• TECH CORPS at COMDEX Spring '98
• Welcome to South Carolina!!
• Oklahoma Joins TECH CORPS
• COMDEX Fall '97: A TECH CORPS Success Story
• Creamer Dickson Basford Contributes Public Relations Services
• SLC E-Rate Workshop
• Welcome to Ohio
• And Idaho Makes 40!! TECH CORPS Comes to Idaho
• Louisiana, a TECH CORPS State -- Welcome to the 39th TECH CORPS Chapter!!
• FYI
• TECH CORPS Web Site Recognized
• Internet Online Summit
• May 1997, TECH CORPS Honors Secretary Riley and Four Outstanding Teachers
• March 1997, TECH CORPS NJ Highlighted in Governor Whitman's State of the State Report
• March 1997, CoSN Conference Features TECH CORPS Leaders
• March 1997, TECH CORPS and Technology Visionaries Lauded by Vice President Gore
• February 1997, TECH CORPS Rhode Island Organizes First-ever Internet Video-conference for Students and Senator Reed
• March 1997, Free Range Media Develops Crisp New Look for TECH CORPS Website
• March 1997, TECH CORPS's Technical Consultants Keep Watch Over Site

TECH CORPS has been invited to participate in COMDEX Spring '98 April 20-23^rd at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. COMDEX is generously supplying TECH CORPS with a completely equipped booth, while Gateway 2000 is providing computers for the booth along with all the necessary technical support. All audio visual needs are compliments of AVW Audio Visual, Inc.

Visitors to TECH CORPS' booth #7953 will have an opportunity to sit at a computer and experience webTeacher, an Internet tutorial developed by teachers for teachers. webTeacher helps the novice or expert master the basics of the Internet. TECH CORPS representatives will be on hand to answer questions about the growing grass-roots organization, while revealing exciting volunteer opportunities available throughout the country.

An Intent to Charter was filed "On behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the core group of TECH CORPS volunteers in our state," bringing the number of TECH CORPS chapters to 43. William Brown, the contact person for the state, submitted the Intent.

Acknowledging the ongoing and rapid growth in the use of technology in the state's schools, the document states "By establishing a TECH CORPS chapter in South Carolina we feel that an alliance can be established and maintained between corporate sponsors, vendors, TECH CORPS volunteers and our schools." We welcome South Carolina as a TECH CORPS state.

TECH CORPS welcomes Oklahoma as the 42^nd chapter to file an Intent to Charter, joining the other 40 state and the District of Columbia chapters. "Our intention is to identify state education, business and industry, and other professional partnerships committed to making technology an integral part of education and life-long learning," stated the founding group for TECH CORPS in Oklahoma.

The participants at the chartering meeting, which was held on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, announced their goal "…to improve education throughout our state through the effective integration of technology into the learning environmen t." Bob Walden is the contact person for the chapter.

Thanks to the hundreds of people who stopped by our booth to introduce themselves and learn about TECH CORPS, COMDEX in Las Vegas was a great success. We have been able to send a list of volunteers and/or sponsors to nearly every state chapter. So many folks from Nevada told us they will be glad to help organize a chapter that we know we will be returning to a TECH CORPS state for the Fall '98 show!

We owe a special thanks to SOFTBANK COMDEX who invited us to be their guest at the show. They gave us wonderful booth space as well as additional services to ensure a great experience. As always Digital Equipment Corporation was right there, doing all they could for TECH CORPS. They provided our computers and the technical support we required. We appreciate having had this opportunity to work with both organizations.

"TECH CORPS has been called the technology 'Peace Corps' of the U.S. classroom. We're all very proud at Creamer Dickson Basford to be able to be part of TECH CORPS' vision…," said Jean Farinelli, Creamer Dickson Basford chairman, CEO and president. "All four offices, in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh and Irvine, CA, will contribute professional service to the effort." Creamer Dickson Basford is the North American public relations anchor for Havas Advertising, the 8^th largest communications holding company in the world.

"We at TECH CORPS are delighted to be associated with Creamer Dickson Basford," declared Karen Smith, executive director. "Don Goncalves of the Boston office is leading the multi-office team to provide TECH CORPS with optimum resources. We look forward to working with Creamer Dickson Basford to build public-private partnerships and enlist volunteers to prepare students and teachers technologically for the 21^st century."

Nancy Clinton and John Cradler of TECH CORPS were in Washington DC this week at a Schools and Libraries Universal Services Program (E-Rate) workshop for leaders in communications and education technology planning. Presented by the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC), the workshop provided detailed information on filing the forms necessary to apply for the program. These forms, instructions for filling out the forms, and an overview of the program are now available at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/erateforms/.

Ohio is the 40^th state to file an Intent to Charter and join the other 40 state and District of Columbia TECH CORPS chapters. Dave Murphy stepped forward to lead the organizational process and is the contact person for the chapter. We are delighted to welcome Ohio and to bring the TECH CORPS program to another state.

Idaho became the 40^th TECH CORPS Chapter upon filing an Intent to Charter. Our organization now has chapters in 39 states and the District of Columbia. We salute the individuals, organizations, and companies that have stepped forward to meet the challenge issued by Gary Beach, the founder of TECH CORPS. He invited those in the computer industry to volunteer to share their expertise with the education community to help build the electronic superstructure for technology in our schools.

Ginger Gates Adame of the American Center for Educational Opportunities Inc. (AMCEO) submitted the Idaho Intent on behalf of the Hispanic Business & Professional Women's Association of Idaho, J.D. Randleman of Randleman Computer Imaged Products, Karen Hickley - an educator from Boise, and Maria Nava - a bilingual educator. TECH CORPS in Idaho will "identify schools that want assistance in making technology an integral part of the educational process and recruit technologically adept volunteers to work with teachers, administrators, parents and students." TECH CORPS welcomes Idaho!!

By filing an Intent to Charter, Louisiana became a TECH CORPS state chapter, joining the other 37 state and the District of Columbia chapters of the national TECH CORPS organization. "We look forward to a productive relationship with you, one that will enhance our human resources for the most effective use of educational technology in Louisiana," stated the individuals who will lead the organization.

The Intent was submitted by Penny Everage, the TECH CORPS state contact person. She acted on behalf of a subcommittee of the State Technology Committee Task Force consisting of individuals from the education field, Louisiana Public Broadcasting Company, and Louisiana Association for Computer Using Educators. They declared, "[We] have agreed to work together to bring TECH CORPS to Louisiana."

Interesting reading can be found in the "Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States," prepared by the Panel on Educational Technology of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. This lengthy report recognizes the contributions of TECH CORPS on pages 119 and 137 and names both Gary Beach (founder of TECH CORPS) and John Cradler (Project Director, TECH CORPS California) among its concluding "Acknowledgments". Visit the White House Web site to read the full report.

The TECH CORPS Web site was chosen by Bell Atlantic / NYNEX to be featured at the President's historic Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia, April 27-29. "Your program is one of 12 exhibitions chosen to demonstrate the potential of new communications technologies to multiply the power of America's voluntary organizations for the 3,400 Summit delegates," says Suzanne DuBose, Executive Director of the NYNEX Foundation.

Karen Smith represented TECH CORPS at the recent Internet Online Summit that was held in Washington, DC. Representatives from the telecommunication industry, government, education, law-enforcement, and public interest and family advocate groups focused on ways to help ensure that the use of the Internet by children is safe, educational and entertaining. Visit http://www.kidsonline.org/, the Summit website, for additional information.

A "Parents Guide to the Internet" was released by Vice President Gore at the Summit to help parents & families -- regardless of their technological know-how -- use the Internet as a tool for learning. It can be downloaded at http://www.ed.gov/pubs /parents/internet/.

New York City, May 20 -- Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley received the TECH CORPS' "Leadership in Technology" award declaring him to be the "#1 TECH CORPS Volunteer in recognition of his personal commitment to today's students and the effective use of technology in their schools." The award was one of the highlights of the TECH CORPS Leadership Awards Banquet in New York City on May 19^th.

Four outstanding K-12 teachers were presented TECH CORPS' Leadership in the Classroom awards for their innovative integration of technology into their classroom and curriculum. Penny Everage, Edison Freire, Kay Greenhaw, and Steve Rothenberg were selected by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). They were evaluated on their exemplary, creative, innovative, and broadly infused use of technology in their classrooms, as well as their leadership in mentoring other teachers.

In recognition of the importance of the work of these teachers, the Leadership in the Classroom awards, and the use of technology in the classroom, major industry corporations donated gifts for each award winner to help them further technology excellence in their classroom. The gifts included a HiNote Ultra II laptop computer from Digital Equipment Corporation, a camera and scanner from Polaroid Corporation, a Micro Webserver from Cisco Systems, one year of Internet access and e-mail from MCI Communications Corporation, and a one year honorary membership and a set of resource books from ISTE. TECH CORPS commends these companies and organizations for their support of educational technology.

Click here for more information.

Trenton, NJ, Mar. 25 -- In the State of the State Report, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman declared, "Caring, competent, and creative teachers will always be the most valuable resource in any public school. To gain the greatest benefit from their talent, however, teachers must be able to employ the best available tools of education, including high technology."

To assure that teachers will have the opportunity to effectively include high technology in their classrooms the Governor signed a bill that will create an Educational Technology Training Center for Teachers in each of the 21 counties in the state. "Our teachers must be trained in the latest technological advances so they can impart this knowledge to their students," said Governor Whitman. "If we are not producing quality graduates, our companies will not be able to compete in the world economy."

The State of the State Report validated the importance of private/public partnerships when it highlighted the creation of the New Jersey chapter of TECH CORPS. Governor Whitman wrote, "At a Business-Education Summit, the state's business community stepped forward to create TECH CORPS New Jersey, a cadre of technology experts who will volunteer to develop customized technology plans for schools and train teachers." The Prudential Corporation, Bell Atlantic, Peat Marwick LLP, and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce demonstrated their commitment to bring educational technology into the classroom through their sponsorship of TECH CORPS New Jersey. The organizational efforts of TECH CORPS New Jersey have been led by a group of talented, committed individuals who want to see students performing at the highest possible standard of excellence.

Recognizing the potential impact of the Educational Technology Training Centers and TECH CORPS New Jersey, Governor Whitman went on to say, "These initiatives will help us . . . support our teachers in helping students reach high academic standards." TECH CORPS New Jersey and the Educational Technology Training Centers expect to become a model of private/public partnership in their collaboration to offer training in the effective use of educational technology.

Dana Egreczky, TECH CORPS New Jersey contact, (609)989-7888

Sudbury, MA, Mar. 25 -- Effective professional development, quality content, funding, connnectivity, and technical issues were the focus points of the annual Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) conference held in Washington DC on March 16-18. Key local, state, and national policy and technology decision-makers joined members of leading education associations, K-12 teachers, university faculty and representatives from the private sector. They participated in sessions that addressed new and existing educational technology initiatives and identified the opportunities and impediments that exist for schools in the digital future.

Dr. James Bosco, newly elected Vice Chair of CoSN and TECH CORPS coordinator in Michigan, moderated a session on innovative state leadership on educational statewide networks. Working with community volunteers was the topic of the session Karen Smith, Executive Director of TECH CORPS, moderated. John Cradler of the Council of Chief State School Officers and TECH CORPS in California., was invited to moderate the session about working with state regulators to gain affordable access.

Carol Hyatt of TECH CORPS in Maryland was a speaker in working with community volunteers, while Rick Normington, representing PacBell and the California Chapter of TECH CORPS, spoke in a session about effective public/private partnership. These two topics are cornerstones of TECH CORPS' mission. In addition Greg Marks from Merit Network of Michigan and TECH CORPS in Michigan, and Clay Epstein of UtahLink and TECH CORPS Utah shared their expertise as speakers on the topic of innovative state leadership on educational statewide networks. Barbara Helland of Oakridge National Laboratory and the Iowa chapter of TECH CORPS addressed using the resources of federal agencies in your classroom. TECH CORPS commends these individuals for their willingness to act as advocates for students and educators and the use of educational technology in the classroom.

Sudbury, MA, Dec. 6 -- TECH CORPS was founded on the premise of combining volunteerism and private/public partnerships to meet the challenge of ensuring that Americas students have access to the most technologically advanced education possible. In celebration of its first anniversary, TECH CORPS honored four technology visionaries with Leadership in Technology Awards. At a White House reception, Vice President Gore recognized Thomas Wheeler (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), Robert Palmer (Digital Equipment Corporation), Bert Roberts (MCI Communications Corporation), and Gary Beach (Computerworld, Inc) for their leadership as the Founding National Sponsors of TECH CORPS. It came as a surprise to no one but Gary Beach when Al Gore lauded him as the recipient of the Special Leadership in Technology Award in recognition of his foresight and drive as the founder of TECH CORPS.

Speaking of the importance of business and education working together to achieve the goal of spreading educational technology throughout the country, Gore said "TECH CORPS seized on this whole opportunity and really ran with it. When you look back on all that's been done, it is almost impossible to believe that it has all been accomplished in only one year. It illustrates how the new ways of thinking, the new ways of organizing human endeavor, the new kinds of partnerships that we're seeing emerge in the Information Age, get things done faster and better and more efficiently when people care and when men and women believe in the vision and are really anxious to be a part of it. And that's you. You've done it, and it's really incredible."

TECH CORPS volunteers, working within the framework of the organization in 37 states, establish long-term relationships in local schools throughout the country. The needs of the schools are matched with the talents and interests of these volunteers who offer their technological expertise. We invite corporate America to support TECH CORPS and its volunteers as together we bring technology into today's classrooms to ensure that our children and economy will thrive in the 21^st century.

(Full text of the Vice President's speech.)

Portsmouth, Feb. 5 --
Thanks to organizational assistance from TECH CORPS Rhode Island and technical help of volunteers from Aquidneck Management Associates, LTD, students at Portsmouth High School had the opportunity to ask Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) questions face-to-face. The students in Mr. Ray Masse's U.S. History Class were at school, and the senator was on his lunch hour in Washington, D.C.when he was welcomed into their classroom. The students and Senator Reed used an inexpensive desktop video-conferencing software called CU-SeeMe.

Commissioner of Education Peter McWalters was in the classroom to congratulate the Portsmouth High School students on being the first students in Rhode Island to consult their Senator by video-conferencing on the Internet. The potential for using the Internet to bring experts, whether they be senators or scientists, into the classroom is enormous.

This fall, Portsmouth High School students began using the Internet over a high speed NYNEX digital line, a significant upgrade from last year's slower dial-up access. Approximately 100 schools in Rhode Island have now taken advantage of the free high speed lines that NYNEX offers to RI schools as part of a tariff agreement. In October, Portsmouth High School received one of 10 TECH CORPS Rhode Island grants that extended their Internet wiring to additional classrooms in the building.

Senator Reed spoke with the students from the offices of Highway 1, a nonprofit organization located near the U.S. capitol and dedicated to helping congressional delegations use technology to communicate with their constituencies.

The video-conference was organized by Jill Lesh, director of TECH CORPS Rhode Island, a new nonprofit organization whose mission it is to mobilize the resources of the business community to help schools meet their technology needs.

As a result of this event, Aquidneck Management Associates is working with the Portsmouth High School computer lab to set up a pilot internship program for students this spring. Students would do HTML programming after school with professional website designers at Aquidneck Management Associates.

FRAMINGHAM, Mar. 6 -- Michael Elliott and Chris Gantos are from Free Range Media Inc, a Web site design and development firm located in Seattle, Washington. Being one of the original Web development firms out on the Net, Free Range Media has been building Web sites for over three years and have worked on over 180 Web projects. Free Range employs over 60 Web professional and is a full service Web agency, with design, production, software development and engineering staff inhouse.

FRAMINGHAM, Mar. 6 -- Dr. Michael Guidry is Professor of Physics at the University of Tennessee and a Research Scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research interests include theoretical astrophysics, group theory and group algebras applied to the many-body problem, computational physics, and Web technologies for education at the University and K-12 levels.

Dr. Wayne Kincaid is a consultant in Web technologies at the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a Ph. D. in theoretical nuclear physics. He specializes in the development of Web-based educational material for all levels of education.