Media.Knet.Ca

The new KO Telehealth web site is rich in news updates, pictures and reference material. The document "Building Bridges" provides a list of the steps over the past seven years that KO has taken to develop this service. The contact information for the new Community Telehealth Coordinators and the new sites being added to the network are also available.

Click here to visit the new KO Telehealth web site.

Dan Pellerin, K-Net's Network Manager is in San Diego, California meeting with other VSAT users at VISTA 2004, the 11th consecutive conference of the VSAT International Satellite Telecommunications Association. The theme of this year's gathering is “Winning through Innovation”. K-Net staff were invited to this gathering by ViaSat, our partners in the supply and support of the satellite modems used in the satellite served First Nations.

From the president's invitation letter ....

"This meeting facilitates the ViaSat user community’s continued desire to interact with one another and the Company to broaden the use of VSATs in the market and expand the range of benefits offered.

Our previous conference anticipated the broadband wave. Now we are in a position to look at innovative ways of using this technology, together with new developments in the traditional products, for new applications and winning business ideas.

The conference provides many opportunities to learn from and interact with a wide range of professionals in the industry:

• Real-life case studies presented by satellite network operators and technology users.
• Presentations by and discussions with industry experts on industry trends, new technologies and their uses in local and global networks.
• Team building activities that encourage interaction with other network operators, service providers and maintenance organizations.
• Exchanging ideas with the engineers that are intimately involved in developing new networks and products.
• Briefing sessions by ViaSat executives, including chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg, recently named “Satellite Executive of the Year” for 2003, on the future of ViaSat products and services.
• Providing feedback and suggestions that will shape future ViaSat products.

Click here for the conference agenda.

K-Net staff showcased a number of applications to the  Institute for Connectivity of the Americas' Hemispheric Advisory Board. Representatives from South and North America learned about Cal Kenny's wilderness trip with the elders and their families up the Severn River and Jesse Fiddler's work with the Native Language and legends web sites. The value and investment from Industry Canada's programs including tthe First Nations Schoolnet program, FedNor, Smart, CAP,  BRAND and NSI were highlighted by the different applications that were showcased. KO Telehealth, the Keewaytinook Internet High School, the Grade 8 Supplementary program, the portals and other on-line services were presented to the   board members.

The group were meeting in Ottawa at the Smart Central video conferencing facility. The entire session was webcast live and is now archived at http://webcast.knet.ca/schoolnet. This archive includes a presentation by Gerald Chouinard from the Communications Research Centre (just skip the first 24
minutes of waiting for everyone).

The full version of the K-Net presentation is also available as a Windows Media version that is 47MB and is available by clicking here.

Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS) invites applicants for the 2004-2005 school year. We will be looking for 4 teacher to fill positions in English, Science, Careers & Guidance & Social Studies. If you are looking for an innovative, cutting edge approach to educations, KiHS may be the place for you. Check out our website at www.kihs.knet.ca.

These positions are available in 4 First Nations communities in Northwestern Ontario; Poplar Hill, North Spirit Lake, Cat Lake & Keewaywin. The teacher will live in one community, and tutor/mentor students while delivering one online course to the remaining students in the other 12 communities, using our Internet platform. We are looking for certified teachers who have basic word processing and internet navigation skills.

If you are interested please send your resume to darrinpotter@knet.ca or you can fax it to (807)735-1383.

Sioux Lookout Principals learned how to create and maintain web pages for their schools using Post Nuke on the evening of April 22. Once again, SLAAMB kindly provided access to their board room for this training session. The six principals who attended this special evening session were part of a larger group attending the Principal training session being coordinated by the Kwayaciiwin Educational Resource Centre.

Click here to views some pictures from the session.

The Northern Ontario Medical School's web site provides regular updates about its developments. Check the links to:

• Northern Passages: the Spring 2004 Newsletter
• the Dean's Column

Past and future webcasts of video conferenced sessions are also available. Be sure to sign up for the upcoming April 29 symposium ...

A Progress Report on the Northern Ontario Medical School

Since the last update the Northern Ontario Medical School has seen significant advancement. Dr. Roger Strasser and the Medical School team will review developments to date and introduce plans for the future:

• progressing towards achieving accreditation
• developing partnerships with NOMP and NOMEC
• piloting the undergraduate medical curriculum appointment of faculty
• delivery of faculty development programs
• identification of distributed clinical learning sites
• preparation to recruit students

The "Ontario's Far North Study: Broadband Best Practices in Fort Severn and Big Trout Lake" report is the third in a series of cross Canada case studies, commissioned by Industry Canada's Broadband Office, examining the benefits of broadband. This report is a collaborative effort between the Connect Ontario: Broadband Regional Access (COBRA) and the Broadband Office.

The "Ontario's Far North Study: Broadband Best Practices in Fort Severn and Big Trout Lake" is a comparative study that examines the best practices and benefits associated with the planning and implementation of broadband infrastructure in Fort Severn and Big Trout Lake. New jobs and new spending, improvements in health care, young people acquiring skills more easily, e-Banking, video conferencing for training and increases in the effectiveness of band management are only some of the benefits realized in the two broadband-served communities which this study documents.  You may access this study directly through the following link:
http://www.broadband.ic.gc.ca/pub/program/case_studies/ontario/index.html

Click here to read the entire report (PDF - 234KB)

Executive Summary

Fort Severn and Big Trout Lake have gained experience in broadband that other communities can benefit from. Best practices identified include the following:

1. Clear and far-reaching vision
2. Strategic planning
3. Effective leadership
4. Community engagement
5. Local control
6. Cost-effective infrastructure
7. Technical innovation
8. Creation of informed users
9. On-line services
10. Performance measurement and sustainability.

Both communities developed a clear and far-reaching vision and engaged in the planning and execution of effective implementation strategies. Residents of both communities were fully engaged in the planning and execution of their broadband systems and these systems are now owned locally and provide reliable service. Users are well-informed about the capabilities.

These and the other best practices identified, have led to significant benefits for each community. The benefits include advances in health care for residents, the availability of videoconferencing, better access to research, improved training opportunities and reductions in outlays for air travel.

The Guinness World Records Ltd issued a Certificate stating:

The 'Wapusk Trail" road
(752 km (467 miles) in length)
constructed each year between
Gillam, Manitoba, and Peawanuk,
Ontario, Canada,
is thought to be the longest
seasonal winter road
in the world

signed by: Keeper of the Records, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS LTD