ATLANTA, Georgia -- October 24, 1995 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. today announcedthe Virtual Schoolhouse Grant Program which will help schools nationwideconnect to the Internet. Each year, Cisco will award products, service andtraining to selected K-12 schools that develop a plan and demonstrate theability to support and implement an internetworking site.
Grants are to be used for curriculum-based applications such as Internetaccess and in-classroom learning. Selected schools will receive equipment andservices valued at approximately $10,000, depending on their individualrequirements. Annually, Cisco will donate a total of $500,000 nationwide.Grant recipients for 1996 will be announced in June of next year at theNational Education Computing Conference (NECC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"The need for networking in schools today is a fundamental part of theeducational infrastructure, just like good lighting and adequate facilities.As information on the Internet grows each month, resources for use in publicschools have increased phenomenally," said John Morgridge, chairman of theboard of Cisco Systems. "The Virtual Schoolhouse Grant is devised to expeditethe implementation and support of networks in educational institutions."
Depending on their specific needs, grant recipients will receive an accessrouter, software, service and training. To meet the needs of first-time orbeginning networking personnel, Cisco has customized its networking productsfor the grant program to increase ease-of-use and manageability. Relevantproducts include:
- Internetworking devices -- Routers from the Cisco 1000 or 2500 series.
- Software -- Cisco InternetworkOperating System (Cisco IOS(tm)) software, a suite of sophisticated networking software, that ensures robust, reliable networks by supporting standard protocols and optimizing services and internetwork access.
- Service and training -- Cisco's Smartnet(tm) packageincludes maintenance support for one year and training on router configuration and installation if needed.
Internet connections provide schools with access to vast amounts ofinformation in a time-efficient and interactive manner, and the ability tocommunicate within school districts and beyond to students in other citiesand even other countries.
"Internet access has brought The Ravenswood School District (East Palo Alto,Calif.) from the 1940s to the 1990s," said Michael Hooper, technologycoordinator for the Costano Elementary School. "With the equipment fromCisco Systems, our teachers now have the world's databases on the World WideWeb at their fingertips, enabling them to enhance their lessons with the mostupdated information."
Grant Applications and Guidelines
Interested schools can receive an application by calling Cisco's educationhotline at (408) 526-4226 or sending an email to edu-grant@cisco.com.Applications must be received by March 1, 1996 to be considered for the 1996awards. For additional guidance in completing the application or on how toarticulate a technology plan for a school's network, Cisco and the Universityof North Carolina at Chapel Hill have established a World Wide Web site(The Virtual Schoolhouse Grant Program complements Cisco's corporate-wideinitiative to provide the benefits of Internet access and internationalcommunication in today's classrooms. Cisco sponsors several educationalprojects such as the International CyberFair for Schools, a demonstration ofeducational and community-related information published by students andteachers on the World Wide Web. Cisco Systems also provides financialsupport to the Global Schoolhouse Project, an internationally recognizedprogram for demonstrating the use of the Internet in K-12 classrooms acrossthe U.S. and overseas.
Cisco supports and participates in numerous educational networking andInternet organizations including CAUSE, the Consortium for School Networking(COSN), EDUCOM, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE),the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the leading global supplier of enterprisenetworks, including routers, LAN and ATM switches, dial-up accessservers andnetwork management software. These products, integrated by the Cisco IOSsoftware, link geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM networks.CiscoSystems news and product/service information are available at World Wide Website (http://www.cisco.com). Cisco Systems is headquartered in San Jose,California,
Cisco IOS and Smartnet are trademarks, and Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Ciscologo are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the property oftheir respective owners.
Posted: Oct 25 07:11:37 1995
