Michigan Community IT News Briefing

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 (Coverage: January 20, 2004 - February 2, 2004)

* Statewide: Protecting Web privacy growing more important

* Houghton: Michigan Tech team vies for coding title

* Livingston County: Web site lets students rate teachers

* Warren: Warren Consolidated Schools continues expanding district's Internet site

* Mason, Manistee, Lake, Oceana and Newaygo counties: Group seeks faster Internet

* Redford: Electronic think tank adds to debate

* Ann Arbor, Saline and Howell: New technology comes to local emergency rooms

* Midland County: County tax information on line

* Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor schools introduce plan for technology in classroom

* Jackson: Jackson Community College expands online program

* Kalamazoo: Library launches online help with homework

* Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Canton, Farmington, Independence Township and West Bloomfield: Books online reflect new library trend

* Adrian: Lenawee County Fairgrounds bingo players go high-tech

* Grand Ledge: City’s modernized software allows budget water billing

* Eastpointe: Web help clicks with students

* Grandville: Elementary schools to get new computers

* Munising: Computers increase pharmacy’s reach

* Grand Rapids: City gears up to go paperless

* Cass City and Upper Thumb area: The Greater Thumb Conference is on the Web

* Monroe: City leaders plan more info for citizens

Cyber-state is in the process of conducting its fourth annual assessment of official local government websites in the state of Michigan. If you know of a township, city, village, or county that has developed a new site in the past year, we want to know! Please contact Mary Puetz (mary.puetz@cyber-state.org, 734-302-4785) to tell her the address of the new site. For more information about the project and to see results of previous assessments, check out cyber-state's website at http://www.cyber-state.org/1_0/1_4_1.html.

Six workshops will be offered in the Upper Peninsula Region in March 2004. Each workshop will have a variety of experts, who will bring their expertise on topics in the area of local e-government and community-building initiatives. Upper Great Lakes Educational Technologies, Incorporated (UGLETI) is pleased to offer these workshops in cooperation with cyber-state.org for the purposes of advancing our citizen's and local government's use of information & communication technology (ICT). The cost for each workshop is only $15 per person! For more information, please call 734-302-4734.

Who Should Attend? Anyone involved with the development of a local government Web site, those who are interested in developing a new local government Web site; Web developers, Web consultants, government staff developing or maintaining local government Web sites, government technology staff supporting Web development for local governments, content providers for local government Web sites.

On a snowy afternoon last week, more than 20 Michigan technology movers and shakers from consumer organizations, educational institutions and business associations got together to explore a growing concern over privacy protection and the Internet. The meeting was called by Katherine Willis, president of the Ann Arbor-based public interest group Cyber-state.org, and Craig Ruff, president of Public Sector Consultants, a Lansing consulting firm which does policy research on a variety of public issues, including technology.

Source: Detroit Free Press

URL: http://www.freep.com/money/tech/mwend2_20040202.htm

Joe Nievelt and Michigan Tech teammates Kyle Rokos of Traverse City and Patrick Williams of Otsego will pack their bags in March for a trip to Prague, Czech Republic, where 72 collegiate teams will compete in the finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest held by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and sponsored by IBM. In addition to seeking the world title, the Michigan Tech team also will compete against a University of Michigan team for bragging rights in the state.

Source: Detroit News

URL: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0402/02/b07-51479.htm

Instead of teachers having a monopoly on handing out assessments of their students, students now have the chance to raise their heads out of their textbooks and give the teacher a grade. And students in Livingston County are taking advantage of the opportunity. All five school districts in Livingston County have postings on www.ratemyteachers.com.

Source: Daily Press and Argus

URL: http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=14980

Pictures of the 13 winning pieces of artwork in the Warren Consolidated Schools district's American Education Week poster contest are the latest addition to the district's ever-expanding Internet site. And although the Internet address may be long - www.wcs.k12.mi.us - users are finding the newly revamped Web site easier to navigate and filled with more helpful information every day.

Source: The Source

URL: http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles/2004/01/30/schools/schools4.txt

Now that it’s gathered information about local Internet services and demand, the local LinkMichigan Task Force is poised to form an entity to seek funding to bring new broadband Internet capability to the five-county area of Mason, Manistee, Lake, Oceana and Newaygo counties.

Source: Ludington Daily News

URL: http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=21717

Residents may not attend Redford's government meetings like they used to, but they can still stand up and be heard over the Internet. Township Clerk Garth Christie has organized a group of "E advisers," a council of interested citizens who will be asked, once or twice a month, to weigh in via e-mail on issues Redford officials are debating.

Source: Redford Observer

URL: http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=15128

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor (SJMHS) will implement a new electronic information system specifically designed for use in emergency departments (ED) to fully automate the emergency departments in their hospitals in Ann Arbor, Saline and Howell.

Source: Manchester Enterprise

URL: http://www.manchesterenterprise.com/news/20040129M04IMJC.asp?ID=68

Midland County residents now can access their property tax and other related information online. Putting the information on the Internet realizes a 10-year goal, Treasurer Wynne Downing said at a recent county commission meeting. There are three levels of access – public, paid and government. The website is at www.co.midland.mi.us/.

Source: Midland Daily News

URL: http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10886607&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=8, Related Stories: http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10892834&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=8, http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1075305131252810.xml?sanews?NECN

With a new district technology plan that calls for $20 million in technology purchases and an emphasis on integrating technology into lessons, technology may soon play a different role for Ann Arbor school children. Under the 25-page plan unveiled Wednesday, there are numerous examples of how technology tools ranging from digital projectors to the Internet can be used to teach reading and writing.

Source: Ann Arbor News

URL: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/10753909793040.xml?aanews?NEA

More and more, Jackson Community College is seeing students learn through the Internet. The school is about to help that trend gain even more momentum. College officials said this week that they received $30,000 to develop four new online courses, which will bring their total to nearly 100 by the fall.

Source: Jackson Citizen Patriot

URL: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1075315251255970.xml?jacitpat?NEJ

The library now provides a Live Homework Help program, an online, interactive tutoring service. Available since Jan. 5, the service gives students a chance to discuss their homework with knowledgeable tutors in online chat rooms.

Source: Kalamazoo Gazette

URL: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1075308717128560.xml?kzgazette?NEKP (see JAN 25 Eastpointe article)

Thanks to the work of six area libraries, there’s no need to leave the comfort of your home to grab that best seller you’ve been dying to read. A consortium of suburban libraries is adding eBooks to its repertoire of services. It’s the first group of public libraries in Michigan to offer this service and one of the first in the country.

Source: Detroit News

URL: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0401/27/c01-45361.htm, Related story: http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=14144

The world of high technology has reached the low-tech game of bingo, with players in the weekly games at the Lenawee County Fairgrounds now having the option of using hand-held computers to play.

Source: Lenawee Connection

URL: http://www.lenconnect.com/articles/2004/01/26/news/news02.txt

The city’s new water and sewer billing software is in and should be ready to go by February, city officials say.

The fully automated program will save the city time and money, and make budget payments possible for customers.

Source: Grand Ledge Independent

URL: http://www.hometownlife.net/berkley/NewsSearch.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=14006

Eastpointe Memorial Library began subscribing to Live Homework Help, an Internet tutoring service, about two months ago. It's an excellent way for students to get one-on-one help at no cost to their parents, said Joyce Conte, Eastpointe Memorial Library director.

Source: Macomb Daily

URL: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10862536&BRD=988&PAG=461&dept_id=141265&rfi=8 (see JAN 27 Kalamazoo article)

The Board of Education approved buying almost $400,000 in computers and related equipment for seven of Grandville's elementary schools. The purchase of 335 IBM 550 computers for the elementary schools reflects the first expenditures in a three-year plan to update technology throughout the district, officials said

Source: Grand Rapids Press

URL: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1074786857262460.xml?grpress?NEG

Rural hospitals across Michigan and elsewhere are taking an interest in a new automated pharmacy system that went online last week at Munising Memorial Hospital. "There are a lot of people who are looking at this," said Gary Koskiniemi, director of nursing services at Munising Memorial. "We’re the first in Michigan and only the second in the country to be doing this."

Source: The Mining Journal

URL: http://www.miningjournal.net/archive/2004news/01-January/01-22_4.htm

During the end of the commission's meeting of the whole commission last week, Mayor George Heartwell pulled out a compact disc and said the entire 77-page agenda and packet was on the disc and encouraged commissioners to think about going electronic. Heartwell said he would like commissioners to think about the topic and make a decision within the next 30 days.

Source: Advance Newspapers

URL: http://www.mlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/107470382238040.xml?advancenewspapers?NEN

With help from students from Cass City High School's advanced computer class, the Greater Thumb Conference (GTC) recently went online at www.greaterthumbconference.com. The website plans to offer updated standings for all league sports. It also has links to each GTC school, as well as links to other athletic-related websites.

Source: Huron Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.michigansthumb.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10836462&BRD=2292&PAG=461&dept_id=472759&rfi=8

* Monroe: City leaders plan more info for citizens

Computer users and cable TV subscribers now have better access to Monroe City Council meeting agendas and city officials promise to post even more information on the municipal Web site (www.ci.monroe.mi.us) to help citizens understand public issues.

Source: Monroe Evening News

URL: http://www.monroenews.com/articles/2004/01/20/news/news04.txt

* Detroit Free Press / tech, http://www.freep.com/index/tech.htm

* Detroit Tech News, http://detnews.com/technews/index.htm

* Michigan CrainTech, http://michigan.craintech.com/home.mv

* Michigan Technology News, http://www.mitechnews.com/

* Federal Computer Week, http://www.fcw.com/

* Government Computer News, http://www.gcn.com/sandl/

* Government Technology, http://www.govtech.net/

* New York Times: Technology, http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/

* Washtech.com (Washington Post), http://www.washtech.com/

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phone: (734) 302-4755 fax: (734) 302-4996

Cyber-state.org, a member of the Altarum family, is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that is committed to ensuring that all Michigan residents are able to benefit from information technology (IT). One of our priorities is to assist state and local policymakers as a resource for their creation and deliberation of IT policy. With these email news briefings, we hope to increase the awareness of the importance of information technology for Michigan's economy and educational system. If you do not find these email briefings to be useful or you would like to change the email address of the recipient in your office, please reply with an email to webmaster@cyber-state.org. Please do not reply to the group.