October 05, 2006
Alberta SuperNet has already opened doors for students, libraries and local government offices. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that an interpretive centre focused on prehistoric times is also taking full advantage of 21st century technology.
Just two years ago, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre was running on a dial-up connection that could almost be considered Stone Age by today’s standards. With more than one computer sharing the dial-up lines, tasks that should have only required minutes could take hours.
As a result, the centre, located 18 kilometres north and west of Fort Macleod, was one of the first sites in southern Alberta to use a wireless link to Alberta SuperNet.
With the SuperNet technology, the staff at Head-Smashed-In have been participating in videoconferences, including sitting in on Parks Canada events, and doing research. One video meeting with the Archeological Survey of Alberta showed that soil on a trail at the site was full of materials like boiling stones, arrowheads, scrapers and bone.
Head-Smashed-In is also expanding online educational opportunities. The interpretive centre is planning to work with Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park (located 32 kilometres east of Milk River) on a joint project about native culture. A new and improved website is also on the horizon.
Prehistory, education and SuperNet also meet at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. The museum uses the videoconferencing abilities provided by Alberta SuperNet to offer two 45-minute programs for Alberta students:
- Rockin’ Alberta Resources, which focuses on geology and geography, and
- Up Close and Paleo, which allows students to learn from, and interact with, some of the museum’s world-class paleontologists.
Schools are also using Alberta SuperNet to connect with each other through videoconferencing, giving students, especially those in rural areas, access to a wide variety of courses.
Other benefits of Alberta SuperNet are better services for rural communities, municipal and provincial government departments and health care providers.
More information
|
