The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) works with Vermont communities to identify local priorities and rally residents behind those goals. Since the year 2000, we heard the call from rural Vermonters on the critically important need for broadband connection. VCRD became a key convener of state, federal and non-profit leadership efforts to expand infrastructure…
Introduction e-Vermont worked in towns that had already received near-complete, or complete, coverage of high speed Internet available to households. However, even with basic infrastructure in place,communities still sought public Internet access: For any remaining households without high speed Internet options, public access points could help bridge the gap while construction projects continued to create…
Broadband Basics for Business An e-Vermont advisor with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) focused on online tools and businesses in e-Vermont towns. By June 2012, this advisor had presented 45 business workshops in communities (plus more at regional workshops and conferences) and directly advised 143 businesses. Many of the workshop materials appear in…
Neighborhood Conversations Vermont communities are looking to online tools to improve communications, but also worry that too much time in the online world will weaken community ties in the real world. This shared value of community relationships makes Vermont the perfect place to develop online tools that strengthen the community fabric. Front Porch Forum (FPF)…
Computers in Classrooms In too many classrooms, technology is an "add-on" amenity or topic separate from other subjects. e-Vermont partner Digital Wish works with 4th – 6th grade classrooms to integrate technology tools into the overall learning experience. In a Digital Wish classroom their staff: Provide a computer and Internet access to every student in…
In 2009, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project, announced their Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA) grants program. The e-Vermont partners came together to apply for these funds to increase rural broadband adoption rates using an approach built around community. This community focus meant two principal things: E-Vermont listened to a community’s needs,…
Why does the Internet matter? Over the course of two years, the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project posed this question to both people who couldn’t imagine life without the Internet and people who couldn’t imagine why they would want the Internet in their lives. It’s a fair question. In 2010 – 2012, the length of our…
Digital Wish’s School Modernization Initiative (through VCRD’s e-Vermont Community Broadband Program) put one-computer-per-child programs into 24 e-Vermont schools. Through the program they conducted surveys of the participating teachers and students who report a wide range of gains including increased engagement in learning, technological proficiency, and dramatic improvements in the understanding of internet safety issues. The…
Throughout the two years that e-Vermont was active, the program published several reports detailing its work, and the outcomes of its conference. You can find these reports below. Year One Summary, June 2011 Midyear Update, December 2011 Year Two Update, March 2012 Report from May, 2012, Conference on Vermont's Digital Future Summary reports from each…
(Hardwick, VT) Sixth grade students at Hardwick Elementary classrooms are getting more connected with their teachers when it comes to organizing their homework and getting up to speed on classwork when absent. Through the e-Vermont initiative, Hardwick Elementary School was able to improve their wireless Internet connection. Additionally, each sixth grade student received a Dell…