Ian & Stuart's Australian Mac: Not for Sale/Another.not.for.sale (Australia).iso/fade into you/being there/Rants/CommUnity/catalog.txt

Text File | 1994-02-20 | 39KB | 1,064 lines

               NATIONAL PUBLIC TELECOMPUTING NETWORK
                  CATALOG OF CYBERCASTING SERVICES
                               ---
                            Fall, 1993


                         TABLE OF CONTENTS


ACADEMY ONE PROGRAMS

     SIMULATION PROJECTS
          National Education Supercomputing Program
          NESPUT: Centennial Launches
          NESPUT: Salute to Space Exploration
          NESPUT: TeleOlympics
     SCIENCE ORIENTED PROJECTS
          National Student Research Center
          School-owned Experiments and Databases
          Forest Day
          Project Ecology Art Exchange
          Save the Beaches
          Structures: Technology and Science for Young Children
          Trisphere
     FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROJECTS4
          La Classe Globale Francophone
     ONLINE ADVENTURE
          The Great Iditarod Dogsled Race
          1993-94 Whitbread Round the World Sailing Race
     WRITING AND LANGUAGE ARTS PROJECTS
          NPTN Student News Network
          Spotlight on People and Spotlight on Authors
          Sonnet Writing Contest
          Student Author
          Kid Trek
     CIVIC INVOLVEMENT PROJECTS
          Project Common Ground
          Take 2
          Institute for Democracy in Education
     EDUCATOR SUPPORT AND TRAINING
          National Curriculum Exchange
          Teacher Education Center
          Middle School Network
          Parents are Teachers
     SOCIAL, ARTISTIC & CULTURAL AWARENESS PROJECTS
          A Day in the Life of a Student...
          International e.Club
          International Holiday Exchange
          Inter-Generational Exchange
          Student Artist
          Jewish Education Center
          Letters to Santa
     ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES
          Big Sky Curricular Database
          College Row
          Campaign '92
          Congressional Memory Project
          The Congressional Connection
          Daily Report Card
          The Freedom Shrine
          Government Accounting Office (GAO) Reports
          HIV/AIDS Information Center
          Pediatric Illness Database
          Presidential Memory Project
          Project Gutenberg (Electronic Books)
          Project Hermes
          Youth Policy Institute Issue Overviews

MEDICAL INFORMATION SERVICES
     H.O.P.E. Foundation Cancer Center
     The Eye Clinic
     The Pediatrics Center
     HIV/AIDS Information Center
     Pediatric Illness Database

THE TELEDEMOCRACY PROGRAM
     Campaign '92
     Congressional Memory Project
     The Congressional Connection
     The Freedom Shrine
     Government Accounting Office (GAO) Reports
     Project Hermes
     The Teleforums
     White House Online

SOFTWARE
     FreePort Community Computer Software
     CIX Community Computer Software
     Metamorph Full-text Search Software

MISCELLANEOUS
     Project Gutenberg

NPTN NEWS SERVICES
     USA Today
     Washington Post
     Washington Times
     London Times
     Jerusalem Post
     Moscow News
     Highlights For Children
     Foreign Policy
     National Review
     Investor & Business Daily
     The Brookings Review
     AP Financial
     Forbes Magazine
     Insight Magazine
     The New Republic
     California Management Review
     Mechanical Engineering


FOR MORE INFORMATION




                        SIMULATION PROJECTS


NATIONAL EDUCATION SUPERCOMPUTING PROGRAM (NESP)
[Multiple grade levels; On-going program]
Coordinator:  Linda Delzeit ([e-mail])

This program provides students with remote access to the
supercomputing facilities at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
When coupled with the use of special simulation software at the
local school, students can explore such diverse areas as: climate
modeling, ray tracing, molecular configuration, and plant
modeling. Teacher training, software distribution, and curriculum
integration are combined with a telecommunication component that
stresses collaboration and joint research to conserve resources
and enable more to participate.



                        NESPUT SIMULATIONS:
          (National Educational Simulations Project Using
                        Telecommunications)


NESPUT CENTENNIAL LAUNCHES  (Simulated Space Shuttle Program)
Multiple grade levels; Special Event - October 27 and April
Coordinator:  Bob Morgan  ([e-mail])

Schools around the world assume various roles in a simulated space
shuttle mission. These could include being another shuttle (doing
a docking maneuver), a secondary mission control, an alternate
landing site (weather station), a solar disturbance observatory,
and so forth. Coordination and communications between the
shuttle’s mission control and other schools will be conducted
through distributed conferences on NPTN systems. Electronic mail
is exchanged, hourly reports are posted, and even real-time
electronic "chats" can occur between mission control, astronauts,
and supporting units. At the core of these launches is a
permanent, full-scale mock-up of a space shuttle (called the
"Centennial") complete with "Mission Control," which is located at
University School in Shaker Heights, Ohio (Cleveland area).


NESPUT SALUTE TO SPACE EXPLORATION
[Multiple grade levels; Special Event - February]
Coordinator:  Bob Morgan  ([e-mail])

This event pays tribute to all the pioneers of the space programs
around the world, and is a fun way for students to learn about the
history of the space program in the United States and elsewhere. A
school can either do research on one of the historic space
missions and conduct a simulation at their school, posting hourly
reports to Academy One, or a school can assume a supporting role
to a simulation. The time for these missions is condensed to allow
the simulation to fit into a school day. Schools who wish to
participate in this SALUTE TO SPACE EXPLORATION, but who do not
wish, or are unable to be a part of a simulation, can participate
in a variety of other ways.


NESPUT TELEOLYMPICS
The "Virtual" Olympics  [Grades 1-12; March to May]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

Students compete in a series of track events in their own
schoolyards, posting the winning scores in each category to the
computer network. Results are compared, and international winners
receive recognition. In addition to the track events, Opening and
Closing ceremonies are conducted online (like the real Olympics),
and information is exchanged about schools and communities around
the world. This is a great way to integrate geography, writing,
math, computer science, and physical education! Included is a pre-
event training regimen whereby students can test themselves and
follow a progressive training program. They can then record
training progress and compare results with other students around
the world.



                     SCIENCE ORIENTED PROJECTS


MANDEVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL'S
NATIONAL STUDENT RESEARCH CENTER (NSRC)
[Elementary, Middle and High School; On-going program]
Coordinator:  John Swang ([e-mail])

The National Student Research Center (NRSC) at Mandeville Middle
School in Louisiana facilitates the establishment of Student
Research Centers in schools across the country. The NRSC
disseminates the innovative, highly effective, and empirically
validated Student Research Center approach to instruction. The
instructional approach is an inter-disciplinary, student-centered,
high technology program dedicated to promoting scientific and
technological literacy. It is based upon the learning cycle and
emphasizes;
     * hands-on and inquiry learning in cooperative research teams
     * instruction in higher order thinking and process skills via
         the use of the scientific methods in ongoing student
         research in all subject areas across the curriculum;
     * problem solving within a societal context;
     * the integration of science with all other curriculum areas;
     * the use of high technologies; and
     * regular publication and circulation of student research in
         printed and electronic journals.
Electronic journals and databases are maintained in the NSRC’s
electronic library and are freely available to teachers and
students.


SCHOOL-OWNED EXPERIMENTS AND DATABASES  The Collaboratory
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

This is an area where a school can advertise an experiment, and
solicit other schools to perform it and contribute their results.
The database of information will grow as more schools participate,
and will become more valuable over the years. Such topics as
dating practices around the world will be fascinating to some,
while ozone levels will interest others. It is hoped that in the
future, the databases will not only be used as a teaching tool,
but will be of value to researchers looking for data from many
locations around the world.


FOREST DAY
[Multiple grade levels; Special Event - September 24, 1993]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

This will be a day to reflect on the importance of the forest.
This activity includes discussions on the various types, from rain
forests to kelp forests. Activities include a school-site tree
inventory, forest picture (GIF file) exchange, and analysis of the
effect of deforestation on the earth’s climate using the Lawrence
Livermore supercomputer center.


PROJECT ECOLOGY ART EXCHANGE
[Multiple grade levels; Special Event - October]
Coordinator:  Sheldon Smith ([e-mail])

Using e.mail and art, students draw pictures depicting a theme,
and exchange them through surface mail. Teachers and students work
together through e.mail to discuss the art and organize the
mailing. Differences in locale and cultures around the world make
this more interesting than first meets the eye. Topics in the past
have included: nuclear energy, recycling, and rain forests.


SAVE THE BEACHES
[Multiple grade levels; Special Event - April to June]
Coordinator: Nina Hansen ([e-mail])

Students do a litter sweep along an area of their local beach;
then identify, sort, weigh, and record results in graph and/or
table form for reporting to other participants. A discussion
ensues about the harmful effects to the environment by such
elements and how students might use alternative products that are
biodegradable.


STRUCTURES; TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
[Ages 5-8; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Cathy Ney ([e-mail])

This project contains thirteen problem-solving and learning
activities that use literature to integrate technology and science
instruction across the elementary curriculum for early childhood.
A moderated discussion area with the grant-winning mentor teacher
will continue throughout the school year.


TRISPHERE
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

This is an area for those interested in Kinesiology and Exercise
Physiology. Teacher support and curriculum exchange are offered,
as well as a question and answer area. An electronic newsletter is
also available. One example of the types of information available
is a specific training program for high-caliber athletes that will
produce results comparable to steroid use--withOUT using the
drugs. Help your students learn how to train smart and avoid using
steroids. This is a collaborative effort with Trisphere Institute
of Sports Medicine.



                     FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROJECTS


LA CLASSE GOBALE FRANCOPHONE (La CGF)
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator: Yona Webb  ([e-mail])

This is an electronic classroom designed for communication in
French between young people of all ages and all countries. The
area will include the news from France (in French) five days a
week and moderated discussions with lesson plans that change
regularly.


<<< NOTE: As the school year progresses we are hoping to develop
similar language-oriented projects in the areas of German and
Spanish. >>>



                       "REAL LIFE" ADVENTURE


THE IDITAROD RACE
[Multiple grade levels; Special Event - March]
Coordinator:  Willboughby Middle School
([e-mail])

Get the latest reports on the exciting dog sled race across
Alaska. Willoughby Middle School brings these reports to you in
March as it happens. You can read it on the newsgroup or in your
e.mailbox via a listserve.


WHITBREAD ROUND THE WORLD RACE 1993-94
[Multiple grade levels; September to January]
Coordinator:  Ann Culp ([e-mail])

Race reports from England of the world’s greatest sailing race
will be posted as they are released. Information on the boats and
crews will be available along with educational materials covering
geography, weather, sailing, and navigation. Race begins Sept. 25,
1993.


<<< NOTE: As the school year progresses we anticipate other "real-
life" action/adventure projects to be added to this list. >>>



                WRITING AND LANGUAGE ARTS PROJECTS


NPTN STUDENT NEWS NETWORK
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Judson Elliott ([e-mail])

Schools are encouraged to contribute electronic editions of their
school newspapers. The text of each edition should be distilled
into a single file of no more than 3,000 to 4,000 characters, and
uploaded to the NPTN STUDENT NEWS NETWORK on the nearest system,
where it will be distributed automatically to other schools across
the network.


SPOTLIGHT ON PEOPLE and SPOTLIGHT ON AUTHORS
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinators:  Sheryl Maxsom ([e-mail])
and Carol Hyatt ([e-mail])

These projects spotlight accomplished people in all walks of life.
Students have an opportunity to write to these people and ask
questions. This gives students an opportunity to gain knowledge
about leaders, inventors, authors, and various professionals. It
also gives accomplished people the ability to tell the students
what they might do to succeed in life.


SONNET-WRITING CONTEST
[Middle and high school students; Special Event - March]
Coordinator:  Marge Cargo ([e-mail])

Students are invited to participate in a sonnet writing contest
with a panel of impartial literary teachers doing the judging.
Cash prizes were awarded in 1993, and will be awarded in 1994. All
sonnets are posted to the Student Author newsgroup and then
printed in a booklet available from NPTN at cost.


STUDENT AUTHOR
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

This project allows our students to post their original creative
works, everything from short stories and poems to longer
compositions. Some schools are writing progressive stories, using
the networks to exchange chapters. This is the place to showcase
those works and allow us to watch and encourage you.


KID TREK (for young science fiction writers)
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  TJ Goldstein ([e-mail])

Here’s a special place for those students who are science fiction
writers, and an alternative for students and teachers who are
interested in the space simulations, and want to participate in a
literary way.



                    CIVIC INVOLVEMENT PROJECTS


PROJECT COMMON GROUND
[High school students; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Damien Bawn ([e-mail])

This is a joint venture of students and teachers from high schools
across Ohio. Its aim is to support projects at home high schools
to improve the environment and foster student participation in
community affairs. This area is designed to help schools around
the world communicate with each other and share their successes
and means for overcoming barriers to their projects. Schools
outside Ohio may form a local PCG chapter.


TAKE 2
[Multiple grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinators:  Tamara Tovey ([e-mail]) and
               Linda Delzeit ([e-mail])

Academy One is proud to add an electronic networking component to
this participatory and interactive television show by kids for
kids. Students combine their performing art, creative writing and
problem solving skills to work on youth-related problems, such as
gangs, school drop-outs, drugs and smoking, and teen pregnancy.
Students are invited to submit their own videos for inclusion in
the PBS series after watching the pilot show (available from NPTN
on videotape).


INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION (IDE)
[Multiple grades, educators, parents; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

IDE was founded by a group of teachers dismayed that the debate
over public school reform overlooked the historic purpose of
public schooling, i.e., the development of responsible citizens.
IDE is a partnership of everyone who plays a role in teaching and
learning - classroom teachers, administrators, parents, and
students. IDE offers a forum for sharing ideas, a support network
of people holding similar values, and opportunities for
professional development.



                   EDUCATOR SUPPORT AND TRAINING


CURRICULUM EXCHANGE
[Educators and parents; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

This area will start with over 500 lesson plans on social studies,
math, language arts, and science. Teachers are encouraged to share
their most successful lesson plans for others to use.


TEACHER EDUCATION CENTER
[Educators and parents; On-going project]
Coordinators:  Herbert Vaughan ([e-mail])
               David Kressen ([e-mail])
               Mike McCormick ([e-mail])
               George Viebranz ([e-mail])
               Brandt Wassal ([e-mail])
               Beverly Elliott ([e-mail])

This is an area where teachers, teacher educators, and teachers-
in-training may raise questions and discuss issues related to
improving education and learning. Concerns about using technology
in classrooms will be addressed, as will more general issues
related to the art of teaching. Questions related to Academy One
and other K-12 telecommunications programs will be answered, and
practical tips for new users will be provided. The Center provides
information about professional development opportunities, state
and federal legislation, and professional organizations. It also
maintains a calender of regional and national technology
conferences. Sponsored by Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH.


MIDDLE SCHOOL NETWORK
[Middle School parents, educators, students; On-going project]
Coordinators:  Lyle Jensen, Robert Coulson, Dennis Golombek, and
               Joe Hoover ([e-mail])

Middle school curriculum and activities programs are designed to
recognize that adolescents have unique physical, intellectual, and
social-emotional development. The middle school program attempts
to balance the development of the student in each of these areas.
Students are involved in activities to help them understand their
growth in these areas, and to make short term and long term plans
to capitalize on their strengths and address their shortcomings or
expressed needs. In short, the middle school program is acutely
aware of the need to educate the whole child.


PARENTS ARE TEACHERS
[Parents; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Ken Loss-Cutler ([e-mail])

This area is for those who are currently involved in homeschooling
or want to become more involved in their child’s education.
Information will be available on homeschooling resources. Also,
this is an area where parents can find out how they can become
involved in Academy One and get their children involved in our
projects from home.



           SOCIAL, ARTISTIC & CULTURAL AWARENESS PROJECTS


A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STUDENT
[All grade levels; Special Event - January]
Coordinator:  Sheldon Smith ([e-mail])

Tell others about a day in your life. The project involves the
students in keeping a chronological account of a single pre-
arranged day from wake-up to bedtime. Student entries can be
compiled into a class file and shared with other participants.
Classes compare student responses, attitudes and schedules to
learn about other types of schools and other cultures.


INTERNATIONAL e.CLUB
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

The e.Club is a place where electronic addresses can be exchanged
between students (and teachers) who would like to engage in an
electronic mail project or simply find a "keypal". We will use
this area for exchanging information about the holidays and about
the schools during selected special events.


INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY EXCHANGE
[All grade levels; Special Event - November to January]
Coordinator:  NPTN Staff

Students from around the world compare their holiday customs. This
is a real eye-opener and learning experience as students not only
share their favorite customs, but recipes, and reasons behind what
makes this such a special time of year.


INTER-GENERATIONAL EXCHANGE
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Lou Schwartz ([e-mail])

This project allows the various generations to compare how
traditions, sports, music, and family roles have changed over the
years. There is value in the memories of each generation and
opportunities to learn through the sharing process. Here is a way
for Senior Citizen groups to become involved with our youth and
pass on their heritage in a personal way.


STUDENT ARTIST
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coodinator:  NPTN Staff

This is an area where kids can post their pictures created with
word processing programs. This is one of the best ways to reach
the youngest kids (and the ESL students), and introduce them to
those "extra characters" on the keyboard, while easing them into
the world of telecommunications. The older students have
successfully presented their holiday greetings as pictures in this
area.


JEWISH EDUCATION
[All grade levels; On-going project]
Coordinator:  Dana Gilliland ([e-mail])

This area is for Jewish educators and students to discuss their
special events and share resources. Jewish students not in Jewish
schools are welcome to participate.


LETTERS TO SANTA
[Grades K-8; Special Event - November 1 to December 20]
Coodinator:  NPTN Staff ([e-mail])

This is a popular project and involves many grade levels. Students
in grades K-2 write a letter to Santa. Often, but not always, this
letter is entered into the computer by students in grades 4-6 and
posted to an Academy One newsgroup, where students in grades 8-12
respond as Santa. The students in grades 4-6 receive the letters
from Santa, print them on special paper, and award them during
holiday programs to the youngest students. This is an example of
an effort from multiple grade levels, and the sharing of a common
desire to bring joy to others.



ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES


BIG SKY CURRICULAR DATABASE

The Big Sky Curricular Database is a compendium of over 500
curricula, covering grades K-12, divided into five general areas:
Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Miscellaneous.
It was originally produced by teachers throughout the western
states, and comes to us via our affiliate in Dillon, Montana, the
Big Sky Telegraph.


COLLEGE ROW
(Available late Fall/earlyWinter, 1993)

College Row is a place where electronic information about colleges
and universities will be posted. Students interested in learning
more about school they might wish to attend in the coming year(s)
can get the information they need.  Special emphasis will be
extended to those universities who assist their local K-12 schools
in getting Internet connectivity.


CAMPAIGN '92

Campaign '92 contains the full-text of the campaign documents of
the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties, as presented
in the 1992 Presidential Elections.  An excellent resource for
studying the differences (and similarities) between three major
approaches to government and governing.


CONGRESSIONAL MEMORY PROJECT

The Congressional Memory Project takes three bills from the House
and three bills from the Senate each week and summarizes them.  A
list of how the delegates from specific states voted on the
measure follows.  This is an excellent resource around election
time.  The information is produced in conjunction with the
Washington Times Corporation, Insight Magazine.


THE CONGRESSIONAL CONNECTION
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

The Congressional Connection  is an area containing the names,
addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, committee assignments, and
so forth, of elected representatives at the federal, state, and
local level.


THE DAILY REPORT CARD

The Daily Report Card is an eight-page electronic newsletter which
comes out five days a week.  It is produced in Washington DC
summarizing that day’s published news from all 50 states on
local/regional/national stories/columns/editorials affecting
education reform.  It is very popular among both teachers and
administrators.


THE FREEDOM SHRINE

The Freedom Shrine is a collection of 30 full-text documents of
relevance to U.S. history.  They range from the Magna Carta, to
Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech, and include such
hard-to-find documents as "The Constitution of the Iroquois
Nations."


GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING OFFICE (GAO) REPORTS

This is  an experimental program whereby the General Accounting
Office in Washington, D.C. will be making available a variety of
its studies.


HIV/AIDS INFORMATION CENTER
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

A comprehensive database of files dealing with the AIDS crisis. It
is developed by researchers at Case Western Reserve University’s
School of Nursing.


PEDIATRIC ILLNESS DATABASE
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

The Pediatric Illness Database is a series of over 65 files
containing information on common childhood diseases. It is
produced by University Hospitals of Cleveland and the Gund
Foundation.


PRESIDENTIAL MEMORY PROJECT

The Presidential Memory Project is a full-text collection of every
position paper, major press release, speech, and fact sheet
produced by President Clinton during his 1992 run for the White
House.  If you want to know what the President really promised,
here’s the place to look.


PROJECT GUTENBERG  (Electronic Books)

A wide variety of books in electronic form are being made
available through Project Gutenberg.  Full text of documents
ranging from The Bible and The Koran, to the complete works of
William Shakespeare, to the CIA's World Factbook, to Lewis
Carroll's Alice-in-Wonderland.


PROJECT HERMES
(U.S. Supreme Court)

Project Hermes contains the full text of U.S. Supreme Court
decisions delivered within minutes of being rendered in
Washington, D.C.  Each opinion normally consists of a synopsis of
the case, followed by the opinion(s), followed by any dissenting
opinion(s). NPTN was one of only 12 information providers in the
country selected to provide this outstanding service.


YOUTH POLICY INSTITUTE ISSUE OVERVIEWS

The Youth Policy Institute of Washington, D.C. has produced a
series of "policy overviews" dealing with the great issues facing
our nation.  Each report is a concise summary of the pros, cons,
and alternatives various people have put forth on each issue,
complete with source footnotes and annotation. An excellent way
for students to begin the study of an issue.



                   MEDICAL INFORMATION SERVICES


H.O.P.E. FOUNDATION CANCER CENTER

Comprehensive and up-to-the-minute information about cancer, with
special emphasis on providing aid to families and loved ones who
are caring for individuals in a home environment.  Available are
descriptions of benefits and side effects of currently used cancer
treatments, details of promising new treatments as they appear,
and information and support on the process of berevement.  This
area is sponsored and operated by the H.O.P.E. Foundation of
Encino, California.


THE EYE CLINIC
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

A network wide Q&A and information area area on opthalmology and
eye care in general.  This area will be operated by Richard E.
Gans, M. D., (Diplomate, American Board of Ophthalmology) and his
associates.  In addition to his private practice in Cleveland,
Ohio, Dr. Gans has been the "Eye Doctor" on the Cleveland Free-Net
for many years and has operated one of its more popular features.


THE PEDIATRICS CENTER
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

Our third networkwide medical feature will be in the area of
pediatrics.  Operated by Norman lavin, M.D. it will also be an
information and Q&A service.  Dr. Lavin is in private practice in
Tarzana, California and is a Diplomate in both Pediatrics and
Endocrinology.


HIV/AIDS INFORMATION CENTER
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

A comprehensive database of files dealing with the AIDS crisis. It
is developed by researchers at Case Western Reserve University’s
School of Nursing.


PEDIATRIC ILLNESS DATABASE
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

The Pediatric Illness Database is a series of over 65 files
containing information on common childhood diseases. It is
produced by University Hospitals of Cleveland and the Gund
Foundation.



                     THE TELEDEMOCRACY PROGRAM


CAMPAIGN '92

Campaign '92 contains the full-text of the campaign documents of
the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties, as presented
in the 1992 Presidential Elections.  An excellent resource for
studying the differences (and similarities) between three major
approaches to government and governing.


CONGRESSIONAL MEMORY PROJECT

The Congressional Memory Project takes three bills from the House
and three bills from the Senate each week and summarizes them.  A
list of how the delegates from specific states voted on the
measure follows.  This is an excellent resource around election
time.  The information is produced in conjunction with the
Washington Times Corporation, Insight Magazine.


THE CONGRESSIONAL CONNECTION
(Available late Fall/early Winter, 1993)

The Congressional Connection  is an area containing the names,
addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, committee assignments, and
so forth, of elected representatives at the federal, state, and
local level.


THE FREEDOM SHRINE

The Freedom Shrine is a collection of 30 full-text documents of
relevance to U.S. history.  They range from the Magna Carta, to
Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech, and include such
hard-to-find documents as "The Constitution of the Iroquois
Nations."


GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING OFFICE (GAO) REPORTS

This is  an experimental program whereby the General Accounting
Office in Washington, D.C. will be making available a variety of
its studies.


PRESIDENTIAL MEMORY PROJECT

The Presidential Memory Project is a full-text collection of every
position paper, major press release, speech, and fact sheet
produced by President Clinton during his 1992 run for the White
House.  If you want to know what the President really promised,
here’s the place to look.


PROJECT HERMES
(U.S. Supreme Court)

Project Hermes contains the full text of U.S. Supreme Court
decisions delivered within minutes of being rendered in
Washington, D.C.  Each opinion normally consists of a synopsis of
the case, followed by the opinion(s), followed by any dissenting
opinion(s). NPTN was one of only 12 information providers in the
country selected to provide this outstanding service.


THE OTA TELEFORUMS
(Electronic Town Halls)

The OTA Teleforums are among the more interesting NPTN
experimental projects.  Specific issue areas are periodically
created on a number of NPTN affiliates.  These areas are then
linked together so that a posting made on any one system is
immediately transmitted to all the others thus, in effect,
creating a multi-city electronic town hall.  The first such
electronic forum was created in Fall, 1992 under contract with the
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (OTA).  Those
forums proved to be so useful for OTA that the program is being
continued this year.


WHITE HOUSE ONLINE

Direct from the White House Office of Media Affairs each morning,
the full-text of all major press releases, speeches, executive
orders, press briefings, and other documents of the Clinton
Presidency.



                             SOFTWARE


FREEPORT COMMUNITY COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Case Western Reserve University
Cost: $850 - Five Year License

Developed by Case Western Reserve University, FreePort (TM)
provides simple, expandable, menu driven, campus network software
for use with Unix BSD systems.  It is designed to be used by
people with little of no knowledge of computers, yet still provide
all the benefits of todays powerful computer based information
systems.  More sophisticated computer users may bypass some of the
basic functions of FreePort in order to streamline their access.
In this way, FreePort TM is adaptable to users of all levels of
expertise.

    Some of its major features include:

    * Usable by any asynchronous terminal or microcomputer
    * Completely menu driven
    * Multi-user chat
    * Network compatible electronic mail
    * File transfer capabilities
    * Highly flexible bulletin boards
    * Ability to gateway to other systems
    * Fully compatible with Usenet Newsgroups


CIX  COMMUNITY COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Community Information Exchange, Inc.
Cost: $100 per simultaneous user (maximum user load), per year,
        with a 10 line minimum.

CIX is second generation Free-Net (TM) software which provides a
platform on which organizations can build information services.
It was designed using previous versions as a guide, but utilizing
a new and more efficient database and user interface
modifications, based on research at the University of Cincinnati,
University of Connecticut, and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health.  This  interface has proven to be
effective for users unfamiliar with computers; yet power users can
access capabilities beyond anything else on the market.

The underlying "Information Exchange" engine is written in
portable C, and runs on all flavors of Unix tested thus far,
including BSD 2, BSD3, SVR 3, SVR 4, Ultrix, AIX, NeXT, and SCO
Xenix and Unix.  CIX was designed to allow a graphical front-end
on user's PCs.

    Some of its major features include:

    * Usable by any asynchronous terminal or microcomputer
    * Menu or command driven (users choice)
    * Ability to gateway to other systems
    * Network compatible E-Mail
    * Highly flexible bulletin boards
    * Capture information from multiple places and download
        all at once
    * Macro Programming Language
    *  Public or private file stores (virtual diskettes)
    * Binary "enclosures" in public and private messages
    * Command stacking and non-destructive type-ahead
    * "sysop" controlled access to areas (closed user groups)
    * File transfer capabilities


METAMORPH (TM) FULL-TEXT SEARCH SOFTWARE
Thunderstone Systems, Inc.

Search software from Thunderstone (TM) Software is available for
all American Cybercasting information products.  Thunderstone
Search Software is an advanced text retrieval software, which
allows users the flexibility to search and retrieve information
from any ASCII text, even when embedded with other types of data.
Thunderstone Software utilizes a unique combination of search
algorithms, which allow the user unparalleled capability to search
and retrieve intelligently correlated responses, to the search
queries you enter.

Concept searches may be made without any preprocessing or
knowledge engineering of files being required.  No indexing, look-
up tables, or otherwise redundant files are required, wasting your
systems memory or your time.  Thunderstone Software is available
for Unix, DOS, and some MVS environments.  Thunderstone includes
the following features:

    * Question parser which automatically extracts important
        words and phrases from the natural language query.
    * Automatic word expansion from designated root words,
        utilizing a large association matrix approximating a
        well versed English language vocabulary.
    * A numeric pattern matcher to locate quantities or ranges,
        recognizing numbers in text in almost any form that they
        might occur.
    * Ability to easily "cut and paste" customized report files
        of your own design.

Thunderstone Software also provides many other features and
capabilities unavailable with other search software.



                          MISCELLANEOUS


PROJECT GUTENBERG
(Electronic Books)

A wide variety of books in electronic form are being made
available through Project Gutenberg.  Full text of documents
ranging from The Bible and The Koran, to the complete works of
William Shakespeare, to the CIA's World Factbook, to Lewis
Carroll's Alice-in-Wonderland.



                   NPTN ELECTRONIC NEWS SERVICES


PLEASE NOTE: These newservices and magazines are COMMERCIAL
PRODUCTS which are distributed by the American Cybercasting
Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio.  While deep discounts are
available to NPTN affiliates, for you to run these services or
other ACC products on your system, you must contract directly with
American Cybercasting.  THESE ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED
WITHIN THE NPTN CYBERCASTING PACKAGE.  We are including them here
because they represent excellent products for which local
sponsorships might be found, thus bringing a terrific service for
your users, as well as money into your systems.


USA TODAY (Daily)
WASHINGTON POST (Daily)
WASHINGTON TIMES (Daily)
LONDON TIMES (Daily)
JERUSALEM POST (Daily)
MOSCOW NEWS (Weekly)
HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN (Monthly)
FOREIGN POLICY (Quarterly)
NATIONAL REVIEW (Bi-weekly)
INVESTOR & BUSINESS DAILY
THE BROOKINGS REVIEW (Quarterly)
AP FINANCIAL (Daily)
FORBES MAGAZINE (Bi-weekly)
INSIGHT MAGAZINE (Weekly)
THE NEW REPUBLIC (Weekly)
CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW (Quarterly)
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (Monthly)



                        FOR MORE INFORMATION


For more information on NPTN or any of our programs, please feel
free to contact:

     National Public Telecomputing Network
     P.O. Box 1987
     Cleveland, Ohio  44106

     Voice: 216-247-5800
     FAX: [phone]
     e.mail: [e-mail]

     Or visit our anonymous ftp site at:  nptn.org  (cd into:
/pub/info.nptn)