Internet Access

Internet access at 13 Washington County schools will be improved during the third annual Net Weekend. Nearly every classroom in the county has at least one Internet connection, said Dennis McGee, director of facilities management for the Washington County Board of Education. Some have as many as four - one for the teacher and three in the back of the class to be shared by students, he said. The weekend of Sept. 25, volunteers will help install new Internet connections at four elementary schools - Clear Spring, Eastern, Fountaindale and Boonsboro.

Internet access through a cable television connection and digital cable, which would increase the number of channels available to customers, were discussed during a Tuesday presentation to Hagerstown's mayor and City Council. Antietam Cable Television General Manager V. Gene Hager said the company will offer Internet access through a cable modem, which means customers would not have to use a telephone line. He said the company is looking into digital cable, which would enable the cable company to offer about 100 more channels than are currently available.

Volunteers will improve Internet access at six Washington County elementary schools next weekend with the help of a $30,000 state grant. During Net Weekend '99 on Nov. 12 and 13, schools throughout Maryland will use grants to wire classrooms, buy new hardware or software and train teachers. Locally, the money will be used mostly for equipment, according to Betsy Klein, technology director for the Washington County Board of Education. Fifteen schools applied for grants and each will get either wiring or computer hardware, she said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Thirteen West Virginia school systems and one library have been awarded a total of $2.1 million for Internet access. U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced the E-Rate grants Thursday. Rockefeller co-authored the E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries pay the cost of telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections. School systems receiving funding are Boone, Brooke, Calhoun, Hampshire, Jackson, Jefferson, Mason, Mercer, Mineral, Pendleton, Wayne, Wetzel and Wood counties.

The $2.1 million would buy: $338,000 - 73 computers and software for classrooms and computer lab at Smithsburg Elementary School. $405,000 - 101 computers and software for classrooms and computer lab, Lincolnshire Elementary School. $490,000 - 175 computers and software to update the seven high school business labs. $336,000 - 120 computers and software to update the computer labs at Hancock, Clear Spring, Williamsport and Boonsboro high schools. $55,000 - 30 computers and software to update the computer lab at Smithsburg High School.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Berkeley County Schools will receive the second-largest portion of $5.4 million in federal dollars that have been allocated to West Virginia public schools and libraries for Internet access improvements, according to a news release from Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office. "I have been fighting hard for many years to make sure that all students and communities in West Virginia -- rich or poor, urban or rural -- continue to receive the technology funding they need," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Report cards don't always make it home. Assessment scores aren't always easy to understand. But soon, Washington County parents will have Internet access to their children's grades and test scores, said Robert C. Brown, Washington County Public Schools coordinator for the office of testing and accountability. The information will be available for parents at the start of the upcoming school year, and parents will receive information on registering for the online accounts during the first week of school.

WASHINGTON COUNTY Report cards don't always make it home. Assessment scores aren't always easy to understand. But soon, Washington County parents will have Internet access to their children's grades and test scores, said Robert C. Brown, Washington County Public Schools coordinator for the office of testing and accountability. The information will be available for parents at the start of the upcoming school year, and parents will receive information on registering for the online accounts during the first week of school.

By STEVEN T. DENNIS Staff Writer In a few years, people conducting business with Washington County might not need to stop by in person or wait for vital documents to be delivered through the mail. Instead, they could do business via the Internet, county Data Processing Supervisor Ronald Whitt told the County Commissioners this week. Washington County employees are expected soon to have Internet access when a fiber optic cable running from county buildings in downtown Hagerstown is connected to the Washington County Free Library network.

julieg@herald-mail.com SHARPSBURG - The Sharpsburg area will continue to get its cable service from Adelphia for at least two more years. The Sharpsburg Town Council voted 5-0 on Monday night to renew the town's franchise agreement with Adelphia. High-speed Internet access could be installed before Thanksgiving at Sharpsburg's library, fire hall, ambulance hall and elementary school, an Adelphia spokesman told the mayor and Town Council at Monday night's regular monthly meeting.

In 1996, we were just beginning to understand the power of the Internet and the world of opportunity it would open for students. We knew businesses and communities relied on it - and we knew it was important to give students access to technology, no matter where they live, so they could thrive in this new economy. That's when I decided to come up with a way every West Virginia school could get online. I sat down and wrote a bill that created what we call the E-rate program - a funny name that basically means schools and libraries have the ability, at a discounted rate, to purchase technology and connect to the Internet.

With hundreds of thousands of Internet users in danger of losing their online access Monday, the Better Business Bureau is urging all consumers to run a diagnostic test to see if their computers are infected. The FBI's DNS Changer Working Group can detect the malware and explain how to fix infected machines. “A few minutes of your time today could save you the headache of losing your computer's Internet access at home or work come Monday,” Angie Barnett, president and chief executive officer of Better Business Bureau Greater Maryland, said in a news release.

Using a pilot program to make the transition from paper textbooks to digital textbooks, intensifying the use of social media in recruiting new teachers and using social media to get community feedback are among the recommendations a Washington County Public Schools committee listed when charged with exploring innovative ways to use social media to enhance learning, according to a committee report. Those recommendations and several others were in a March 6 report to the Board of Education.

Berkeley County school officials Tuesday sought to reassure parents of Musselman High School students that the campus was safe after rumors circulated via the Internet and social media that students might be in danger. “These rumors are unfounded, and no incidents have occurred,” the school system said in a news release, but did not indicate any specifics. “The school administration and the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department have taken the necessary and appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our students and staff.” The county school district also discouraged parents of students from relying on any information other than official announcements or statements from Musselman High's administration.

Following are resources and ideas to help students prepare for the SAT tests. Triumph College Admissions online preparation program. Students can access this program at school or outside of school. If they don't have Internet access at home, they can arrange to access it at school before, during or after school hours. The school system started offering this program in January 2010 after school system officials learned about it during a visit to Northwood High School in Montgomery County, Md. The College Board website at www.collegeboard.org offers SAT practice questions and a practice test for free, and has a study guide and online SAT course for a fee. Students who take the PSAT receive a code with their score report that gives them access to a personalized SAT study plan at www.collegeboard.org . The code lets them see which problems they missed on the PSAT and explains the correct answers.

The expansion of high-speed broadband Internet will be a "game changer" for Western Maryland in the way the B&O Railroad once was, U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said Monday as she visited Hagerstown Community College to announce a $115 million federal grant to expand broadband access across the state. "It means over 1,000 jobs just to lay the fiber optics," Mikulski said. "It's just like laying railroad tracks. " The project also will help with jobs long-term as the increased bandwidth availability will make the area more attractive to data-related businesses, officials said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Thirteen West Virginia school systems and one library have been awarded a total of $2.1 million for Internet access. U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller announced the E-Rate grants Thursday. Rockefeller co-authored the E-Rate program, which helps schools and libraries pay the cost of telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections. School systems receiving funding are Boone, Brooke, Calhoun, Hampshire, Jackson, Jefferson, Mason, Mercer, Mineral, Pendleton, Wayne, Wetzel and Wood counties.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Berkeley County Schools will receive the second-largest portion of $5.4 million in federal dollars that have been allocated to West Virginia public schools and libraries for Internet access improvements, according to a news release from Sen. Jay Rockefeller's office. "I have been fighting hard for many years to make sure that all students and communities in West Virginia -- rich or poor, urban or rural -- continue to receive the technology funding they need," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

ANNAPOLIS -- Children could be better protected from online predators if the Maryland General Assembly adopts legislation being proposed by two members of Washington County's delegation. Under the bills, sponsored by Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, and Sen. Alex X. Mooney, R-Frederick/Washington, Internet providers would need to give parents ways to block, filter or monitor Web sites used by their children. Service providers who limit Internet access for customers believed to be a threat to children also would be granted immunity against claims they have infringed on people's rights.

MAUGANSVILLE - The 200 children moving from Paramount Elementary to Maugansville Elementary School this year will have at least one familiar face. Assistant Principal Kathy Forrest has taken the same job at their new school. Forrest said several Paramount teachers also are moving on to the new, larger Maugansville Elementary, which opens for students Aug. 20. The new 91,586-square-foot building is more than twice the size of the former school, which still stands about 100 yards from the new building.