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Fall 2003 A newsletter for business, educators and students in the telecommunications industry |
In late May 2003, BellSouth, Verizon and SBC made commitments to significantly increase the amount of bandwidth they provide to their customers in the range of 5-60 Mbps. This is the result of two things:
In a quote from the March 18, 2003 issue of Business Week Magazine, Bruce Gordon, president of Verizon's retail markets division said "I believe we already have an industry-leading network. But having watched this industry for 35 years, I don't believe it's a network that will take us into the next decade." Gordon also predicts that the changes will happen "sooner than you think," but would not say how long it would take or how much the modifications would cost.
Gordon continues saying the new Verizon network will use a variety of technologies depending on location. Some residences will have fiber running directly into the home, referred to as fiber to the premises (FTTP) while others will complete the final connection with a high-speed wireless solution.
SBC Communications (SBC), the second-largest RBOC to Verizon, had been considering a bid to acquire the satellite television company DirecTV from Hughes Electronics. Both BellSouth and SBC also want to deliver video so it can compete directly with the cable television companies.
In another Business Week article dated August 4, 2003, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg predicts telecom "will morph into a broadband industry that "will change a lot of things". Seidenberg goes on to say, “As broadband becomes more pervasive over the next three or four years, all the, quote, excess capacity in long distance will get absorbed. If you go to Microsoft or IBM, they'll never say there's overcapacity. They would say they can envision a world in which you need more capacity to handle all the things they can make. The problem is we don't have the capacity in the right places. So we have got to get capacity in the last mile”.
Traditional PC’s, net-connected cell phones, PDA’s, tablet PC’s and other devices are emerging and all require more bandwidth in the “right places”. Those “right places” right now are the customer premises. Yes, voice landlines are being replaced with wireless phones and much has been written about the demise of the wired phone network. Will it go away and be replaced? Not for a while. Our biggest challenge as educators is to continue to update and modify our curriculum as the work our graduates do rapidly changes.
Sincerely,
Gordon F. Snyder, Jr.
Executive Director
NCTT announces continued support as a Resource Center of the Advanced Technological Education program of the National Science Foundation. The Center will use funding from the new four-year grant to replicate nationwide the successful partner school model that was developed during the first six years of funding.
Despite the current downturn in the telecommunications industry, recent studies indicate future demand for educated and trained workers will increase dramatically. George F. Colony, chairman and CEO of Forrester Research, Inc., recently noted that a number of computer and communications systems are degrading. Many companies have forgone upgrading their equipment over the last two years due to the approximately $65 billion more than anticipated that was spent in dealing with Y2K issues. Colony projected a job growth of 10.5% in 2003 and 12% in 2004. And the recently published U.S. Department of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, which looks at job growth for the 2000-2010 period, shows a 32% increase in available job openings for associate degree holders, followed by a 23% increase for baccalaureate degree holders.
According to Tim C. Flynn, chairman of the National Skill Standards Board and Chairman Emeritus of LodgeNet Entertainment Corp:
“In a constantly evolving product and technology environment, America’s businesses need to keep costs down and increase worker productivity in order to remain competitive. A voluntary national skill standards system, led by the business community, will help fulfill this goal by ensuring that companies of all sizes are able to recruit workers who possess portable, high tech skills and who are adequately prepared to meet business demand.”
The expansion of NCTT to develop Regional Centers is a result of industry's demand that community colleges respond to the specific needs of local employers. Each regional center will replicate the successful NCTT academic collaborative model. This model includes a collaboration among area high schools, community and four-year colleges who develop curricula responsive to the needs of local industry. As Regional Centers develop new instructional materials, these materials will be shared with the other Centers via hands-on workshops and may be included in future NCTT telecommunications texts to be published by Delmar Learning. Ultimately, NCTT, in collaboration with the Regional Centers, will create a common curriculum in a growing number of community and four-year colleges throughout the country that will provide the industry with technicians possessing relevant portable credentials.
New NCTT activities will include:
Additional texts in the telecommunications technologies series
The unique content and curriculum being developed by NCTT is engineering technology-based, with a focus on mathematics and science. This distinguishes the NCTT curriculum and content from other related programs available to students and corporate training. The curriculum includes the three specialization areas of lightwave, networking and wireless and will be published in a five-part textbook and lab manual series.
Two telecommunications texts, Basic Telecommunications and Telecommunications Network Infrastructure have been published by Delmar Learning Systems. Three more texts, Network Security, Wireless Communications and Fiber Optic Communications, with accompanying laboratory manuals and other supplemental materials, are scheduled for release in 2004.
More information about the textbooks can be found here.
Dissemination of content through faculty workshops
NCTT will continue to schedule its well-received faculty summer workshops. In years seven through ten, NCTT plans to offer three individual four-day summer workshops: introductory, intermediate and advanced, with educators from high schools, community colleges and four-year institutions nationwide. In addition, each year NCTT will offer workshops that will focus on emerging telecommunications topics, including high demand topics such as security and convergence. To support NCTT's new national focus, the professional development workshops will be scheduled at the Regional Centers as well as at the STCC campus.
National conference on telecommunications
As a national leader in telecommunications technology education and training, NCTT will host a major telecommunications conference in 2005. The conference will aim to attract executives, administrators, faculty and technology leaders from business and industry, education and government. Led by speakers nationally recognized as leaders in telecommunications, the conference will focus on the future of the industry, emerging technology trends and the successful education and training models that produce technicians with the skills required in a competitive workplace.
Continued development of telecommunications skill standards
NCTT has worked closely with the National Skill Standards Board and the Computer Technology Industry Association to develop standards for the Information Communications Technology (ICT) Voluntary Partnership. Standards for Network Infrastructure Technicians and Network Device Technicians are currently being validated by more than 10,000 technicians nationally. Skill standards in other relevant areas including lightwave and wireless telecommunications technologies will be developed. Once developed, these standards will assist employers to assess workers skill sets and plan for areas of professional development. The skill standards also help faculty in developing new course materials.
To recruit the community colleges that will participate as Regional Centers, NCTT conducted a national survey. The survey was sent to higher education institutions with telecommunications and related engineering technology programs of study and faculty working with local business and industry. More than twenty colleges expressed an interest in becoming a Regional Center. To date, the following colleges have been selected: Brookdale Community College, New Jersey; Collin County Community College District, Texas; Cuyamaca Community College, California; Gateway Community College, Connecticut; Midlands Community College, North Carolina. Two of the above colleges, Brookdale and Midlands, have already leveraged their partnership with NCTT and secured funding from the National Science Foundation to enhance existing technology curricula. Next year, NCTT expects to add several more colleges to become Regional Centers.
To stay updated on new developments at NCTT visit www.nctt.org.
Fifteen teachers and faculty from across the nation participated in the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies' (NCTT) 6th annual summer professional development workshop. The workshop, held July 21 to July 23, 2003, was hosted by Springfield Technical Community College. In STCC’s state-of-the-art-labs, the workshop,“Network, Lightwave and Wireless Technologies: An Integrated Telecommunications System,” explored major corporate concerns, current trends driving the communications industry and emerging industry segments.
Both past and first-time participants attended the three-day workshop. For example, Leonard Gibbons, computer instructor at Dean Technical High School in Holyoke, Mass., and Steven Brady, electrical instructor at Warwick Area Career and Technical Center, Warwick, Rhode Island, were in attendance. Their association with NCTT has enabled these two experienced instructors to greatly expand their schools' technology programs and to offer more career opportunities for their students. Also present were first time attendees Michael Qaissaunee and Mohammed Shanehsaz, chairperson and associate professor, respectively, of Engineering and Technology at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, New Jersey. Brookdale will become a NCTT Regional Center in September.
Preparing participating educators to understand telecommunications, the advanced topics workshop considered the different perspectives of network operators and consumers. The well-attended labs focused on the integration of cable, wireless and fiber optics networks in the communications industry. Connectivity was examined from the personal, local, metropolitan and Wide Area Networks levels. The local PSTN, broadband cable TV, wireless cellular/PCS, Internet, fiber-optic and satellite long haul network operators served as entry points for discussion of various technologies (T-carrier, ATM, SONET etc.). These important new technologies are being employed to form secure high speed telecommunications networks spanning geographic areas worldwide.
A highlight of the first day's activities include a presentation by Robert A. Zakarian, president and CEO of Community WISP, Inc. and colleague Dan Muller, vice president and CTO. The presentation provided the workshop participants with state-of-the-art information regarding the use of wireless technology as an alternative tool for providing high bandwidth, phone and internet service. 
Using Motorola's Canopy product, Community WISP has found wireless technology to be a reliable option for customers who do not have access to DSL or cable service.
Participants attended breakout sessions on the second and third days of the workshop. NCTT Executive Director Gordon F. Snyder presented a workshop in networking and cabling technology. Snyder was assisted by Ted Chandler of the Institute for Telecommunications Technologies at Cuyamaca Community College, El Cajon, California. Associate Directors James Downing and Gary Mullett conducted workshops in lightwave transmission and wireless technology, respectively. On the third and last day, attendees constructed a completely integrated prototype network using each of the technologies explored earlier in the workshop. The network simulated the interconnection of the LANs, MANs and WANs, and used several different transport modes over cable, wireless and lightwave connections.
7th Annual Massachusetts Community College Conference on Teaching & Learning
NCTT directors participated as speakers at the 7th Annual Massachusetts Community College Conference on Teaching and Learning held April 11, 2003 at Cape Cod Community College. The conference was sponsored by the Community College Executive Office, the Massachusetts Community College Council, and the Council of Senior Student Affairs Officers. The conference explored such topics as responding to diverse learners, workplace skills (co-operative arrangements, internships), community-based learning (service learning) and professional development initiatives. The NCTT team presentation described the Center’s collaboration with industry; it is now working with the National Skills Standards Board on developing national skill standards for information and telecommunications technologies.
Partner School Appreciation Lunch
On April 23, 2003, NCTT hosted an appreciation lunch for teachers and faculty from the Center’s partner schools (see box insert). The purpose of the meeting was to thank the educators for their enthusiasm and dedication in introducing new telecommunications technologies instruction into their classrooms. Instructors shared news of the successes and challenges they had faced over the past six years. Participants received a plaque commemorating their participation with NCTT.
Examples of tangible results at NCTT partner schools include a community college that is developing a new A.S. program in Telecommunications Technology with five new courses from the NCTT curriculum modules. One high school reported that since affiliating with NCTT, a series of networking courses leading to certification has been added to their curriculum. The courses are so popular that a new section was added to the schedule.
In addition to discussion of the work that has been accomplished by each of the partner schools, NCTT Executive Director Gordon F. Snyder, Jr., and Co-Principal Investigators Gary Mullett and Jim Downing described the work that lies ahead for the Center. Through a continuing grant from the Advanced Technological Education program of the National Science Foundation, NCTT will receive another four years of funding to develop six regional centers for telecommunications technologies across the country.
Students visit FiberFest 2003
On April 28, 2003, students from Springfield Technical Community College and several other NCTT partner schools attended the New England Fiberoptic Council’s FiberFest 2003 in Boxborough, Mass. NCTT’s display booth was designed by webmaster Scott SaintOnge and attended by Associate Directors Jim Downing and Fenna Hanes. NCTT has participated in this industry trade show since 1997. Students visited the exhibition booths, had a first-hand look at the state-of-the-art in the industry, investigated job opportunities and spoke with vendors from more than 200 companies in the fiber optics industry.
American Society of Electrical Engineering (ASEE) Conference
Gary Mullett, NCTT Co-Principal Investigator and Curriculum Coordinator for Electronics, and his brother William S. Mullett, Curriculum Coordinator for Physics at Springfield Technical Community College, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the ASEE held on June 22 – 25, 2003 in Nashville, Tenn. The paper, “The Verizon NextStep Program: A Look Back and a Look Ahead,” described the innovative Verizon NextStep Program managed by Springfield Technical Community College. The program is a unique industry/education collaboration that provides Verizon employees with the opportunity to earn an associate in applied science degree (A.A.S.) in telecommunications technology during their regular workweek. Initiated in the State of New York in 1995 by the former NYNEX Corporation, this progressive program, emphasizing employee technical as well as communications and interpersonal skills, was expanded to the New England states in 1996.
The presentation noted that the first graduates of the NextStep program are now in the workplace, NYNEX Corporation has merged with Bell Atlantic and become Verizon, and two different curricula have morphed into a single curriculum. The presentation concluded with an examination of the current state of this unique industry/education program and an assessment of its impact upon the workplace and the faculty involved in its implementation.
Thomas Mobley, a full-time professor at Collin County Community College District in Frisco, Texas, is thinking about the future. “We’re trying to figure out what the next big thing is in telecom,” he says.
Keeping up-to-date with telecom was one of the reasons that Mobley, a telecommunications, electronics and internetworking technology professor, began attending NCTT workshops. Mobley first learned about the NCTT workshops several years ago from Dr. James Masi, who was then NCTT’s executive director. Dr. Masi was a member of a visiting committee reviewing the activities of a National Science Foundation grant at CCCCD when he met Mobley. The purpose of the grant under review was to increase interest among middle school students in engineering technology, including wireless technology.
CCCCD offers a certificate and associate degree in telecommunications. “We have a program that expects professors to stay current…and workshops help [with professional development],” Mobley says. Eager to learn more about telecommunications, particularly wireless technologies, Mobley enrolled in an NCTT summer workshop and, he said, “learned things that I could immediately apply to the classroom.” Specifically, he learned about affordable protocol analyzer software used for working with networks. Mobley then shared the information he had acquired with other professors in his department. He also corresponded with instructors he met at the workshops, some of whom came from outside New England. He says these connections continue to be valuable.
Collin County has been nicknamed "Telecom Corridor" because of the presence of many “big players,” such as Nortel, MCI, Alcatel and Texas Instruments. Mobley believes one of the successes of the telecom program is the relationship that has developed with area companies. He goes on to say that one such success is an industry-based advisory board that has made suggestions as to how to update the program and to “prepare students for whatever the next wave will be in telecom.” Responding to the board’s advice, the college has added C++ for Technical Programming to its telecommunications curriculum.
The advisory board, comprised of more than 10 area companies, also helped college officials develop CCCCD’s new Convergence Lab. The lab exposes students to the increasing convergence of voice, data and video technologies. Technology equipment from several manufacturers gives students a first-hand opportunity to learn about "interoperability" and gain as much hands-on experience with industry-quality equipment as possible.
Mobley says the lab is a mock-up of an office equipped with wired and wireless LANs, WANs, videoconferencing, Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR), security and general computer networking. The college and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board in Austin, Texas provided funding for the Convergence Lab. In addition, area companies donated some of the equipment.
Responding to the prediction of the “next big thing in telecom,” Telecom Corridor industry partners will need technicians who are competent in digital signal processing technology. Preparing for this future demand, CCCCD is offering a new course in this technology. Staying in touch with its industry partners, even in down times, and remaining ahead of the curve, is CCCCD’s strategy for preparing students to be fully competitive when the industry begins hiring again.
Since the late 1990s, representatives from industry and labor organizations, educators, training providers and community-based and civil rights organizations in the United States have been developing a voluntary system of nationally-recognized, industry-validated skill standards, assessments and certifications. The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) is facilitating the effort. Under this national system, skills and required knowledge of frontline workers can be clearly articulated, enabling workers in various high performance environments to maintain a competitive advantage. The skill standards will also assist workforce development professionals to upgrade the curricula of their education and training programs.
In conjunction with the Computing Technology Industry Association and the Information Technology Association of America, the NSSB aims to develop broad-based skill standards applicable to technicians in the information technology and telecommunications (ICT) industry sector.
The National Skill Standards Board is the national authority on developing skill standards. Created by the National Skill Standards Act of 1994, NSSB’s goals are to help: (a) businesses to compete more effectively; (b) workers to secure a firmer economic future and achieve a higher standard of living; (c) human resource professionals to recognize employee skills that meet specific job requirements; and (d) educators to create better and more up-to-date tools and curricula for future workers. Skill standards have already been completed for the manufacturing and sales and service industry sectors; in addition to the ICT skill standards, standards for the education and training sectors and the hospitality and tourism sectors are currently under development.
For the purpose of building the ICT skill standards, ICT workers are defined as those who work for companies that provide the following products and services:
Research will focus on seven areas of work:
The skill standards development involves three stages: (1) drafting the skill standards, (2) validating the skill standards, and (3) designing industry certification exams. NCTT’s Executive Director Gordon F. Snyder, Jr., as well as Co-Directors James Downing and Gary Mullett, are working with NSSB Senior Technical Director Joselito Lualhati and Paul Squires, president of Applied Skills & Knowledge, LLC. Other development group members include Compaq, Cisco, CompTIA, Communications Workers of America, Global Wireless Education Consortium, IBM, Intel, Information Technology Association of America, Microsoft, Novell, National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, Information Technology Education Center as well as other organizations.
It is estimated that the ICT skill standards will be approved by the NSSB after January 2004.
This article was developed with the assistance of the NSSB, Gordon F. Snyder, Jr., Joselito Lualhati and Paul Squires.
Michael Hacker, a valuable member of NCTT’s National Advisory Board since its inception in 1997, is co-director of the Hofstra Center for Technology Education at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y and is a research professor at SUNY Stony Brook. He also serves as executive director of the Intergrating Mathematics, Science and Technology in the Elementary School (MSTe) project, a National Science Foundation (NSF) project hosted by Brookhaven National Laboratory, the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Hofstra University.
What is the mission of the Hofstra Center for Technology Education?
How do you see your role as a member of NCTT’s National Advisory Board?
My background is in technology education, curriculum development and instruction. Specifically, my experience has been in instructional design for K-12. I am currently working on two NSF-funded projects. One, the MSTe Project, is designed to provide staff development with a focus on assisting teachers in integrating mathematics, science, and technology in the elementary school classroom. The second project, the New York State Curriculum for Advanced Technological Education (NYSCATE) project, is developing an ATE curriculum for grades 9-14. In years past, the emphasis on technology education was primarily on teaching technical skills and competencies. Research has shown that, for learning to be successful, educators need thoughtful pedagogical strategies along with technical content.
What aspects of your work in technological literacy help bring special expertise to the Board?
Recent NCTT National Advisory Board meetings have dealt with how to sustain the Center. I am able to bring my knowledge from participation as a Co-PI on other NSF-funded projects to my work with the NCTT. At the same time, my experience as an NCTT Board member informs my planning and implementation of recently awarded grants to Hofstra University to develop community college curricula and establish regional centers. The regional centers are designed to provide professional development for teachers in technology areas. I feel my NCTT participation complements my work at the Hofstra Center, enriching both activities.
I believe that NCTT, working with the National Skills Standards Board to develop skill standards for the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) area, is extremely valuable. It will refine and define the skills students must possess to respond successfully to industry requirements. From the vantage point of a technology educator, I want to stress the importance of incorporating sound pedagogical strategies along with technical skills in all curricula and professional development activities.
How do you think NCTT can best serve students and employers in the telecommunications industry?
I see this as a multi-faceted strategy. First, students should be exposed to cutting-edge technology instructional materials. NCTT is doing just that with the publication of its telecommunications texts.
Secondly, I have learned that the best way to help students is to help teachers. To be successful, telecommunications should be taught by those who understand the various technologies, as well as how to incorporate good pedagogy in their instruction. The NCTT has responded to this opportunity by continuing to offer professional development workshops. As teachers are the ones ultimately to connect with employers, NCTT’s focus should continue to be on professional development.
Saed Zahari’s advice to fellow students is to work hard— because it pays off in the end. That advice, it seems, is also his credo. Since coming to the United States from his native Syria in 1995, Zahari has earned an associate degree and three certificates from NCTT partner institution Midlands Technical College (MTC) in Columbia, South Carolina, all related to computers. Zahari completed these credentials while employed at a computer store.
Zahari’s interest in computers began in his native land at the age of 14 when he took basic programming classes – on a Commodore. He went on to graduate with a degree in math from the University of Damascus, then set up a shop in the Gulf region and eventually began selling and distributing computers.
While managing the shop, he established a connection with the PC Corner Computer Center in Columbia. That business sells computer hardware and software and provides technical assistance for computer networking for both businesses and individuals. Zahari began working at the store while earning his first degree at MTC, an A.S. in Telecommunications System Management. His choice of program was made, he said, because “It’s the future.” Because computer technology changes and improves so rapidly, Zahari saw a continuing demand for upgrades by various enterprises. This is especially so in wireless systems, which have improved transmission and are even more secure than they were a year ago.
After receiving his first degree, Zahari continued his employment while studying for his certificates in Application Programming, WebPage Design, and Information System Networking. He worked at the store during the day and took classes at night, often four or five nights a week. Although his schedule was very heavy indeed, Zahari found his new skills were immediately applicable in his job. His “work hard” ethic has paid off as he now manages the store and its six employees.
Currently working towards his A+ certification, which will be completed in December, Zahari will also have earned a second associate degree in Computer Technology. As to whether he will continue to advance with the PC Corner Computer Center or look for career advancement elsewhere remains to be seen. Regardless of his choices, it is safe to say that Zahari will continue to challenge himself, and, in the process, achieve his career goals.
What does “universal design” mean to you? For most readers of this newsletter, odds are you're not quite sure. But during the past semester, a group of 11 Springfield Technical Community College students learned that “universal design” meant many things. The students, all of whom were taking courses in math, science, engineering or technology, had participated in a semester-long experiment in universal design as it applies to the classroom. The goal: to find new ways of meeting the educational needs of students with and without disabilities. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), six STCC faculty members adapted their courses to make them more user-friendly for all students, particularly for those with sensory disabilities.
In late April, the students met in two focus groups to consider which new classroom strategies were working and which were not. One group consisted of students with disabilities; the other was composed of students without a disability. Each group responded to the same set of 10 questions. Between the two groups' answers there were similarities as well as some telling differences.
When asked to define the term "universal design," the students with disabilities responded that modifications in instructional materials and classroom environment make it easier for students with disabilities to learn. Those students without disabilities defined universal design as instruction that is adaptable to any setting and for all students. Nonetheless, both agreed that classrooms and curricula based on universal design concepts create a more effective learning environment for all students. In particular, working in small groups provided a comfortable environment for students who wished to ask questions or needed assistance when reviewing difficult material.
Participating STCC faculty utilized a software program named Mimio to write notes on a touch-sensitive whiteboard that automatically transfers the information to a computer. As a result, students are given access to the information at any time through their computer—a feature that appealed to both groups of students. One student said, “If the teacher doesn’t use a book, and I don’t understand my notes, there are no other resources.” All of the students agreed that tools such as Mimio, videos, and/or prepared notes are key to understanding and retaining new material.
In addition to the NSF-sponsored universal design courses, STCC has gone beyond low- and high-tech classroom aids and explored a more radical revamping of curricula. A self-paced math course has helped many students to significantly improve their math skills. The course provides students with access to the computer lab to download lessons that they can then complete on a computer at their own pace. A number of the focus group students took advantage of this video format and noted that the class with the video option had a higher course completion rate than did the class without any video.
But can all these new learning media add up to better student retention in scientific fields? A very ambiguous response was elicited from the two focus groups. On the one hand, students in both groups said that STCC offers a very welcoming environment, and many of them applauded the experimental techniques used in the courses. But when asked if they would now take more math, science, engineering or technology courses, most students felt that the subject matter was still too difficult.
One student who has elected to continue with a technology curriculum indicated that after taking a universal design course he would probably go on for an associate degree. “I will be working with a professor I like and who likes me. That is very important.” Ultimately, new techniques may be helpful, but good teaching and a concern for the individual are the keys to capturing a student’s interest and imagination.
For more information about universal design go to depts.stcc.edu/ud, www.design.ncsu.edu, or www.cast.org/udl.The NCTT website, http://www.nctt.org, is updated regularly. New information and links for educators, industry professionals and students of telecommunications technologies are always being enhanced. In July of 2003, updating has continued while the site has been revised and re-stylized from the ground up. The site still maintains its commitment to accessibility for all by using universal design standards.
For those familiar with the original nctt.org, the look and layout of the site are now quite different. The main navigation to the top categories has been streamlined and graphical icons now identify categories. Category titles also are now more representative of content. The visual cues for navigation elements are more obvious and users should find it easier to figure out where they are on the site and where they want to go. Secondary navigational elements are specific to each section, reducing screen clutter. Also, redundant navigation was added to the pages to reduce scrolling and dependency on drop-down lists at the top of the webpage.
In addition to improving site functionality, there are a number of aesthetic enhancements. The color scheme and typeface have been modified to improve the readability of screen content. Graphics including text have been clarified for easier reading. The designer’s goal was to modernize the site and present a face that truly represents NCTT’s mission and operations.
Several new features have been added:
With these changes and enhancements, nctt.org still has plenty of room for growth as the Center continues to expand its national network. A survey will soon be available so users will have the opportunity to make suggestions regarding new versions of the site. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed by the webmaster.
NCTT News is a publication of the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)
45 Temple Place, Boston, Mass. 02111 (www.nebhe.org) and the
National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT).
Fenna Hanes, Senior Director, Office of Programs, NEBHE
Amanda E. Burton, Editor
Susan Martin, Editorial Coordinator
Sarah Gillotte, Editorial Intern
© 2003 New England Board of Higher Education
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Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those
of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
 This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DUE 0302548. |
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