In urban areas of South Carolina Internet training
and support are provided by computer dealers, computer training
businesses, Internet service providers, college and school continuing
education programs, and friends and family members who use computers
in their work. But in rural areas considerably less help is available.
Most South Carolina K-12 teachers and administrators
know very little about what educational resources are on the Internet
or how they can use Internet access to help their students learn.
South Carolina colleges and universities generally
have more Internet knowledge and experience than any other state
or local government organizations
2.1 South Carolina State Library staff should provide
SCIway and Internet training and support to county librarians,
who should in turn provide similar training and support to local
citizens who need them. The General Assembly should increase
the State Library's annual budget appropriation to cover the personnel,
training materials, and travel costs associated with this program.
2.2 To jump-start the use of network resources in
South Carolina's classrooms and to ensure a worthwhile return
on taxpayers' investments in network equipment and services for
public schools, the state's colleges and universities should offer
a series of two-week summer "SCIway Institutes" for
K-12 teachers. The credit courses taught at these institutes
should be designed in cooperation with the Department of Education
and K-12 teachers who are already using Internet resources to
help their students learn. The costs of this program should be
funded by annual legislative appropriations for three fiscal years,
beginning in FY 1997-98. However, the initial costs of designing
and organizing the program should be funded by a special appropriation
approved early in the 1997 legislative session, so that SCIway
Institutes can be offered at least three locations during the
summer of 1997.