Education and Research Consortium

The Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas ( [http://www.ercwc.org ERC] ) was created after Congressman Charles H. Taylor of the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina called a meeting of college presidents to put together a plan whereby Western North Carolina (WNC) could participate in and even lead the new technology revolution of the time. Out of this meeting a non-profit organization was created whose board is composed of the presidents of Brevard College, Mars Hill College, Montreat College, and Western Carolina University. Also included in the ERC's activities are Furman University in South Carolina, UNC Asheville and the area's community colleges. The ERC's goal is to work cooperatively to bring to WNC and the upstate of South Carolina, as an integrated region, the economic and quality of life benefits new technology offers.

The first project administered by the ERC was the Adventure of the American Mind Program ( [http://www.aamprogram.org AAM] ). The AAM Project was designed to train in-service and pre-service classroom teachers and college teacher education faculty to access, use and produce curriculum utilizing the Internet and the digitized primary source materials from the collections of the Library of Congress. Initially, the AAM Project was offered through Brevard College, Mars Hill College and Montreat College in Western North Carolina. In the past seven years it has expanded to cover nine states ( [http://www.aamprogram.org/introduction/aam_partners.aspx] AAM Partners).

As one of the Adventure of the American Mind partners, the AAM Online Education Program ( [http://www.aamonline.org] ) develops free online lessons for students. In these lessons, students use the Library of Congress Web site as a resource. The lesson topics include:
Barning Tobacco ( [http://www.aamonline.org/barning View Lesson] )
Benjamin Franklin: Writer, Inventor, Statesman ( [http://www.aamonline.org/franklin View Lesson] )
Celebrating Cesar Chavez ( [http://www.aamonline.org/chavez View Lesson] )
Culture of Old Salem ( [http://www.aamonline.org/salem View Lesson] )
Culture of Roanoke Island ( [http://www.aamonline.org/roanoke View Lesson] )
Elections: The American Way ( [http://www.aamonline.org/elections View Lesson] )
Famous Tarheel ( [http://www.aamonline.org/tarheel View Lesson] )
Horses of Shackleford Banks ( [http://www.aamonline.org/banks View Lesson] )
J.A. Leinbach and the Music of the Civil War ( [http://www.aamonline.org/leinbach View Lesson] )
Landmarks of the Carolinas ( [http://www.aamonline.org/landmarks View Lesson] )
Lewis and Clark and the Revealing of America ( [http://www.aamonline.org/lewisandclark View Lesson] )
Music of Panhandle Pete ( [http://www.aamonline.org/panhandle View Lesson] )
Mystery of the Lost Colony ( [http://www.aamonline.org/lostcolony View Lesson] )
Mystery of the Masked Man ( [http://www.aamonline.org/maskedman View Lesson] )
Nifty Fifty ( [http://www.aamonline.org/niftyfifty View Lesson] )
Pioneer Women and the Settling of America ( [http://www.aamonline.org/pioneerwomen View Lesson] )
Presidents of Mount Rushmore ( [http://www.aamonline.org/presidents View Lesson] )
Shaping the Values of 19th Century Youths ( [http://www.aamonline.org/ssbooks View Lesson] )
Thomas Edison, America's Inventor ( [http://www.aamonline.org/edison View Lesson] )
THOMAS: Portal to the Legislative Process ( [http://www.aamonline.org/thomas View Lesson] )
Trail of Tears ( [http://www.aamonline.org/tears View Lesson] )
Wright Brothers and the Birth of Flight ( [http://www.aamonline.org/wright View Lesson] )



Additional projects administered by the ERC include:

ERC Broadband ( [http://www.ercbroadband.org/ ERC Broadband] was created to expand the technical infrastructure of the region. ERC Broadband manages a regional network and offers Internet connectivity, data center services, and high performance computing services. Additionally, ERC Broadband is a top tier provider of NEXRAD Level II weather data from the National Weather Service.

Pisgah Forest Institute ( [http://www.brevard.edu/pfi/ PFI] ) provides environmental instruction for educators. PFI is a cooperative effort between Brevard College, the USDA Forest Service and the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA). PFI operates under the administration of the Appalachian Center for Environmental Solutions (ACES) at Brevard College as part of the ERC.

KCeeI ( [http://www.kceei.keystone.edu/ KCeeI] )KCeeI is a new environmental education Institute at Keystone College in LaPlume, PA. It offered its first workshops in July 2004. The program is modeled after the successful Pisgah Forest Institute at Brevard College. KCeeI is committed to enhancing the teaching experience by providing hands-on, inquiry based science and environmental education to educators using nature as a laboratory.

NEXRAD Level II Radar Data [http://www.ercwc.org/press/2004/press_042004_nexrad.aspx NEXRAD] )The Education and Research Consortium (ERC) has partnered with the National Weather Service and the National Climatic Data Center to distribute and archive NOAA's WSR-88D Level II radar data.

The Digital Media Institute ( [http://www.blueridge.edu/Files/CE.php?Link=Program&ProgramTitle=Digital%20Media%20Institute DMI] )DMI began in the Fall of 2002 with the primary objective of retraining displaced workers for today's technology-driven job market. The program is administered through Blue Ridge Community College's Flat Rock campus and is funded through the Department of Labor.

HRSA ( [http://www.ercwc.org/projects/project_hrsa.aspx HRSA] )A tele-health [http://www.ercwc.org/projects/project_hrsa.aspx] grant through HRSA is funding an initiative to electronically link area health care providers. This project is led by the 14 area hospitals and will result in a system to provide cost-effective, integrated technology services.

ORNL/EERE ( [http://www.ercwc.org/projects/ornlEere/index.aspx ORNL/EERE] )The ERC is currently working with UT-Battelle, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to facilitate the development of new energy conservation and efficiency technologies in the Western Carolinas that will support technology transfer in the region.