WebJunction Community Associate

WebJunction is hiring immediately for a Community Associate, who will act as primary contact for all community-related content, programming, and interactive tools for WebJunction.org. The Community Associate will work directly with the WebJunction Community Manager to synchronize the community building goals of all WebJunction granted programs with those of the larger WebJunction community, and with WebJunction’s Community Partner Program. The major objective is to nurture and grow the WebJunction community and all related communities of interest.

Here are some news stories and analysis on Wireless Washtenaw, our guests for this week.

For some ongoing industry coverage, see Muni Wireless, the portal for news and information about citywide wireless broadband projects around the world.

Ann Arbor Business Review: Will Wireless Washtenaw Work?

From First Monday v11n9. CIC seminar participants should be prepared to discuss this on Friday.

This article presents findings from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study and other research that demonstrate the impact of public Internet access in public libraries on the communities and individuals that the libraries serve.

For the September 15, 2006 class we will explore the rhetoric of the "Digital Divide" and efforts to provide access to technology for those who would not have access under private market provisioning. We will focus on public access eforts within the United States this week. Next week, we'll look internationally.

Projects have attempted to provide access both to basic computing, and to communication networks.

The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) is an educational nonprofit corporation dedicated to fostering and supporting "Community Networking" -- community-based creation & provision of appropriate technology services of the highest quality with a broad range of uses. AFCN's mission is to improve the visibility, viability and vitality of Community Networking by assisting and connecting people and organizations, building public awareness, identifying best practices, encouraging research, influencing policy, and developing products & services.

The CIC summer sessions continue with a discussion of XML.  We'll cover the history of XML as a standard, a variety of systems that use it, some sense for how software is developed that uses XML, and as always applications to libraries and to community technology.

The organizer of these sessions is Edward Vielmetti, and this week's guest speaker is Dale Hunscher.

Here's a short summary of the CIC seminar on calendars and events.

We decided that this is going to be an every other week on Thursdays at 3pm event in the summer time, and that the next meeting would focus on RSS and syndication.

Roughly in order of appearance, here's what was discussed:

Calendar standards through the years:

• 1996 vCalendar industry consortium standard
• 1998 iCalendar Internet calendar RFC 2445

Monolithic enterprise calendar tools, like

The MAYA Information Commons

The Information Commons makes public information
from multiple sources more accessible by blending it into a single
"information space."

Because of the open architecture and peer-to-peer
structure of the Commons, people and organizations can share, browse,
and analyze combinations of information in ways not possible
with closed systems, or with the Web alone.

An international convening of rural practitioners, policy makers, and researchers addressing place-based innovations in health, education, competitiveness and cultural sustainability.

The fourth International Rural Network Conference and Exchange of Experience, The Power of Place, Rural Communities, Global Reach will take place in Abingdon, Virginia, USA June 19-24, 2005. This year's host, the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), along with international and local organizing committees, has partnered with several Appalachian community organizations to bring conference participants to their communities.

On Wednesday, June 22, midway through the conference, participants will embark on a day long mobile tour of the area. The day will begin at 8:30 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center with departure time set for 9:00. Elements of the day tour will include several stops to view local projects and meet local people, presentations on the bus and an early evening dinner event with local entertainment from the community. There are eight different options to choose from. Click Here to make your selection. Read on for further details.

Whitesburg, Kentucky hosted by Appalshop and the Center for Rural Strategies. Traditional and more recent histories of the area will be presented as well as a visit to arts and crafts center, rural health center, a mining site and concluding with a Coal Miner's Dinner and Square Dancing Alta Pass, North Carolina hosted by Handmade in America, this tour will visit the EnergyXChange at the Yancy County landfill, the town of Bakersville, a Handmade Small Town program participant
and dine and be entertained at the famous Orchard at AltaPass

Jonesboro, Tennessee's oldest town and the home of National Storytelling Festival and International Storytelling Center will host this tour. Participants to hear the many stories of Appalachia and home the town demonstrated what it did to tap into the historic preservation and cultural arts to transform the community. Time will also be spent at the local craft shops before the evening dinner, held in the Old Eureka Hotel with great food and mountain music.

Abingdon, Virginia will host a half day tour of the local community. Participants will visit the Art Center, local wildlife center and talk with local residents and elected officials, and have a walking tour of the town.

Carroll County, Virginia tour begins in Abingdon and winds its way south along the Virginia Creeper trail visiting a winery, a community center, a wellness center and featured stop at the Crossroads Institute in Carroll County, an innovative partnership between the Carroll County Public Schools and Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. This tour will be hosted by the newly established Council for Rural Virginia.

Dublin, Virginia is the location of Virginia's First Regional Industrial Facility Authority and they will host this tour. Learn about regional cooperation, where a citizen driven effort transformed competitors into cooperators, both business and local government, for the benefit of the region. Plans are being made for a wonderful evening on food and entertainment.

St. Paul, Virginia Wood, Water, Wildlife, & Coal - Visit sites for an on-the-ground discussion of sustainable timber harvesting, utilization of low-grade hardwoods in buildings, solar dry kiln operations and more. Lunch with St Paul High School Team Estonoa students and see their nationally recognized wetland restoration and education center project. Local crafts, impact of brownfields on communities, and restoration of surface mines for productive post-mining land uses. Buffet dinner of locally produced organic farm fair with music by Sandy Shortridge of Buchanan County.

Wise County, Virginia is located in the beautiful southwestern portion of Virginia in the heart of the Appalachian mountains and is home to many innovative and creative partnerships successfully developed to address the health, transportation and technology needs of its citizens, particularly its frailest and eldest citizens and the families providing care for them. The tour will visit examples of these partnership including a visit to University of Virginia's College at Wise, the Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc complex, the John Fox, Jr. House and Museum, Mountain Empire Transit and the St. Mary's Health Wagon. The tour will conclude in Coeburn, "The Town of Friendly People", with a delightful and fun-filled evening of fun, food, fellowship, music and dancing.

Mobile Workshops are supported through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Also, check out the National Geographic: Discover Appalachia website to learn more about areas you may like to visit.

Please make your choice today by signing up for your workshop by Clicking Here

You will need to click on "Sign Up Now" then enter your email address and click "Continue."

The Dirk Award
http://www.dirkaward.org/

Since 2000, the Riders movement (also known as the eRiders or Circuit Riders movement), has recognized outstanding achievements with the Dirk Award. This year marks the first time that nonprofit technology professionals and the communities that they serve can go online to nominate their heroes and pioneers: