Public Internet Broadcasting –

Education Technology that Works for People -

Live Internet Video Broadcasting
Telemedicine for Communities
Internationally recognized Classroom Education Programming

Friends,

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service program and the Regional Alliance for Information Networking (RAIN Network) 9 rural communities in the Tri-Counties are receiving hardware, staff training and on-going support for community education and telemedicine web sites.

Communities to be served include: Shandon, Oceano, and Nipomo (San Luis Obispo); Guadalupe, Casmalia, and Cuyama Valley (Santa Barbara); Oak View, Sespe, and Piru (Ventura).

Each community receives strategic RAIN and USDA-funded equipment :

A health clinic telemedicine computer.
A health clinic public access kiosk.
A school or community center public access computer.
A Technology Master Family computer.
Routers and modems as needed for connectivity.

Each community receives RAIN and USDA-funded support :

Technical training and project coordination.
Web site development by a local Youth Tech Corps.
Formation of Community Technology Advisory Councils.
Distance learning programming for classroom, home and library use.
Telehealth programming that promotes community wellness.
Telemedicine training to link rural and urban doctors into a wellness network.

A Community Technology Advisory Council (10 members, community residents) and a Youth Technology Corps (6 to 12 members, high school and middle school) is now being formed to represent each community.

The Community Technology Advisory Councils ( CTAC’s) are the primary citizen advisory group working to help shape and define this important USDA Rural Utilities Service distance learning and telemedicine project.

CTAC’s meet once a quarter. Meeting locations rotate between public library, school and clinic locations. Special committees meet monthly to move the program forward and establish a broad group of community stakeholders committed to the success of the project.

We invite you to become a member of the CTAC for your community.

Your role, as a member of CTAC, will be to take part in a two hour meeting once a month and provide input you feel of value for the community web site, community education and outreach programs and community resource development. Your participation in live Internet chat sessions with the community will be encouraged.

The RAIN / USDA RUS program has two components. Telemedicine and Distance Education.

The Telemedicine program provides resources for your local Clinic , including training for both Doctors and Nurses. There is another side of the Telemedicine program that involves the CTAC a great deal – the Community Wellness project.

If you have an interest in Community Wellness issues and resources please let your CTAC know.

Distance Learning for this program involves one local school, your public library and an After School program. If you have an interest in community education, youth services or want to learn more about work you can do with the Community History web site be sure to let your CTAC know that your focus will be on Education.

You will be shaping a new program for your community, using new technologies. Many new and unexpected challenges and issues will come to the table as you explore the role of Internet Technology as a community empowerment tool.

Your commitment to serve for one year as a CTAC member will add important skills and resources to this community technology education and telemedicine program.

If you have any questions please call.

Timothy Tyndall

Director

RAIN Network

Voice: 805-686-1798

Email: rain@rain.org