volunteer computer-literates
at local community centers and/or libraries and schools.
The first communities assisted by LINCT are five towns
in Eastern Long Island, NY where LINCT is working closely with the
library system, town governments, schools, and social services agencies
within an integrated, systemic model. Other communities on Long Island,
in New York City, and in upstate New York, and in seven other states
are affiliated with LINCT in order to achieve the shared goal of low-cost,
universal, equitable access to information and learning.
Help achieve low-cost, universal and equitable access
to telecomputing for homes, schools, libraries, municipal and social
service agencies, and community businesses.
Promote lifelong learning and earning in all communities
via cooperative telecomputing.
Keep the cost of telecomputing low through cooperative
purchasing and licensing agreements with regional and national providers
of network services, including the Internet.
Create specific programs and databases that will help
communities to achieve the above.
An example of one such program is Businesses for Equity
in Telecomputing (BET). BET helps communities to:
(a) Facilitate the recycling of used business computers
to low-income families, by enabling them to earn them through their
learning to use them to telecommunicate locally and nationwide;
(b) Develop cooperative training programs conducted by
community volunteers, during which low-income families earn a home
computer-and- modem by learning how to use a computer to become full
participants in America's fast-changing information society.
Other LINCT programs being developed include improving
home-school- social agency communications, primary health and crime
prevention, online homework mentoring, and the online operation of
community-based time-dollar exchanges linked to at-home,
work-related training. LINCT and its growing network of affiliated
not-for-profit organizations are prepared to assist communities to
develop local telecomputing cooperatives to bring the benefits of
low-cost telecomputing to all community members.
The member organizations of the LINCT coalition are the
Center for Information, Technology and Society (CITS), Melrose, Massachusetts; The Educational Products Information Exchange (EPIE) Institute, Hampton Bays, New York, and the Time Dollars Network, Washington, D.C. Each organization is making a significant
, in-kind contribution in staff
time assigned to LINCT as its match of Federal grant dollars.
(SLIC), a national community-outreach program of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, as well as the LINCT-affiliated, communities
(eight, in six states as of (9/1/94), including community libraries,
local governments, schools, community colleges, human services, and
local and regional businesses cooperating in the BET Initiatives.
LINCT's leadership: Each of LINCT's three, founding
organizations brings both expert staffing and information resources
to this planning and development project that will contribute to its
success:
Curtiss Priest, Director of CITS, is a systems
analyst, economist, software designer, who has conducted policy, evaluation,
technology- transfer, and cost-effectiveness studies of information
technology for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA),
U.S.DoE, NASA, MIT, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP),
and EPIE Institute.
Kenneth Komoski, LINCT's Administrative Director,
has been consulting and writing on community telecomputing since 1986,
and has directed the work of EPIE Institute for over two decades;
under his leadership EPIE maintains the nation's only comprehensive,
electronic databases of information on all types of electronic learning
resources.
Edgar Cahn, founder of the Time Dollars Network,
consults with community Time Dollar Exchanges operating in 30 U.S.
states, Japan, and other countries. With LINCT, the Time Dollars Network
will develop community-networkable software and training programs
to facilitate the ability of members of low-income and minority communities
to learn-and- earn the computers, modems and software needed to access
the NII for job-training and work opportunities.
TAP Technical Assistance and Planning support
for local community telecomputing initiatives in need of help in designing,
developing and delivering social and educational services with an
emphasis on arriving at the most cost-effective system for a particular
community.
BET Businesses for Equity in Telecomputing, enabling
low-income families to earn a family computer plus computer
training by earning time dollars for completing training
at a community center in how to use telecomputing to improve family
learning and earning power. Business-donated computers-plus-modems
are currently being received from large and small businesses on Long
Island, N.Y. where the BET Initiative is being piloted by LINCT (nationally,
businesses currently own over 150 million computers, more than 15
million of which are replaced annually). LINCT envisions a nationwide,
community-focused BET distribution system for donated computers to
local community centers where low-income families will be trained
in telecomputing, as a means of earning a home computer and modem.
LET Learning-for-Earning Training, providing
any community member (but especially the unemployed) with the means
to learn useful skills at home via telecomputing resources available
via DIRECT (see below);
DIRECT Digital Information Resources for Education
and Career Training, electronically accessible by learners (and/or
parents and teachers) for the planning and the delivery of learning
resources to homes and schools via community telecomputing cooperatives.
TACT Teachers Assisted by Community Telecomputing,
assisting teachers to use community telecomputing to (a) communicate
more efficiently and effectively with parents, (b) integrate student
at-home computer learning with in-school learning, (c) access to information
on teaching resources via DIRECT, (d) access to professional training
via distance learning, (f) access to SELF (see below) to facilitate
students' development as self-directed learners.
SELF Self-Exploration of Learning Frameworks,
helping learners of all ages to use DIRECT to explore areas of learning
in relation to school curricula or in response to personal interests
and/or career development needs:
PPP Primary Prevention Programs, a means for
assisting local health service agencies and local police to use telecomputing
to maintain healthier and less violent communities.
CDA Community Development Activities,, such
as online neighborhood organizations and projects, community planning
forums, town meetings, school-business academies, library outreach,
etc.
TDE Time Dollar Exchanges,; dollars
that may be earned by any member of a community willing to help others
by providing skilled or unskilled services ranging from babysitting
to yardwork and from database development to computer trouble-shooting. Time-Dollar
transactions will be arranged for, recorded, managed, and traded through
a community managed Time-Dollar Exchange (reinforced by both LET and
DIRECT, see above).
For further information about LINCT contact: Kenneth Komoski Administrative Director Suite 3 The Hamlet Green Hampton Bays, NY 11946 Voice: (516) 728-9100 Fax (516) 728-9228 E-mail: KOMOSKI@BNLCL6.BNL.GOV
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