by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 15/97) - The Department of Education's electronic bulletin board was supposed to ensure all Northern students can exchange information even if they don't have direct access to the Internet.

But the "North of 60" network is no longer an option for everyone.

Only students in the Baffin, Beaufort-Delta, Kitikmeot, Deh Cho, and Dogrib regions remain plugged in because their divisional education councils bought the necessary equipment to connect the central departmental computer.

The Sahtu and South Slave regions are currently without servers to access North of 60 but they are considering other options, the department's distance learning project officer, Pam Fawcett, said last week.

Students in Yellowknife Education District No. 1 and Yellowknife Catholic Schools have been without access since Sept. 2.

The Keewatin Divisional Education Council, meanwhile, is temporarily using the Yellowknife system to access North of 60.

North of 60 allowed students to send e-mail and exchange files with each other and the Department of Education even if there was no Internet service in their community. The department used to supply the needed computer equipment, which made brief connection to the Net to forward mail and files.

Now councils must buy the equipment themselves.

Keewatin divisional education council superintendent Curtis Brown said such expectations were "fair."

"As a communication tool for teachers and students, North of 60 was found to be a huge success, with over 1,100 active accounts," Fawcett said.

"Each Divisional Education Council has the power to decide if the North of 60 network is of value to its teachers and students," she said.

North of 60 runs on FirstClass software, which was widely used before Internet access became commonplace.

In 1994, North of 60 was launched as a pilot project. The department bought the hardware and software and provided teachers and students with free accounts.

"The North of 60 pilot project is now complete," Fawcett said.

North of 60 works, she added.

But school boards were informed last March or April the axe was coming.

Several hundred Yellowknife students had North of 60 accounts, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 superintendent Ken Woodley said.

Woodley said North of 60 administrator Jacquelyn Burles was spending several hours a day administering the bulletin board.

The Department of Education, Culture and Employment did not have the money to keep track of funding, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 chairman Gary Black said.

Those with an Internet account can still access North of 60.