Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, a new digital communications network will link all NWT communities to the information highway by March of 1998. In anticipation of this development, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has produced a new site on the World Wide Web.
The new website will provide one-window access by computer to the Department's programs and services for the public, as well as resources and courses for students in the school system and colleges. For example, the website will provide students with on-line access to the Encyclopedia Britannica. By the first semester of 1997, many secondary students will be able to take courses on-line.
The website will also provide a central location for teachers to share ideas and resources, including support material, course outlines and lesson plans.
Concerns have been raised for many years, Mr. Speaker, that students in remote locations may not be receiving the same standard of education as those in larger communities. The new communications network will ensure that all students have the same access to learning materials.
Mr. Speaker, the Department is working with Divisional Education Councils, the two Yellowknife Divisional Educational Authorities and the public colleges to make sure the web site can support distance learning, extension of high school grades, and provide better opportunities for students of all ages across the Territories.
To keep pace with advancing technology, the Department has committed $1.2 million this year to initiate the Information Networks Development Project. The project includes the design and delivery of programs and courses, setting up a central, computerized source of information, and enhancing the use of local computer networks among community educators.
We intend to assist educators, staff trainers, their clients and learners of all ages, in all communities, to develop and use the technology effectively. The Department is now evaluating proposals from Divisional Education Councils and the Colleges which address these areas.
The web site has been developed for the Department by a new Yellowknife company. The Department has also recently called for proposals from northern companies to produce web pages and computer graphics. None of these companies existed until the information highway came to the North. This shows that the information highway holds a lot of potential for jobs and other economic benefits in the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Speaker, I invite Members of the Assembly, and members of the media, to drop by and try out the website on the computers which Department staff have set up in the Legislative Library. Staff members will be available throughout the afternoon and after the session ends today to show you how the website works.
The Department's new web site will continue to expand as new resources are developed and added. I hope you will explore the site today, and return to it frequently in the coming months.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.