The government should be active in: Providing citizens friendly, low-threat opportunities to learn about verifiable networking benefits; Broadly sharing success stories that demonstrate the economic value of connectivity; Providing citizens free local access and mentored training in use of the on-line medium; Providing global telepreneurship training to the home via modem or other media; Providing public access computers and community learning centers to help all Americans in all communities prepare for survival in this transitional decade. Loaner laptop programs represent one feasible first step; Providing federal support for grassroots innovations to create the diversity of applications required for a successful NII; Soliciting citizens’ input regarding the NII to establish a sense of ownership, understanding, and a desire for participation; Advocate through government leadership ‘a national mission for citizen teleliteracy centered on community networking for the national good.
Predictor: Odasz, Frank
Prediction, in context:The 1995 book “Public Access to the Internet,” edited by Brian Kahin and James Keller carries the chapter, “Issues in the Development of Community Cooperative Networks” by Frank Odasz, the director of Big Sky Telegraph, Western Montana College of the University of Montana. He writes: ”Citizen participation on local networks is crucial to realizing the potential of a national information infrastructure. This will take an investment by the government in promoting teleliteracy. The government should be active in: - Providing citizens friendly, low-threat opportunities to learn about verifiable networking benefits - Broadly sharing success stories that demonstrate the economic value of connectivity - Providing citizens free local access and mentored training in use of the on-line medium - Providing global telepreneurship training to the home via modem or other media - Providing public access computers and community learning centers to help all Americans in all communities prepare for survival in this transitional decade. Loaner laptop programs represent one feasible first step - Providing federal support for grassroots innovations to create the diversity of applications required for a successful NII - Soliciting citizens’ input regarding the NII to establish a sense of ownership, understanding, and a desire for participation - Advocate through government leadership ‘a national mission for citizen teleliteracy centered on community networking for the national good.'”
Biography:Frank Odasz was an assistant professor of computing education at the University of Colorado and the director of Big Sky Telegraph, a popular community network of the time. He was widely known as a speaker on community networking and educational technologies. (Technology Developer/Administrator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Role of Govt./Industry
Name of publication: Public Access to the Internet (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Issues in the Development of Community Cooperative Networks
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 135, 136
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne