West Virginia Goes For 'Nothin' But Net'

West Virginia Goes For 'Nothin' But Net'

State Tips Off NetDay '96 Program to Wire Classrooms

October 10, 1996

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A private/public coalition is
working to wire West
Virginia classrooms for cyberspace. And it won't stop until the
state's schools hit "Nothin' But 'Net."

With that theme, several businesses, organizations and state
government are joining forces to recruit volunteers to help wire K-12
schools so that they can gain access to the global information
resources of the Internet.

"West Virginia is a national leader in integrating technology and
education through initiatives such as Gov. [Gaston] Caperton's
'Computers in the Classroom' program," said Ann Brotherton,
president
of the State Public Broadcasting Authority and state director of Tech
Corps, a national initiative that's helping schools across the country
prepare for the 21st century through the use of technology.

"We've also made significant progress in connecting classrooms to
the
Internet through the Bell Atlantic® WORLD SCHOOL^sm program and the
Bell Atlantic Telephone Pioneers' wiring program," said Brotherton.
"However, many schools still lack classroom wiring required to bring
such innovative learning programs to students. NetDay '96 is designed
to solve that problem. Every day remaining in the 1996-97 school year
will be NetDay in West Virginia."

West Virginia NetDay is being organized by representatives from the
West Virginia Department of Education, West Virginia Education Fund,
Bell Atlantic-West Virginia, CityNet Corp. and Tech Corps. Each
county will have organizers in place to help coordinate wiring
activities. The first meeting of county coordinators is set for Nov.
1.

West Virginia NetDay '96 was introduced at tonight's opening session
of "Bringing the Internet into Your Classroom: A Bell Atlantic WORLD
SCHOOL Technical and Educational Symposium," a two-and-a-half-day
conference for more than 550 state educators at the University of
Charleston.

Volunteers Needed

"NetDay is all about volunteers," said Brotherton. "We're
looking for
people throughout the state who want to help bring the Information Age
to students by donating some time to install wiring and necessary
equipment such as wall jacks."

People interested in participating in West Virginia's NetDay program
can volunteer or get more information by visiting the NetDay site on
the World Wide Web at
http://www.citynet.net/wvnetday. A toll-free
phone number will be established in the next few weeks.

Across the country, NetDay '96 volunteers are wiring classrooms and
school libraries, many throughout the month of October.

Bell Atlantic Corporation (NYSE:
BEL) is at the forefront of the new
communications, entertainment and information industry. In the
mid-Atlantic region, the company is the premier provider of local
telecommunications and advanced services. Globally, it is one of the
largest investors in the high-growth wireless communication
marketplace. Bell Atlantic also owns a substantial interest in
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand and is actively developing
high-growth national and international business opportunities in all
phases of the industry.

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