Aging demographics, crystalization of global markets, rightsizing, economic cycles and emerging technologies... these events give the cliche 'Change is the only constant' power and personal meaning. Most people believe Changes should be painless. That they can inflict a Change today and everything will be okay tomorrow. This model of immediate, painless Change ignores that it affects all of us at very basic emotional levels. Change, by its nature, modifies the rules by which we live. When rules Change, people lose their ability to be 'competent'... until they learn the new rules. This period is called Chaos... Chaos hurts.
This session will include both mini-lectures and classroom exercises. Each exer cise will be followed by a discussion period. The intent of each exercise is to focus attention on certain aspects of the Change process. By the end of the session, you will be able to:
© Peter de Jager 1991
To Session Report
Community networks may continue their rise in community importance or they may fade into obscurity. Community networks will not be killed by a stroke of the pen, a judge's degree, or a rejecting funding proposal. If they do wither away, it may be for reasons that can be identified today, and attitudes that can be found within today's community network movement:
Chebucto Suite is a package of software, documentation and training materials to facilitate the
formation and running of community nets. This presentation will outline three
models for a
community net supported by CSuite. The first model is the predominant one today: muster all
the technical resources necessary within your community to run a complete computer system.
The second model allows a community to obtain outside support as necessary to install and
maintain their system. Finally, the notion of a Virtual Community Net allows a
community to
maintain autonomy while relying on the technical resources of another community. The intent is
to "lower the bar" in terms of the technical requirements for a community.
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Report
This presentation will cover a brief history of community networking across
Canada, along with the current problems that it faces. These problems include
money, the fast pace of technology, charitable status, difficulty in providing
free freenets, and the lack of input for community networks in the
development of policy vis a vis the Information Highway.
To Session Report
This session will cover what is required in order to start up a new freenet.
It will cover such topics as fund raising, new developments, public relations
and promotion.
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The Nevada Telecommunity Project is based on the premise that rural communities can use new telecommunications technologies to compete with large, urban areas. Rural communities can create hospitable environments for homebased, information businesses, not bound to specific geographic marketplace considerations. In such environments, new businesses can be created that export knowledge and information to distant clients, in return generating and attracting new wealth for the local community. The Nevada Project incorporates several different elements that make it unusual. These include a telecenter, an adjacent residential televillage designed for home-based businesses, an entrepreneurial training project, a teleincubator, and program applications in business/industry, education, law/government, and telemedicine. This Project has been adopted by the Missouri Institute for Information Technology as a model for using telecommunications to help rural communities revitalize themselves. The Project has also received widespread support from the state government, including the state of Missouri's Department of Economic Development. A number of private corporations are supporting the Project with funding and technical expertise.
This session will focus on the BC Community Networks Association and its work with the BC Government's new BC Communities Connect program, which will provide funding to support new and existing community networks, and Industry Canada's Community Access Program. The session will also cover some of the current operational issues in BC, specifically the female harassment issue that has been precipitated by on of the Victoria system's users.
Volunteers are an association's greatest asset. They provide the needed personnel resources for
administrative, program and special project tasks. Yet any association is in competition for good
volunteers with many other social, community and volunteer agencies. Your association can
gain the advantage if it can effectively recruit, select and orient
volunteers. This session uses a
$50,000 video and experiential exercises to demonstrate a 5-step targeted recruitment process
which you can take home and use immediately. After viewing a 17 minute humorous video,
participants will work in small groups to actually design a volunteer job description, list and
prioritize the candidates and practice a recruitment interview. The workshop video is a certified
best seller with over 700 copies sold throughout North America. It was produced entirely in
Alberta, with an all-Alberta cast and crew. The video stars Jackson Davies of
the Beachcombers and won an Honourable Mention at the AMPIA Awards in
Edmonton.
Session Abstract
Throughout history, every new technology for public communication - from
the printing press in the 15th century to moving pictures, radio, and
television - has been subjected to various and ingenious forms of control
and censorship, whether by church, state, or individual citizens and groups.
Hard-won battles for free speech must be fought anew with every innovation in
communication technology. This is as true of the Internet today as it was
of the printing press more than 500 years ago. As content providers
dedicated to unrestricted learning and communication in every medium,
librarians have been at the center of debates and struggles over free speech
for at least a half century. Their considerable experience in responding
to issues of censorship in other media should not be overlooked in efforts
to fashion telecommunity policies and procedures for the Net, policies and
procedures that will strike a balance between individual rights and public
policy goals. The goals of this session are to provide a brief overview of
current issues involving free speech, and to provide an opportunity for
workshop participants to share ideas and discuss strategies for
telecommunity approaches to free speech issues.
To Session Abstract, Session Report
This session will present a global perspective on the knowledge revolution, the knowledge society, the need to resolve issues and to agree on strategic directions toward a national vision, a national agenda and a national commitment.
This session will examine the meaning of community and the essential qualities
of an electronic
community. Keith will address the various issues of how we expand our membership into a
geographic community, while also deepening our communications with each other.
The
presentation will be a work in progress, and will include writing exercises and
humor. It will
describe some of the discoveries with the Edmonton FreeNet and will open up questions for
others to explore in relation to their own organizations.
To Session Abstract, To Session
Report
CanWorkNet is Canada's national electronic Directory of Internet sites related
to work, career
development, labor market information, training, literacy, community development, social
services, the workplace and other related topics. It is being organized as a partnership of private,
public and non-profit organizations representing both the consumers and producers of
information. Its goal is to bring to Canadians via the Internet, information and services that will
be helpful in dealing with many of the important day-to-day and longer term issues that they
face. This session will introduce CanWorkNet, trace its progress, and show how delegates can
participate in this new approach which is highly complementary to the development of
community networks.
To Session Report
This presentation will provide a brief history of the Internet; the strategic uses of the Internet
within the Government of Canada; details of the government-wide Internet strategy; the issues
addressed by the interdepartmental Internet Advisory Committee and its Working
Groups; and anon-line demonstration of five or six government sites that show how the Internet is
being used to
enhance the delivery of programs, services and information to Canadians.
To Session Report
This session will be a panel discussion examining the present role of community networks, as well as the challenges and opportunities that they will face in the future electronic environment.
The social dynamics of on-line, purposeful problem-solving for effective
groupwork in a distributed knowledge economy are still in their infancy.
Most community networks have only a small fraction of the population aware
of the potential. This session will review key issues surrounding getting large
numbers of citizens purposely involved in community networks. Various models
for community networks will be discussed. Montana's Big Sky Telegraph will
be presented as an example of a system which provides ongoing, self-directed,
web-based training opportunities. This session will be quite appropriate for those
just getting started as well as for those already thoroughly involved.
Session Abstract
An effective and comprehensive survey of potential users of a Freenet is an important tool in
both developing an effective marketing plan as well as gauging system
requirements. The Great Plains
Freenet in Regina conducted such a study as part of its development phase. The
survey results
bode well for the future of community owned and operated telecomputing. In this presentation,
the presenter will share some of the survey results and offer suggestions
on how to conduct similar
research in other communities.
To Session Report
Hear it from the West and Hear it from the East! From the West . . A recent survey conducted
by the Calgary Freenet will be presented to discuss members' wants,
desires and needs, and suggest
future initiatives to maintain a happy membership base. From the East . . . An
in-depth discussion
on five main areas that have been essential to our survival: help services, new
and improved
membership plans, educating the members, improving access, and other specific short term
projects.
To Session Report
Community networks and Freenets came into existence to give access to individuals and
communities who would not otherwise be able to be part of the brave new world of
telecommunications. But some of these same groups and individuals are asking critical questions
about why they should be on the Internet at all. The focus of this workshop will be the
importance
of equal access, and the role of community networks across Canada in making sure that we
continue to live up to our mandate and keep some control of how the information highway
continues to be constructed.
To Session Report
This session will include four parts; the sharing of Edmonton Freenet's experiences with
Information Providers; a discussion of practices involving other Freenets, such as the National
Capital Freenet in Ottawa; an open discussion about future issues related to nurturing
Information Providers; and a discussion about how to keep this futures
conversation alive. Ms. Lisa Donnelly
will provide the perspective on Information Providers at the National Capital Freenet in
Ottawa.
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This session will cover the essential components for a successful Board. This will be a very lively and interactive workshop.
What do Freenet volunteers do? How much time do they contribute to an
effectively run Freenet? These are the questions that will be answered in
this session, as the speaker presents detailed results of his volunteer
survey with Edmonton FreeNet volunteers.
Session Report
For all organizations, the separation of operations from governance is essential and challenging.
How do Freenet boards meet the challenge of keeping their hands on the organization while
keeping their fingers out, so that staff can work efficiently? This session will provide you with a
practical model that is currently being used successfully by the Edmonton FreeNet. You will
learn about the governance model, how this model was applied by Edmonton FreeNet, and
discuss the changes necessary for other Freenets to use this model.
To Session Report
Success in Community Networks is a multi-step process involving: finding out what your
members want; providing what they want; seeing what happens; and repeating the
process. A Board of Director cannot guide a Community Network unless
he/she knows the effects of its
policies and the actual behavior patterns of its membership. This presentation
will show the
various means by which NCF measures what is actually happening on-line. Ian will present
graphs and interpretations of actual NCF on-line statistics gathered over the past 16 months.
Clearly visible is the correspondence between a key Board policy decision, on-line time limits,
and subsequent system use. Also visible is the increased donation income introduced by
suggesting that people use a personalized cheque as a form of identification for their mail-in
registration. Ian will draw on survey data from the 1995 AGM on perceived benefit and donation
levels by participants, show the showcounts system that presents usage statistics for any on-line
menu, and present data on what NCF's 57,000 registered members find most
popular.
To Session Abstract
Effective Boards depend on the right Board structure for the level of organizational growth and the staff available. The health of your community network depends on choosing models which compliment the resources at hand. In this session you will learn about the cooperative, administrative and policy Board models and how they are related to staffing and organizational levels of maturity. Three years of growth and change at the National Capital Freenet will be used to illustrate these principles.
This session will cover the monitoring, orienting, training, recognizing and supervising of
volunteers in a busy Freenet office. The presenters will describe the practical details of how their
office works and how they meet the challenges of a rapidly growing Freenet. The presentation
will give specific examples of: office systems; communication patterns; expectations of office
volunteers; evaluation of membership processes; how questions get answered; and how training
programs get delivered.
To Session Abstract, To Session Report
Volunteer management is a very vital role in today's society, where volunteers are becoming more and more common. How do you manage volunteers to made both your experience and theirs the most beneficial and rewarding? Attend this session, and find out how to make the most of your volunteers.
This session will cover fundraising. The speaker's unique presentation style of mixing fun, games, information and tricks of the trade will make for maximum learning and sharing. If you want to raise the most amount of money with the least amount of effort in the fastest time, with the fewest people and have fun doing it, then this is the session for you in the Fundraising Revolution.
This session will cover the development of policy for the operation of a Freenet. This session will be practical, fast paced and backed up with helpful handouts.
Community Networks can mean different things to different audiences. There are
those
networks that individuals dial into from their homes as an on-line community
gathering place, and community networks that are physical public access terminals
placed throughout a community. This presenter, based on the work done on the
Blue Sky Community Network, will discuss how to establish an on-line communtiy
network. How do you establish a province-wide network? How do you take advantage
of toll-free calling areas? What hardware is necessary for low-cost dialup services?
What types of communication protocol, computers, and access rates are appropriate
for stable, secure kiosks? Solutions discussed will include satellite, ISDN, Frame
Relay, T1, digital channel services, cable modems, routers, terminal servers,
asynchronous routers, login servers, proxy servers, WEB servers, DirecPC,
TACACS, NIS+, Radius, etc. Various PC platforms will be reviewed including
Sparc, Intel, Macintosh, PowerPC as well as operation environments such as
Solaris, Linux, MacOS and WinNT.
To Session Report
This session if for those looking to set up a freenet, or in the early stages
of freenet operation. The aim is to give you an idea of the technical
questions that Edmonton FreeNet faced and the answers that they came up with, so that
others may learn the same lessons without all the intervening agonies. This
presentation has been prepared by the members of the Hardware/Software Committee
and is definitely a team production.
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Chebucto Community Net in Halifax, Nova Scotia started in the Fall of 1993 as perhaps the first
entirely World Wide Web based community net. Since early in the development, the software
that runs CCN has been made available to other communities as a package called
"Chebucto
Suite". CSuite is now maturing into a proper distribution with most of the features a community
net needs. With the imminent release of Version 1.0, CSuite is considerably easier to install,
configure and maintain than previous pre-release versions. This presentation will review the
features in 1.0 and give an overview of the installation process.
To Session Report
DirecPC, a high-speed information system from Telesat Canada is the perfect answer to lightning fast Internet access or one-to-many digital business information transmissions. Launched in October 1995, this satellite based service is the only high-speed service available right across the entire country regardless of location. Learn how DirecPC can turbo-charge Internet access to speeds that are 15 times faster than a regular modem. For businesses, learn how live video, multimedia training, software, data and other digital information can be economically sent to one or one hundred locations at 3 Mbs to the desktop. Just announced, DirecPC for Netware which brings the power of fast satellite transmission to a business network will also be discussed.
This presentation will provide an overview of Remote Access and Remote Connectivity
strategies along with an overview of Telebit's newly developed MICA technology, a second
generation Digital Modem/ISDN solution. The presentation will be a mixture of
multimedia and lecture. Copies of the presentation will be available to
interested parties.
To Session Report