West VirginiaUniversity has become a leader in the use of interactive distance networking technology through a Division of Social Work project that addresses the states growing digital divide by providing technology access to rural communities.

WVU Social Work Professor Karen V. Harper-Dorton directs the Nonprofit Collaboratives to Facilitate Rural Community Networking Project, a joint effort of WVU , the West Virginia Army National Guard and the West Virginia Community Action Directors Association. One of the goals is to host statewide meetings using this new technology. Other organizations participating in the partnership include the Governors Cabinet on Family and Children, the Governors Office on Technology, Multi-CAP Inc. and SoftwareValley. The project is funded largely through a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“Nonprofit Collaboratives made possible WVCADA s efforts to bring training to its members throughout the state. Eleven sites were used to train 106 staff members in ROMA (Results-Oriented Management and Accountability) for nonprofit community action associations,”Dorton said.

WVCADA ( http://www.wvcommunity.org ) is a statewide organization composed of 16 member agencies with the united goal of developing West Virginias communities to their fullest potential.

The state Army National Guard provided the technology in the form of 14 Distance Training Technology labs strategically placed throughout the state. Each lab is equipped with one or more motion-sensitive cameras, networked televisions networked and computers and microphones for participants. This equipment allows meeting participants to see, hear and speak to each other. Other lab capabilities include delivery of software presentations, satellite broadcasts, Web-based activities and handwritten information delivered to all sites simultaneously.

There are about 400 DTT sites in the United States as part of military training and national security. Many are open to the public, but individuals need to make an appointment to ensure that the faculty is available. In West Virginia, DTT labs are available in Athens, Beckley, Bridgeport, Buckhannon, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Kingwood, Martinsburg, Moorefield, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Summersville and Wheeling.

WVU has hosted Nonprofit Collaboratives since 1999. In that time, Nonprofit Collaboratives has reached thousands of people across the state with the goal of increasing technological literacy in groups of people with limited access to computers and the Internet. The Division of Social Work is one of three academic divisions within the School of Applied Social Sciences, a unit within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

“Access to computers, software knowledge, hardware capacity, Internet access and literacy skills provide opportunities for individuals and communities in West Virginia, and around the world, to reach new socioeconomic levels and to achieve new educational and professional goals,”Harper-Dorton said.

The professor has met with thousands of individuals across the state and expects to exceed the goal of influencing more than 10,000 people with the project before current funding ends in September. More than 4,000 hours of classroom instruction has been provided to the states citizens, and the project has touched thousands more through news articles, flyers, the projects Web page and conferences.