e-Vermont Newsletter ~ April 2011 Edition

e-Vermont to Host Statewide Conference May 21

The e-Vermont Community Broadband Project is hosting Citizen Leadership in a Connected Age on May 21, at Vermont Technical College in Randolph. The conference will focus on how Internet use is expanding at the community level across Vermont to improve economic and local service opportunities. Leaders in our education, technology, business and nonprofit sectors will address the many ways online resources can help further local goals while strengthening the value of community.

Be part of the broadband evolution in Vermont. This will be a great opportunity to learn about some of the positive changes that broadband technology is making possible across the state and ways your town can take advantage of digital tools. The event will include a showcase for broadband technology innovations from the state’s digital leaders and experts.

Matt Dunne, former VT state senator and currently Google Manager of Community Affairs, will give the keynote address.

For complete details and to pre-register online, go to www.evtconference.org.

Digital Wish Brings Skype to Senate Economic Development Committee

e-Vermont partner Digital Wish appeared before the Senate Economic Development Committee in March to facilitate a Skyped conversation with students in Dover, Poultney, Canaan and Newport. Students and teachers in these e-Vermont towns were well versed in using this technology through the training and equipment they received through the project. The Senators enjoyed the opportunity to experience a virtual conversation with their youngest constituents. It was the first committee meeting conducted entirely over Skype for the Vermont legislature and the IT staff look forward to facilitating future virtual testimony.

While the legislature expands ways to collect input online, it has also upgraded the site for providing its own information online. Click here for an earlier e-Vermont story marking the start of the legislative session.

For more information on Digital Wish’s School Modernization Initiative visit their website.

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In This Issue:

e-Vermont to Host Statewide Conference May 21

Digital Wish Brings Skype to Senate Economic Development Committee

Templates Developed for Town Websites

e-Vermont Hosts First Webinars

Statewide e-Vermont Events:

Citizen Leadership in a Connected Age: May 21, 2011, Vermont Technical College, Randolph

Community
Events:

e-Vermont is holding workshops to promote digital tools and training in communities across the state. See the FULL CALENDAR for details.

For More Information about e-Vermont

Contact Helen Labun Jordan, Program Director, at 802-225-6091.

Templates Developed for Town Websites

In conjunction with e-Vermont, the Snelling Center is advising towns about best practices and the range of vendors / solutions available for their website. As part of this work, it is introducing a template that towns can use to create a new website or redesign their current one. The template is designed in WordPress and includes a content management system so town staff and/or volunteers can manage content without depending on a vendor. These sites conform to the State of Vermont Web Accessibility (handicapped accessibility) and Usability Standards, and come in three styles and 10 different color schemes.

The cost is very reasonable, but towns will need to have a clear plan about what to include and how it plans to manage the site. Contact Joanna Cummings (802 922-7101, Joanna@snellingcenter.org) for more details.

The Snelling Center for Government manages a site that provides information on website development for municipal governments.

e-Vermont Hosts First Webinars

Webinars are a great tool for bringing an expert (virtually) into your house for instruction on an important topic. This March, e-Vermont launched its own series of webinars with Internet Safety for Parents. During this free, half-hour session, participants learned about steps they can take to keep kids protected online, including tips for privacy settings, passwords, safe searching, and more. Future webinar topics will include social networking and communication tools, educational resources on the Web, advanced Web searching, and evaluating websites.

You can view a recorded version of the webinar online by clicking here.

This series is presented by e-Vermont partner the Vermont State Colleges and led by Larraby Fellows, Public Services Librarian at the Community College of Vermont. Anyone with high-speed internet access can easily participate. Webinar schedules will be posted at the VSC Services page on the e-Vermont website. There you will also find short YouTube clips that provide basic Internet instruction.