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SLA Professor Steven Dinero returns from trip to Alaska
Professor Steven C. Dinero met with Alaskan partners in March 2005 to discuss his 3-year National Science Foundation Alaska Project. He and his other colleagues from throughout Philadelphia University (Tim McGee, Parimal Bhagat and Beth Mariotz) are in the second year of an Information Technology project, which seeks to develop computer skills, small business implementation and e-commerce for rural Alaskan Native villagers in grades 9 –12.
The University, in cooperation with its Alaska-based partners, will provide educational and training activities that address the workforce needs of the State of Alaska, by developing an innovative model that works within subsistence-based Alaskan Native culture. Alaska is a unique state, given its vast size and the fact that nearly a fifth of its population is Native and that 33% of the State’s population as a whole lives in rural areas that are off the road. The use of information technologies therefore has the potential both to sustain and compliment subsistence lifestyles, as well as to provide the tools for those who wish to pursue alternative work opportunities in one of Alaska’s urban environments.
Alaska’s geographically dispersed settlement system and ethnically diverse population make the state an ideal innovation incubator and testing site for information technology initiatives and applications. Indeed, several of Alaska’s educational institutions, governmental agencies, and private corporations are at the forefront of U.S. development efforts in the fields of telemedicine and distance education, as the demand is far greater and acute than in more urbanized states.
This project will connect education providers and will provide access to potential workforce participants currently isolated by geography and training to participate more effectively in corporate, private, or other global economic activity. It will show how indigenous, traditionally produced crafts and other products produced locally for millennia can now be marketed internationally through e-commerce in order to further badly needed local economic growth. In so doing, this project will be replicable, providing the potential for broader application throughout Alaska, and throughout Native American communities in the Lower 48 states as well.
Philadelphia University (PhilaU) is uniquely positioned to serve as the leading institution of this partnership, given its historic focus on workforce training and development. Since its founding in 1884, the University’s mission has been focused on professional studies to prepare graduates for successful careers in marketing/merchandising, computer science, business, and e-commerce. The breadth and depth of the University’s curriculum attracts approximately 2,200 full time students and 1,200 part-time students from 38 states and 42 other nations. The multidisciplinary University faculty, with expertise in e-commerce, merchandizing, instructional technology, and human geography/community planning, makes the University particularly well suited for planning and implementing this multifaceted innovation project.
GCI.net (GCI) is Alaska’s premier Internet Service Provider. Founded in 1979, GCI introduced long-distance competition to Alaska and has since grown to be one of the nation's premier integrated telecommunication providers. The company employs 1,100 Alaskans and has a current run rate of $357 million. GCI has a 45 percent share of the state's long-distance market, and is the state's largest provider of Internet services with dial-up, cable modem, wireless, digital subscriber line (DSL) and dedicated access. In 2004-2005, GCI has made a commitment of investing several million additional dollars in an ongoing effort to bring dial-up Internet access to virtually every household in Alaskan Native rural communities throughout the state. To this end, GCI will provide this partnership with essential hardware, software, expertise, and internships.
Above: Arctic Village, Alaska (population 160), is located 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Below: Alaskan students participating in the 2004 Summer Camp held in Arctic Village.
Below: Tim McGee instructing students during 2004 Arctic Village Summer Camp
Below: Nulato, Alaska on the Yukon River
Below: Dr. Tim McGee and students at the Yukon Koyukuk School District Computer Camp, Nulato, Alaska, June 2005
Click here for more information about the Alaska project.
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THIS WEEK @ PHILAU
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