UB Joins Cisco Systems, Buffalo Schools to Help Students in Several Districts Improve Computer Skills

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The term "digital divide" is used increasingly by educators to describe the economically divisive effect that the Internet and associated technologies have had on U.S. society and the global community.

To close this divide and level the playing field for all, a number of educational and skills-training programs have evolved.

One of them is the Cisco Networking Academy Program, a public-private partnership involving Cisco Systems, educational institutions, NGOs and governments that teach students how to design, build and maintain computer networks.

It was developed to introduce public-school students to the professional atmosphere of a conference, as well as to allow them the opportunity to expand their technical knowledge while networking with their peers.

Cisco Systems and the University at Buffalo Center for Applied Technologies in Education (CATE), which has been a Cisco Regional Academy since 1999, will present their second annual Student Networkers' Conference from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 18 in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. CATE is affiliated with the UB Graduate School of Education.

More than 100 students, teachers, administrators and Cisco Systems engineers will participate in the event, which is sponsored in part by the Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo Prep Tech, a career-path program linking secondary and post-secondary schools with business and industry to prepare today's students for tomorrow's careers.

A keynote address by John Kittrell, Northeast regional manager for Cisco, will be followed by four technical breakout sessions conducted by Cisco engineers and other highly skilled presenters. Participants will have the opportunity to attend all sessions, which will address such topics as Internet security, hubs and routers, IP telephony and the ubiquity of Internet protocol.

A skills competition will follow, led by Robert Arrington from Hutch Tech High School.

Student participants will be from the Buffalo Public Schools, the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District, Orleans-Niagara BOCES; the Niagara Falls, Chautauqua Lake and Sweet Home School districts, and adult learners at the University at Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center (EOC).

CATE originally supported five local networking academies, but now serves 14 that represent urban, suburban and rural school systems. In addition, the CATE Regional Academy supports local academies within Erie Community College and EOC. Today, the CATE region serves more than 500 students and is continuing to grow.

For additional information on the CATE Region or the Student Cisco Networker's Conference, visit the CATE Web site at http://cate.buffalo.edu/html/training.asp. Interested parties also may contact Paulette Freyer, managing director of CATE, at 882-6377 or pjfreyer@buffalo.edu; Louise Lalli, executive assistant and program coordinator for the Cisco Regional Academy at 882-6378 or lmlalli@buffalo.edu, or Robert Daunce, network support and lead instructor for the Cisco Regional Academy at 882-4124 or rdaunce@buffalo.edu.