Media.Knet.Ca

In preparation for the KO Chiefs’ meeting (October 7 and 8), several members of the KO Management team met with Carl Seibel, FedNor Project Officer, on Oct 6 in Dryden to discuss the work that remains to be completed within the Smart Communities project. KO submitted a request to Industry Canada for an extension to this project but we are still awaiting approval to take this project into the next fiscal year. Click here to check out the pictures from the meeting.

The following tasks are being addressed by the Smart team and are summarized from our request to amend our existing contract.

Broadband Network Deployment:

• Ongoing maintenance and support for the "first mile" cable and/or wireless solution.
• Technical assistance for other partners to ensure a broad base of capacity and resources are available to support the network.
• Helpdesk support services for network management and training purposes in the use of the different hardware and software resources operating across the network.
• Developing partnerships with other regions for sharing resources and accessing additional applications to address First Nation needs.
• Construction and maintenance of a robust network management system for the public benefit satellite resource.
• Broadband applications such as a remote water treatment plant monitoring system to be planned and financing determined.

Keewaytinook Internet High School:

• Support the development of on-line access to high school programming for youth in the Keewaytinook Okimakanak communities and across the region.
• Open source e-Learning platform ongoing support and maintenance by project staff as well as supporting other agencies to begin utilizing this open source tool.
• Infrastructure development is ongoing in some of the partner KiHS First Nations to ensure broadband connectivity (Lac Seul FN, Fort William FN, etc).
• Transfer of the KiHS delivery model along with the platform will be supported internally and with other First Nation organizations.
• Supplementary Grade 8 core curriculum materials will be made available for students in each of the KiHS partner First Nations.
• Installation of portable classrooms in each KO Smart First Nation to accommodate KiHS class growth and space requirements

Community Information Technology Centres (e-Centres):

• Development and support for e-Centres to provide a hub for SMART service access, training along with network operation and administration.
• Organization and facilitation of technology transfer workshops and demonstrations.
• Increased access to IP videoconferencing, coordination of the local cable infrastructure with the development of a web based cable modem management system, upgrading and providing computer workstations for public access and multi-media including video production and editing services
• Central office for the e-Centre Manager, the local Network Technician, and the Multi-Media Producer.
• Development of public library services and resources
• Partnering with other community agencies to plan and develop additional facilities and resources to address local needs.
• Production of a local sustainability plan for their ongoing operation and maintenance.
• The Centre of Innovation / Expertise described in the telehealth application will be a resource that ensures the ongoing development and support for all the various applications being developed and supported by the community e-Centres including research, evaluation and planning functions.
• Completion of renovations to the existing e-Centre space to bring it up to code with running water and expansion for office space
• Installation of three portables (to be doubled with the KiHS portables) to serve as e-Centres in Deer Lake, North Spirit Lake and Keewaywin

Kuh-ke-nah Portal:

• Development of the K-Net Portal (http://knet.ca) as a "community of communities" - a high speed WAN-based gateway that reflects local character and priorities - using open source resources and training support.
• The Portal will continue to support interactive and collaborative relationships among individual users.
• Continue to host web resources that draw on and benefit local people, organizations, businesses and First Nations across the region.
• Continue to support various on-line services including e-mail, discussion forums, personal homepages, community portals and chat services.
• Additional features including live webcasting, streaming audio and video, portal and web development and training resources and provide local and regional links to First Nation businesses, organizations and communities.

Data Warehouse:

• Continue to support and build upon the development of community and regional database projects including KNet News, K-Net Network utilization / traffic data and K-Net photo gallery.
• A major database application developed by K-Net staff is the open source e-learning platform that the Internet High School is now using along with other on-line training initiatives.
• Further development and resourcing of the GIS applications in each KO Smart First Nation targeted to be online and operational in year three.
• Development and utilization of a network scheduling tool to support the use of the various network resources including video conferencing, bridges, gateways, satellite bandwidth, etc)
• Development and utilization of a comprehensive web-based accounting system to support a distributed work place with billing and inventory capabilities.
• Other potential data warehouse applications include:
• First Nation schools ICT capacity
• On-line monitoring and user databases

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth:

• Development of the integrated IP environment for dynamic (data / voice / video) health services delivery across the Sioux Lookout health zone region (24 remote First Nations).
• Explore and test new telemedicine applications over the next three years under the approved business case presented to Health Canada’s Primary Care Health Transition Fund to expand the KO Telehealth demonstration project and its services to other remote First Nations across the Sioux Lookout Zone region in Northwestern Ontario.
• Support the purchase of specialized telemedicine equipment in partnership with other funding initiatives
• Development and operation of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Centre of Innovation for Research and Development of IP Applications in Remote First Nations (Centre of Expertise for Indigenous Learning Communities)

IP Video Conferencing and Telephony Project:

• Partner with other First Nation communities and organizations across Canada to deploy and support IP video conferencing and IP telephony services as a revenue generating stream for the Kuh-ke-nah Network.
• Manage and support the utilization of the Accord bridge and gateway resources in the Toronto hub.
• Expand and support the network membership and the use of these communication tools
• Develop and maintain an IP telephones and support services with the KO First Nations and other partners.

Smart Management and Organization:

• Support the integration of ICT and broadband tools throughout all Keewaytinook Okimakanak programs and services to better meet the needs of the member First Nations.
• Encourage the modelling and support the use of ICTs and smart applications to ensure the increased use of these tools within other organizations and communities.
• Continue to develop the distributed financial accounting system to support member First Nations to access the advice they require to develop smart management systems in their local organizations.

Other Smart Applications to be developed during this period:

• the international gathering to celebrate and share the stories, best practices and lessons learned in the development of broadband applications in First Nations;
• the third year project evaluation process and report that will provide a model and work plan for ongoing community data collection, review and strategic planning;
• supporting the development and expansion of new partnerships for the use of the broadband network and new applications, for example the new Northern Ontario Medical School, other BRAND applicants, other regional clusters, etc;
• application to develop the Virtual Reality Lab resource in partnership with Laurentian University’s MIRARCO initiative, the two gold mine in Balmertown (Gold Corp and Placer Dome) and the new medical school;
• identifying and integrating additional broadband applications and support services into the overall operation of the network and the existing applications to ensure efficient and sustainable utilization of the infrastructure and capacity;
• completing and updating the performance measurement and sustainability strategies as presented within the project business case.