A two-year project in curriculum and network development undertaken by two two-year colleges -- Minnesota Riverland Technical College (MRTC) and Austin Community College (ACC) -- will involve universities and high schools -- initially Mankato State University (MSU) and Austin High School (AHS). This project focuses on educating builders of information highways and local byways. In other words, the focus is on "conets" -- cooperative networks that link communities and companies regionally as well as within evolving national and global information infrastructures.The last two years of high school and last two years of university baccalaureate degrees (in engineering, information science, etc.) will provide a "2+2+2" context for developing a two-year associate degree in interactive mass media and networking communications. Students will study core general and technical courses and then select options -- tentatively called digicom (electronics), multiware (computers) and intervision (mass media). Practicums will entail student work on development of a "conet" to serve local communities and involve high schools as public access sites, equipped with terminals and kiosks.This two-year project is intended to help set the stage for development of both: 1) a CoNet Center of Excellence, supporting curricula not just within two-year colleges but within "?+2+2+2+?" education extensions; and 2) a Southeastern Minnesota CoNet regional community network, as a potential model, especially for rural regions in the U.S. and globally.
