This is a proposal from the Technical Education Research Centers, Inc. (TERC) to focus attention on the needs of educational telecomputing by holding a founding meeting for a Consortium on Educational Telecomputing with follow-on organizational activities. The goal of the Consortium is to improve education by stimulating the provision of quality telecomputing-based learning at the lowest possible cost to schools. This Consortium would create and disseminate education telecomputing software and curriculum in mathematics and science both by pooling funding available to members and by seeking additional funding from government and business. The Consortium would also coordinate the establishment and interconnection of networks and hosts. The founding meeting of the Consortium is tentatively scheduled for Cambridge April 18-19, 1991 with 55 participants of which 25 will be subsidized by the requested funding. TERC is contributing to the costs of the meeting and additional funding is expected from corporate sponsors. The establishment of this Consortium represents a novel development for educational reform. It is a conscious attempt to employ a strategy of pooling interests and resources available to states, provinces and corporations and others interested in education to create and share software, curricula and expertise. It envisions essentially public dissemination mechanisms which could result in substantial savings at the school level. Although there are unique factors which favor the success of this particular effort, the Consortium idea might have application in other areas of interest to the NSF. The conference also provides a unique opportunity to both determine and influence the planning of the states and other organizations concerning educational telecomputing. One of the results of the grant will be the broad dissemination of a report that summarizes these issues. This project is jointly supported by the programs for Applications of Advanced Technology and Science & Mathematics Education Networks.
