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The Castles through aspen trees
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spacer PROJECT HISTORY  spacer 
 

One of the greatest challenges to Colorado throughout its history has been to bring together a state that is physically divided by the Rocky Mountain and the Continental Divide and include large urban centers and some of the smallest communities in the most remote parts of the country. Developments in technology provide a way to make those distances smaller and less important and the resources available to urban areas also accessible to small communities.

The Legislative Declaration of Senate Bill 96-197 made a clear commitment to removing "geographic barriers to educational opportunities." The RMOTE consortium was formed in 1997 with an understanding of both technology and the goals that can be acheived through its use with technology as a means, not an end.

The consortium submitted a grant application to address the connectivity and technological needs of the Gunnison School District, Mountain Valley School District and Hinsdale School District in partnership with Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.

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In 1998 the RMOTE consortium received a grant for over $787,000 from the State of Colorado Department of Education. The following components were accomplished with this first RMOTE Consortium grant:

  • Each school district site was linked to the Internet with 56K or T1 lines.

  • Each school district site received equipment that included computers, printers, scanners, fax machines, and video conferencing equipment for those sites that could support it.

  • ARIEL was purchased and installed to permit full text reserach of printed materials over the internet.

  • Full text reserach materials were purchased to enhance the library collections for K-16 partners.

Our current Technology Challenge Grant will provide the needed professional development for the teachers to implement the purchased tools into the curriculum to increase student acheivement.