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      Lone Eagle Presentation and Workshop Events!


      For information on rates and additional workshop and keynote presentations -
        See http://lone-eagles.com/presentations.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/services.htm
      
        Refer questions to Frank Odasz, 406-683-6270 or email: frank@lone-eagles.com

        Biographies:
   
      Click here for a  Biographical web page posted by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce for their
           1998 conference on Community Networking or search the web for "Frank Odasz" and
           "Big Sky Telegraph." A two- page biography is at http://lone-eagles.com/biography.htm.
        
  A twenty page history of Frank Odasz written for a book as a history of online learning from
           a rural perspective is at http://lone-eagles.com/history.htm
 

           Vita for Frank Odasz:  http://lone-eagles.com/articles/frank.htm

About Lone Eagle Consulting:

Lone Eagle 2011 Update - Events and Resources
http://lone-eagles.com/expertise.htm  

2011 Lone Eagle Strategies http://lone-eagles.com/strategies.htm

2011 Lone Eagle Online Guides http://lone-eagles.com/guides.htm

Most Recent Published articles;

The Silver Tsunami – Projected Economic Impacts of Our Aging Society
 ( To be published Nov. 2013, http://bbcmag.com )
http://lone-eagles.com/silver-tsunami.htm

Health I.T, Rural Broadband, and Common Sense

http://lone-eagles.com/natoahealthodasz.pdf
Combining connectivity and caring with common sense to produce the authenticity of widespread citizen engagement is where the promise of broadband best meets rural needs.

The Rural Broadband Challenge: Use IT!
 http://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-broadband-challenge-use-it/2009/02/06/1905

Wanted: Broadband and Broader Minds  (See the Navajo Youth Chocolate Success Story)
 http://www.dailyyonder.com/wanted-broadband-and-broader-minds 

What's Broadband Done for You, Lately? A Primer on What IS Broadband.
http://www.dailyyonder.com/whats-broadband-done-you-lately/2009/03/31/2033

Recent Presentations and Events Updated October 2013


Chicago, Illinois, November 5, 2013, presented on ConnectEd and Distance Learning at the Broadband Communities Economic Development conference in Tinley Park for the Rural Telecom Congress.

Dallas, Texas, April 2013, Attended National Broadband Communities conference, presented for the Rural Telecommunication Congress

Alaska and North Carolina; Feb-April 2013,  I provided unique digital literacy workshops for two NTIA State Broadband Initiative Research projects, the Digitizing Alaska; Broadband Strategies pilot project; with a series of 2-3 workshops in two Alaskan Native Villages, Metlakatla, and Chevak, and the LITE-UP research project wit two workshops each in both rural Wilksboro, and urban, Durham, North Carolina. I enjoyed 40 flights from the Bering Sea to the Atlantic, and back again, twice, plus presenting at the National Broadband Communities conference in Dallas. A few short videos from the Digitizing Alaska research project might be compelling to watch; http://lone-eagles.com/digitizing-metlakatla.htm  

Dallas, Texas, April 2012, Broadband Communities conference, organized a panel of presentations, and presented, for the Rural Telecommunications Congress

Juneau, Alaska, November 2012, met with Bob Whicker and Steve Nelson of the Alaska Association of School Board's Consortium for Digital Learning to plan the Digitizing Alaska pilot project.

Las Vegas, New Mexico, April 2012, presented for the New Mexico Rural Alliance,

Juneau, Alaska, January, 2012, attended Association for Native Americans training, met with Tlingit-Haida Central Council and SE Conference Economic Development leadership, and the director of the Alaska Association of School Board's Consortium for Digital Learning.

Raleigh, North Carolina, November, 2011, presented for Rural Telecom Congress and attended a full day meeting of a dozen University extension faculty. Met with The NC Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

October 2011-January, 2012, Created three new online courses for the Alaska Staff Development Network; "Social Media for Educators," "Teaching Effectively Online," and "21st Century Workforce Readiness." http://lone-eagles.com/guides.htm

Great Falls, Montana, October, 2011, Presented for the Rural Dynamics conference on Rural and Indigenous Ecommerce and Telework Strategies

August- October 2011, Consulted for the Chicago, Illinois, GetSeniorsOnline BTOP project on distance learning best practices, reviewing BTOP grantees' innovations, and identifying funding opportunities.

Dallas, Texas, April 2011, Presented for the Broadband Properties conference on "Mapping the Future"
www.bbpmag.com

Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands, February, 2011, Advised for the VI Next Generation Network project.

Snowbird, Utah, December 2010, Attended a "Tablets and Digital Storytelling" Thinktank hosted by the Dallas Morning News.

Mesa, Arizona, November 2010 Presented for the Rural Telecommunications Congress on "Collaborative Engagement"
http://ruraltelecon.org

Summer 2010, consulted for the Montana's Rocky Mountain Supercomputer Center on rural entrepreneurship, and funding options.

Summer 2010, Butte, Montana, Attended Senator Baucus's Economic Summit,
                      Kalispell, Montana Senator Tester's Small Business Conference,
                      Kalispell, Montana the Governor's Forum on Adult Credentialing

Maui, Hawaii, April 2010, Presented for Maui Community Television a one hour presentation on Aloha-Enabled Broadband

Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2010,
 Presented for the Papakolea Native Hawaiian Community Center http://www.papakolea.org 

Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2010, Presented for the International Pacific Rim Disabilities Conference

Honolulu, Hawaii,December 2009, April 2010:  Three weeks in Hawaii working with Hawaii Centers for Independent Living.
Related writings and resources:
http://lone-eagles.com/hcil-resources.htm  Favorite document: http://lone-eagles.com/hcil-campaign.htm 

Spring and Summer 2009: Grantwriting for rural broadband and training for 43 Alaskan Native Villages (Tanana Chiefs Conference) 

Alaskan Healthy Village Sustainable Broadband Program
Executive Summary http://lone-eagles.com/healthy-village-summary.htm

         Healthy Village National Broadband Campaign
          http://lone-eagles.com/healthy-village-campaign.htm

Sacramento, California June 2009 - Presented for Intertribal Council of California (ITCC) on the National Native Network model

Bellingham, Washington, June 2009 - Met with leadership of Lummi Nation to discuss potential rural broadband partnerships.

Reno, Nevada, May 2009 - Presented for ATNI (Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians) with Fletcher Brown regarding the National Native Network http://lone-eagles.com/nationalnativenetwork.htm 

Portland, Oregon, May 2009 - Attended ONABEN - Trading at the River Native American conference.

Missoula, Montana, April 2009 - Presented for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) committee of AIHEC - American Indian Higher Education Consortium, along with Earl Dodd, Director of Rocky Mountain Supercomputer Centers, INC. http://www.rmscinc.org

Missoula, Montana - April 2009 - Attended Montana Indian Business Alliance conference www.miba.org 

February 20, 2009, Vancouver, British Columbia, presented for First Nations ICT Summit
www.ictsummit.ca www.fntc.info
The History and Future of Grassroots ICT Socio-economic Capacity Building
Description:
President Obama's expertise with social media as demonstrated during his campaign will now be applied toward community service, civic participation, community education, and stimulating innovation at all levels in America. Rural broadband training innovations toward teaching global citizenship, global service learning, and opportunities for educating youth to create micromultinationals have already begun. This session will review lessons learned from the history of U.S. grassroots organizations for community technology centers, community networks and will address the latest trends in use of social media for measurable socio-economic capacity-building. Lone Eagle's published responses to challenges as to whether rural broadband can produce jobs: The Rural Broadband Challenge: Use It - E-commerce successes in rural Montana http://matr.net/article-32886.html
Health I.T, Rural Broadband, and Common Sense
http://lone-eagles.com/natoahealthodasz.pdf 
Lone Eagle 2009 Update
http://lone-eagles.com/update2009.htm

Anchorage, Alaska January 2009 - Created Video promos for the 21st Century Learn, Earn, and Serve Academy http://lone-eagles.com/workforce101.htm    Funded by the Alaska Dept of Labor, in partnership with KACN TV, this 21st Century Workforce Basics course was designed to use social media to be motivating for Alaskan Native High School dropouts.

July 17th, 2008 , Salt Lake City, Lone Eagle presented for the FCC Indian Training Institute conference on broadband training best practices. Resource handouts for Native Youth E-entrepreneurship are http://lone-eagles.com/fcc2008.htm and Lone Eagle Rural Innovation Resources http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm  A vision paper for the American Indian Higher Education Council was shared http://lone-eagles.com/aihec.htm

June 11, 2008, Washington, DC, Participated in Health Information Technology Advocacy Day
( www.himss.org/advocacy ) Met with MT Senators Baucus and Tester to discuss my letter to the MT Governor suggesting a Rural Ecommerce and Telework Support Network ( http://lone-eagles.com/support-montanans.htm  ) and to propose hosting a conference "Why Broadband" focused on Montanan ecommerce and telework success stories.  Senator Baucus has since expressed interest in planning such an event.

Attended a meeting with Native Affairs directors from SBA, USDA, and FCC to discuss an online clearinghouse for broadband training best practices. Met with the program director of www.connectednation.org which has an E-communities leadership model with grassroots broadband awareness and adoption campaigns. Their online reports are well worth a review. The recent FCC 20 billion dollar spectrum auction is anticipated to result in major new rural broadband roll-outs by major telcos, soon.

Met with Amy Borgstrom, Associate Director of Policy, AmeriCorps State and National, and reviewed grants for the Corporation for National and Community Service www.cns.gov  for their Higher Education Social Media Service Learning RFP.

Here are a few Lone Eagle Update bullets:

July 30, 2008, completed a 3 credit graduate course for NMSU/CEL "Web 2.0 for K12 Classrooms."

If you'd like to explore my new online course - go to http://reta.nmsu.edu/moodle and login in as ID: franko  PSWD: moodle1  and scroll down to "Web 2.0 for K12 Classrooms."  It covers social media basics; blogs, wikis, podcasting, social networking, widgets, and many multimedia formats. The lesson text for lessons 11 and 12 addresses global themes related to poverty reduction, teaching entrepreneurship in primary grades to grow a global entrepreneurial culture in 5-10 years, and the commercialization of online learning. In short; how we'll learn to earn, online as part of a global information society and economy.

But what I REALLY want to do is create a similar online course focused on Global Citizenship incorporating E-workforce, civil society, and meaningful participation in the Global Information society and economy...for learners of all ages - short and to the point, supported by rich media with options for direct engagement and participation as a train-the-trainers program to build local socio-economic capacity. Growing a business brokering the best peer-generated short instructional media modules would be a win-win for creative individuals and communities hoping to engage the majority of citizens.

July 18th, 2008, Met with Idaho State University's College of Technology Workforce Training Office to discuss creating online webinars and courses for their Fall 2008 launch of an online Ecommerce Institute.

In the past few weeks, Governors of NM and AK have passed state telework bills, and AK Senator Stevens has allocated a million for Native Ecommerce program development. The prices of oil and food are impacting rural sustainability and addressing the potential role of broadband as a partial solution is suddenly a key issue.

March 22-24, Tokyo, Japan, Presenting on Global Best Practices for ICT Capacity-building Activities for Rural Communities for the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications Working Group

 Links to the formal final paper by Lone Eagle Consulting:

 Global Best Practices for ICT Capacity-building Activities for Rural Communities
 Online at http://lone-eagles.com/social-engineering.htm and
 as a WORD 2003 doc at http://lone-eagles.com/social-engineering.doc

Wyoming's Big Horn Basin RC&D Ecommerce project and Montanan Ecommerce success stories were featured in Tokyo recently where 21 nations came together to share best practices for rural community socio-economic capacity-building using broadband. Details and resources are at http://lone-eagles.com/tokyo-report.htm

The APECTEL conference goals are described at http://lone-eagles.com/apec-conference.htm

January 29th, 2008, Billings, Montana, Native Youth Entrepreneurship Meeting hosted by the Montana Indian Business Alliance www.mibaonline.org   A few related Lone Eagle Resources shared are below.

Native Youth Digital Indianpreneurship
Creating a Cultural Shift Toward Sustainable Sovereignty
http://lone-eagles.com/indianpreneurship.htm

A letter to Gov. Schweitzer recommending creation of a rural ecommerce and telework support network for Montanans
http://lone-eagles.com/support-montanans2.htm

Good questions for Montana Regarding Rural Broadband Applications
 http://lone-eagles.com/montana.htm

January 16-20, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Worked with New Mexico State University regarding professional work contract to develop state-of-the-art online courses for faculty, K12 educators, and citizens. I'll be co-teaching a course for the Online Teaching and Learning Certification program at http://nmsu-otlc.pbwiki.com

January 13-16, Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Presented for the Western States Resource, Conservation and Development conference on the Wyoming Rural Ecommerce project
http://lone-eagles.com/wyomingrcdproject.htm
Future presentations were requested for the next Western States RC&D conference as well as the National RC&D conference.

December 10-14th, Basin, Worland, Thermopolis, Casper, Wyoming. Participated in planning meetings regarding the Wyoming Rural Ecommerce project http://lone-eagles.com/wyomingrcdproject.htm  Met with the Thermopolis Heritage Center planning committee regarding a $30 million dollar state parks project to address their Ecommerce component. Met with Wyoming USDA leadership to discuss funding options.

September, October, November, Wolf Point, Montana - Fort Peck Tribal Community Ecommerce Incubator Training - Three one-week train-the-trainer visitations with presentations for many different groups. Using Lone Eagle's online grant templates, $51,000 was received from RBEG for the grant at http://lone-eagles.com/fort-peck.htm  A web-raising for Native youth at the Alternative school created ecommerce websites listed at http://lone-eagles.com/ecommerce-successes.htm  We used the Lone Eagle tutorial at http://lone-eagles.com/tutorial.htm  Elders' flipalbums were created using the tutorial and software at http://lone-eagles.com/flipalbumtutorial.htm

August 7, 2007, Albuquerque, New Mexico Keynote for the the Digital Pathways conference on Native    American Distance Learning http://distance.nmsu.edu:16080/digital_pathways/2007_conference/index.html

The Digital Pathways Project:
A Native American Distance Learning project providing college degrees to Native American youth for local employment without having to leave the local community.  http://distance.nmsu.edu:16080/digital_pathways/index.html

A Digital Pathways Web Tour (Keynote Handout)
http://lone-eagles.com/pathways.htm

July 10, 2007, Fort Washakie, Wyoming, presented proposal to the Big Horn Basin RC&D for a statewide rural ecommerce and telework project which was accepted. Background at http://lone-eagles.com/wyrcd.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/ruralbroadband.htm  Met with Ren Freeman  to discuss role of technology for the proposed Eastern Shoshone Heritage Center and with Scottie Ratliffe to discuss youth entrepreneurship for at-risk Native youth on the Wind River Reservation. 

June 10, 2007 Thermopolis, Wyoming, Presented Keynote for Wyoming Resource, Conservation, and Development Councils on Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies. CEO of www.eleutian.com presented a special evening session on Wyoming rural telework. Eleutian's goal is to train 20,000 rural teleworkers to teach English to Asians over the next four years and expand exponentially thereafter.

May 13-15, 2007 Washington DC, Participated in Health Information Technology Day. Joined 450 persons from 40+ states storming Capitol Hill. I personally visited the offices of congresspersons representing the three states with the three highest suicide rates: Wyoming #1, Alaska #2, Montana #3.   www.himss.org  www.hitchampions.org

May 9-11, Cody, Wyoming, Attended the joint Montana Wyoming Economic Development Conference to share
online and printed resources for rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies

April 30, 2007, Butte, Montana, Attended the Senator Baucus Economic Summit. Many keynotes referenced the relevance of telework for rural Montanans. Montana's biggest I.T. success story is www.rightnow.com employing 700 Montanans.

April 25, 2007, Great Falls, Montana, Presented keynote for Montana Indian Business Alliance www.mibaonline.org on Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies. Keynote was followed by special presentation by Governor Brian Schweitzer.

April 24, 2007, Fort Belknap, Montana, Presented Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies as part of a Small Business Administration program hosted by www.ncaied.org National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.

April 10, 2007, Ethete, Wyoming, Attended the Wind River Tribal Business Conference to share
online and printed resources for rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies.

March 2-10th, 2007, Antigua, Guatemala. Co-facilitated the founding of the The Indigenous Commission for Communications Technologies in the Americas http://www.iccta-citca.org/ENG/home.html  Trip report at http://lone-eagles.com/guatemala.htm

February 12, 2007, Helena, Montana, Presented Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies for the Montana Association of Counties (MACO) Economic Development committee 
Handout: http://lone-eagles.com/maco.htm

December 4-8th, San Antonio, Texas, Presented the following two presentations for the National Conference of State Legislatures educational technology committee. Handout http://lone-eagles.com/ncsl.htm

Using Technology to Inform and Support Teachers
Presentation Description:

Frank Odasz, president of Lone Eagle Consulting, will share his 20 years experience mentoring educators online. While the evolution of new technologies has accelerated, many of the human aspects of online mentoring have remained the same. This presentation will share lessons learned with online mentoring, and will address the importance of supporting teachers as innovators - if they are to produce students who can help the U.S. lead in global competitiveness. Trends in broadband distance learning related science, math, and technology education will be addressed.
Lone Eagle Resources http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm 
 
Educating Native American, Alaskan, and Hawaiian Students
Presentation Description:

Narrowing the achievement gap for indigenous students requires addressing basic motivation in a community and cultural context as well as leveraging students innate interest in the new digital communications mediums. This presentation will address applying constructivist concepts, where students are in charge of building their own knowledge, with new models for project-based learning and international multiclassroom projects. Alaskan Native and International Indigenous broadband applications will be addressed. Presenter Frank Odasz, Lone Eagle Consulting, http://lone-eagles.com

November 14-16, 2006, Polson, Montana - Received training in state-of-the-art distance learning tools associated with 100 Alaskan Native villages. Registered with 8a program and certified contractor.

November 9-10, 2006 Plummer, Idaho, Presented two-day youth multimedia workshop for the Coeur d'Alene tribe in their new million dollar community information technology center. Resource handout http://lone-eagles.com/workshop.htm 

October 27-29, 2006, Seattle, Washington, Met with Northwest American Indian Development www.nwaid.org to discuss call centers, Native American IPTV, and much more.

October 16-20, 2006, New York, New York, Many meetings associated with:
         American Indian Sourcing                                  www.AmericanIndianSourcing.com
         AmericanIndianTV                                            www.AmericanIndianTV.com

August 27-30, 2006 Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Alaska, hosted meetings between a major telecommunications company and three Alaskan Native corporations. Developed ORCA - Outsourcing Readiness Capability Assessment http://lone-eagles.com/orca.htm

July 6-7, 2006, Anchorage, Alaska, Presented at the Alaska Federation of Natives Leadership Forum conference "Native Internet Empowerment and Rural Ecommerce."
Resources handout at
http://lone-eagles.com/afn-resources.htm

June 19-23, 2006, Koyukuk, Alaska, Attended the Denakkanaaga Youth and Elders conference. Created a flipalbum CDROM with 135 narrated historical photos working with Angela Huntington.

June 13st, 2006 Dillon, Montana,  7:00pm-10pm Montana Choice project presentation: "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want"

May 18th, 2006 Phillipsburg, Montana 6pm-8pm Montana Choice project presentation: "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want"

May 17th, 2006 Superior, Montana,  1:30pm-4:30pm and 7:00pm-10pm Montana Choice project presentation: "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want"

May 5, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Keynote for Manitoba Distance Learning Conference
"The Power of All of Us"
http://www.madlat.ca/conference2006/ 
As costs for communications technologies continue to drop and the technologies become smaller and more powerful, our opportunities to connect everyone, everywhere in meaningful collaborations gathering and sharing that new knowledge which creates new opportunities are increasing dramatically.  Questions arise as to which technologies and training can most quickly empower those most in need. The answers will continue to change as the technologies and best training methods evolve - which requires we all work together to keep us all up to the same instant of progress.  For the first time in human history, each of us will have the opportunity to learn, and teach, anything we wish  - online, and to become both learner and teacher, both consumer and producer, anywhere, anytime. The implications for educational reform are profound. Awareness is rising worldwide - that if we learn to share what we know, we'll all have access to all our knowledge.  After this presentation you will be armed with rich self-directed learning resources including rural community Internet economic development resources, community action plans, community grant templates, and step-by-step online lessons for generating local entry-level web-based self-employment and ecommerce opportunities.

April 25-26, 2006, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Presenting for APEC-TEL (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group) on Indigenous Broadband Applications
Details at
www.apectel33.ca  Presenting for the Telecom Working Group will be addressing indigenous broadband applications: http://www.apectelwg.org     (23+ pacific rim countries attending)

An Executive Overview of the BEST Rural Indigenous Broadband Applications
Frank Odasz, President, Lone Eagle Consulting (USA)

Abstract
: “Build it and they will come” has proved to be a “field of dreams.” Rural and indigenous communities with new broadband access are now dealing with the socio-cultural challenges of implementing the best possible applications. Future strategies will require genuine community buy-in, and new metrics for success such as peer-mediated skills transfer, citizen inclusion strategies, citizen-generated content, social, and entrepreneurial capacity-building, and effective methods for “content management” to keep multiple communities up to the same “instant of progress” in a world of accelerating change.

April 21, 2006, Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada,  "Strengthening the Links Between Our Communities" Conference www.bcruralsummit.ca   Two two-hour sessions:

1. "E-Commerce and Rural Community Opportunities -
    Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want"
2. "Creating People-Centered Community Knowledge Networks -
     Promising Practices for developing rural leadership strategies to initiate wide spread community
     skills transfer"

        April 18, 19, 2006 For the Alaskan House of Representatives Education Committee. The full hour presentation on the
          Whole Village Project  was televised statewide on "Gavel to Gavel"  and April 19th a similar presentation was given to the Senate Education
          and Health committee.

The Whole Village Project; Healthy Alaskan Villages  -  Abstract
The Whole Village project is a bold plan to dramatically improve K12 educational achievement for at-risk Alaskan Native youth while creating an entrepreneurial culture in currently failing schools by integrating youth entrepreneurship with an Individualized Learning Plan Web-Based model based on Galena’s educational achievement successes. (From 20% to 80% average improvements on required federal tests).
         A state-of-the-art Content Management System using new satellite Internet access technologies and site-based high speed caching servers will allow home-based wireless access to exceptional and volumous content for the following seven areas essential to a healthy village 1. Safety 2.Health 3.Education 4.Enterpreneurship/Ecommerce 6.Social Services 7.Culture 8.Government 9.Entertainment.
        Over two years, working simultaneously in three pilot communities in each of three regions (YSKD, LKSD, SEAK) a proof-of-concept planning phase will demonstrate the potential for statewide replication. Community buy-in and widespread multigenerational participation will be demonstrated along with web-based cultural expression and digital storytelling. Educational and technology required achievement standards will be met and exceeded and students will be able to stay current with their work when gone from the school through online learning and mentorship.
        Four million in funding has been requested for a two-year planning and pilot phase. A recent one-hour presentation to the House Education Committee was televised on “Gavel to Gavel.”Other recent presentations have been given for the Senate HESS committee, Bill Allen/USDA, and the Alberta Alaska Bilateral Council.
Whole Village Partners are:
1. Alyeska World Wide,
home-based and school-based instruction
2. Carl Rose – Alaska School Board Association
3. TAMSCO Corporation (
recently installed 54 village satellite systems for YKHC and has a new contract with Tanana Chiefs Conference for 45 villages)  www.tamsco.com  Fletcher Brown fbrown@tamsco.com
4. Lone Eagle Consulting, (Frank Odasz provided the first Internet workshops for YKSD beginning in 1997 and has taught 0nline graduate courses for Alaskan Educators via APU/ASDN since 1998. He provides Rural Ecommerce online training, and extensive information in use of Internet for cultural expression and sustainability,)
 http://lone-eagles.com Frank Odasz frank@lone-eagles.com 
5. The Alaskan Manufacturing Extension Partnership (18 Village Ecommerce centers created with 24 more due Fall 2006) www.ak-mep.org Eric Downey eric@ak-mep.org
6.
KATH-TV (TV stations in Sitka and Juneau, "Dan Etulain" danetulain@gmail.com
For more information contact "Kerry Boyd" <kboyd@yksd.com>

       March 27- April 1, 2006, Anchorage, Hooper Bay, and Anvik, Alaska,
        Presenting and planning for/with the Alaska        
        Manufacturing Extension Partnership
www.ak-mep.org

        March 23-24, Juneau, Alaska, Presenting for the Alaska Albert Bilateral Council's Aboriginal Issues and Opportunities
        Working Group - co-chaired by Senator Fred Dyson.

March 21, 2006, Pocatello, Idaho, for the Northwest Area Foundation Economic Summit www.easternidahoproperity.org   
"Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs with Ecommerce Support Systems"      The Internet has unleashed an explosion of entrepreneurial creativity worldwide. We have the opportunity to build on the best successes, as they emerge, from global sources. Because rural entrepreneurs are limited by the size of the local consumer base their level of success increasingly depends on their ability to market to the one billion consumers on the Internet, with another six billion coming. This session will present online Ecommerce and Telework curriculum resulting from years of USDA and USDOL demonstration projects, including rural community action plans for raising local ecommerce awareness and strategies for generating local ecommerce support systems. New easy-to-learn, low-cost rural Ecommerce tools and techniques have dramatically enhanced what’s possible for rural Entrepreneurs.

March 16, 2006, Helena, Montana, Presentation: "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want"  Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want
            Learn about the Ecommerce and Telework Strategies developed by
                 the Montana Choice Demonstration Project (USDOL)
The Montana Choice customized employment project provides new choices for entry-level web-based self-employment training to individuals with disabilities and all rural citizens. The Internet has unleashed a global explosion of entrepreneurial creativity world wide. This presentation will directly address opportunities for rural Montanans. Resources and more information are at http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm
        After attending this presentation you’ll be armed with rich rural community Internet economic development resources, including community action plans, community grant templates, and step-by-step online lessons for generating local entry-level web-based self-employment and ecommerce opportunities.
       With the federal budget eliminating and/or dramatically reducing rural community development support funding, the questions that demand good answers are “What’s the best a rural community can do for itself leveraging local resources to support local economic development, ecommerce, and telework?”

        March 15, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Presentation for Industry Canada on Ecommerce and Rural Community 
        Access Points (CAPs)
for James Fulcher, Director of Policy, Information Highway Branch, Industry Canada

        March 14, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Aboriginal Women's Entrepreneurship Roundtable -
        participated in full day of discussions. Sponsored by Aboriginal Women of Canada
www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca

        March 13, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - 2006 Aboriginal Connectivity and E-Services Forum "Sustainable        
        Connectivity as an Engine for Social and Economic Growth.
www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca

        February 23-26, 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Four presentations for the
        First Nations Summit and Pacific Community Networking Assoc. Conference  Schedule and
        details at www.2006summit.ca

1. Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs with Ecommerce Support Systems   The Internet has unleashed an explosion of entrepreneurial creativity worldwide. We have the opportunity to build on the best successes, as they continue to evolve, from global sources. Because rural entrepreneurs are limited by the size of the local consumer base, their level of success increasingly depends on their ability to market to the one billion consumers on the Internet, noting another six billion will be coming online over the next decade. This session will present online Ecommerce and Telework curriculum resulting from years of U.S. federal demonstration projects, including rural community action plans for raising local ecommerce awareness and strategies for generating local ecommerce support systems. New easy-to-learn, low-cost rural Ecommerce tools and techniques have dramatically enhanced what’s possible for rural Entrepreneurs. Preview Lone Eagle Resources at http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm  

2. An Executive Overview on the BEST Rural Broadband Applications   “Build it and they will come” has indeed proved to be a “field of dreams.” Rural communities with new broadband access are now dealing with the socio-cultural challenges of implementing the best possible applications. Building on lessons learned from the last ten years of community technology innovations in Canada and the U.S., this non-technical session for foundation, regional, and local program directors will discuss strategies for designing ideal programs for the next 10 years. We’ve learned that success has more to do with creating meaningful learning relationships than it does with focusing on technology. Future strategies will require genuine community buy-in, and new metrics for success such as peer-mediated skills transfer, citizen inclusion strategies, citizen-generated content, social, and entrepreneurial capacity-building, and effective methods for “content management” to keep multiple communities up to the same “instant of progress” in a world of accelerating change. Preview Lone Eagle Resources at http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm  

3. Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture in Alaskan Native Villages
Given the very best state-of-the-art satellite and wireless infrastructure, what’s the best scalable fast-track implementation program possible to kick start high-level social, economic, and cultural sustainability in struggling Alaskan Native villages? This session will present a project strategy to integrate effective online K12 learning for at-risk Native youth with youth ecommerce entrepreneurship, community Internet learning programs, and multigenerational cultural digital storytelling. Preview Lone Eagle Resources at http://lone-eagles.com/future-proofing.htm  

4. Join us for a Ecommerce Entrepreneurship Web-Raising!  All attendees will create a Free Ecommerce Web Site and Learn About Affiliate Programs, E-marketing, and new opportunities  Join us for a model “Web-Raising” which you can conduct in your community to grow the understanding for how anyone can get started with entry-level Ecommerce Entrepreneurship. (Computer lab with quality Internet access and at least one hour are required.)

February 10, 2006, Bozeman, MT, Presenting a half-day Ecommerce Train-the-Trainers workshop for Montana's Small Business Development Center Directors

February 9, 2006, Livingston, MT, Presentation: "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want"

January 26, 2006, Juneau, Alaska, Presentation for the Denali Commission, "Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture in Alaskan Native Villages"  Co-presenters were Carl Knudsen, Kerry Boyd, and Fletcher Brown.

January 18-19, 2006, Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska, Presentation: "Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture in Alaskan Native Villages" Presented for Alaska's USDA director Bill Allen, Rasmuson Foundation Program Director Helen Howarth, and Senator Gary Wilkins

Dec. 14-16, 2005, Browning, MT, Web-raising Workshops
Two three-hour workshops were delivered in partnership with the Browning Community College. Due to 600 persons from the community of 1000 being in New Orleans with FEMA jobs attendance was limited to the president of the Browning Community College, his assistant and two local economic developers. The response by those attending was overwhelmingly positive and future events hosted locally are now in the planning stages.

Dec. 4-6, 2005, Helena, MT  - Virtual Entrepreneurship Presentations for the Montana Independent Telecom. Systems Conference Two 1.25 hour presentations on Virtual Entrepreneurship and the Montana Choice project were delivered for the Montana Independent Telecommunications Systems conference. A total of 50 persons attended. The opportunity for Montana’s private telecommunications providers to promote rural Ecommerce using the Montana Choice resources and process while growing their rural market for broadband services was explicit and well received. Vision-net, a 125 station 2-way video distance learning system could be used to disseminate Montana Choice presentations.

Nov. 23, 2005, Great Falls, MT  – Partnership Meeting at the College of Technology
At the suggestion of Evan Barrett, Montana's director of economic development, a three-hour meeting was held to explore partnership opportunities with Dr. Cindy Kittredge, Director of the Creative Arts Enterprises, a project to help Montanan artists and crafts-persons create viable businesses. Also in attendance was Joe Schaffer, Director of Community Outreach. And Ron Ridesatthedoore, the Montana Choice representative from Cutbank and the Blackfeet Nation. Also attending were multimedia professionals from Skylarkdvd.com in Glasgow;  Barry Chalmers and Jeff Meyers. Representing the Montana Independent Telecommunications Systems organization (private telecommunications companies who have brought broadband to much of rural Montana); Bonnie Lorang, Director of Governmental Affairs and Mike Strand, CEO of the Montana Independent Telecommunications Systems. Representing the Governor’s office of economic opportunity and Native American economic development was Major Robinson.

Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2005, Mexico City, Mexico,  A keynote presentation for an International ICT for Indigenous ICT communities conference Travel expenses were paid for by the Microsoft Telecenter Support Network www.telecentre.org  Montana Choice resources and processes were shared and were received with much enthusiasm. An invitation was extended to present a train-the-trainers workshop for Mexican rural telecenter directors as well as expressions of interest by other International organizations and businesses. The event was sponsored by the International Telecommunications Union and govt. agencies from a dozen countries.
Keynote: Echoes in the Electronic Wind:
 Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Innovations
 Learn about specific models for Native Community Internet Empowerment
 Action Plans, including grant templates concerning fast-track Internet
 awareness raising, citizen engagement events, efficient community Internet
 learning curriculum and entry-level Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies.

Oct. 24-27, 2005, Vancouver, BC,  Rural Networkers' “Train-the Trainers” workshop for Industry Canada
International interest has been demonstrated by the invitation for Frank Odasz, president of Lone Eagle Consulting and online trainer for Montana Choice, to present a full day workshop for 22 network coordinators from British Columbia and the Yukon in charge of 600 community technology centers.

Members of Industry Canada are specifically interested in learning how the Montana Choice process can become part of a new national strategy for engaging rural communities in ecommerce adoption and applications. The national leader for the rural community technology center program flew in to attend the workshop. 8800 rural centers were created over the last ten years and half have closed once government funded ended. The intended Ecommerce training never materialized and strategies for the next ten years are under review. Details at http://lone-eagles.com/network-coordinators-meeting.htm See also background details written prior to an audio-conference presentation on “Montana Choice” for Industry Canada planners 06/15/2005 at http://lone-eagles.com/industry-canada-talk.htm  First Nations of Canada were represented and discussions are ongoing for multiple international indigenous ICT coordination projects.

October 18th, 2005, Glasgow, MT, Web-Raising Workshop  
Presented for 21 citizens a three-hour “Web-Raising” Workshop at the Glasgow HS computer lab. Public service announcements aired on the radio and articles appeared in the local papers. A notice was posted on the Glasgow community calendar website.

October 17th, 2005, Malta, MT, Presentation for Malta Chamber Luncheon
Presented for Malta Chamber Luncheon (20 minutes for 20 attendees).An extended conversation with Ann Boothe, a key regional economic development leader discussed Malta as a potential pilot project funded by the state as well as discussion on additional grant opportunities.

October 17th, 2005, Malta, MT Web-Raising Workshop
Presented a three-hour “Web-Raising Workshop” for 18 community members at the Malta HS Computer lab, 5-8pm. Public service announcements aired on the radio and articles appeared in the local papers.

October 5, 2005, Helena, MT, Presentation for the Governor's Economic Development Committee Director and members
The “Montana Choice” model was presented (one-hour) to Montana’s top economic development leader, Evan Barrett, and the Governor’s committee for economic development. Interest in creating three state-funded rural community pilot projects was expressed in addition to interest in involving Montana’s VISTA volunteers and various community service projects.  Specific suggestions on what the state of Montana can do to continue the necessary work of the Montana Choice project are at http://lone-eagles.com/montana-suggestions.htm Also shared were examples of Montana’s ecommerce success stories http://lone-eagles.com/montana-successes.htm and the Montana Choice community action plan/process http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm

October 4, 2005, Helena, MT, Presentation for the Small Business Development Director
The “Montana Choice” model was presented (two-hours) to the director of Montana’s Small Business Development centers, Ann Desch and Philip Belangie, their entrepreneurship trainer. A high level of interest was shown with the intent to explore how Montana’s ten SBDC coordinators and offices can get involved. An invitation to present Montana Choice at the annual SBDC coordinators meeting was extended. Specific suggestions on what the state of Montana can do to continue the necessary work of the Montana Choice project are at http://lone-eagles.com/montana-suggestions.htm Also shared were examples of Montana’s ecommerce success stories http://lone-eagles.com/montana-successes.htm and the Montana Choice community action plan/process http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm

Sept. 21st. 2005, Belgrade, MT, Web-Raising Workshop
Presented
for 12 community leaders from 4-6:30pm at the Belgrade one-stop office. The Mayor of Manhattan was particularly interested in planning a local “Montana Choice” presentation and his staff sent a thank-you note saying they have formed a local ecommerce committee and the Montana Choice presentation was just what they needed to get started.  That same evening another presentation was delivered for 4 vendors from http://montanafarmersmarket.com 7-9pm, also at the Belgrade one-stop. Resources related to the presentation including Montana ecommerce success stories are at http://lone-eagles.com/belgrade.htm

Sept. 22, 2005, Stanford, MT, Web-Raising Workshop
P
resented at Stanford High School in Stanford, MT 12-3pm for ten persons. A local teacher involved with adult education was particularly interested in the use of Montana Choice curriculum resources.

Sept. 22nd, 2005, Winnett, MT  Historic Web-Raising Workshop
A community web-raiser event was held, and after a 1-1/2 hour presentation... 30 adult attendees created 17 free ecommerce sites...in only 45 minutes.  After this initial ecommerce awareness event everyone can now continue to develop their own free password-protected ecommerce web sites. The attendees also created a community website and posted their beginning ecommerce sites at http://winnett-webraiser.tripod.com

The significance of this event is presented in an article sent to Federal leaders at USDOL and USDOC http://lone-eagles.com/saci.htm as related directly to needed national strategies for the new federal community development initiative “Strengthening America’s Communities.”

September 17, 2005, Statewide Radio Program Interview
The Montana Choice project was featured on the only statewide radio talk show in Montana broadcast through 18 radio stations “Berg in the Morning.”  Host Dave Berg expressed interested in hosting another hour-long interview soon based on the relevant themes and demonstrated widespread interest. http://northernbroadcasting.com
The interview was available via Internet for one week after the broadcast and has been saved – for anyone interested.

August 31-September 2nd, 2005, Boston, MA, CTC VISTA Project
Frank Odasz presented at the University of Mass., Boston,  for VISTA volunteers associated with the Community Technology Centers VISTA project on their potential use of Lone Eagle Resources and Montana Choice processes in their respective communities across the nation. The “Montana Choice” project and process is now being shared with VISTA volunteers across the U.S..  Frank Odasz is the national priority topic resource coordinator for community networking and wireless technologies for the Americorps CTC VISTA project. The CTC VISTA project is described at http://www.comtechreview.org/spring-summer-2005/000337.html 

An article written by Frank Odasz, “What is Community Networking? And Why You Should Care!” was published Oct. 2005 in the Community Technology Review www.comtechreview.org  The article is at http://www.comtechreview.org/fall-2005/000347.html  Note that this article and online publication include extensive links to other related resources for community networking, youth media, non-profit organizations and technology applications, and community organizing.

June 21st, 2005 Great Falls, Montana, Montana Workforce Conference      

Community Web-raisings - A Bootstrap Solution to Rapidly Generating New Ecommerce Businesses

Alternate title: 21st Century Workforce Development: An Introduction to eBay, Ecommerce and Telework Opportunities

This three-hour workshop session will show how easily one can create a free ecommerce web site, affiliate programs and more! We’ll present online lessons to help you learn what’s working for others like you regarding eBay, online auctions, entry-level ecommerce and telework. The first half of the workshop will present key concepts, resources, and case studies, and the second half of the workshop will be hands-on where attendees will create their own free ecommerce websites that they’ll be able to easily maintain themselves from any computer after the workshop.

After attending this workshop you’ll be armed with rich rural community Internet economic development resources, including community action plans, community grant templates, and step-by-step online lessons for generating local entry-level web-based self-employment and ecommerce opportunities.

April 28-30, 2005 Austin, Texas, Open Space Austin - National Community Networking Conference
Hosted event as board member for the Association for Community Networking www.afcn.org

April 24-26, 2005 Austin, Texas, Rural Workforce 2005,  www.tocowa.org

Future-Proofing Our Rural Communities
Promising Practices from the Montana Choice Demonstration Project
 
With the federal budget eliminating and/or dramatically reducing rural community development support funding, the questions that demand good answers are “What’s the best a rural community can do for itself leveraging local resources to support local economic development, ecommerce, and telework?” and “How can we share best practices across all rural communities efficiently and on an ongoing basis?”
http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm

The Montana Choice customized employment project provides new choices for entry-level web-based self-employment training to individuals with disabilities and all rural citizens. Promising practices will be shared for developing rural leadership strategies to initiate widespread community skills transfer using peer mentoring programs.

The Montana Choice project is providing online train-the-trainer ecommerce and telework lessons as a first online learning experience providing a hands-on overview of whats working for others like you. (Online lessons are at http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm)  Our online Virtual One-Stop model demonstrates how such networks can streamline the flow of essential information helping everyone gain new skills while staying current on national rural innovations. Self-employment Incubator
http://lone-eagles.knet.ca
 
Rural Community Technologies and 21st Century Workforce Development
An International Trend Report on the Best Models for Technologies and Training.
 
This session is designed for non-techies to provide an accurate overview on the current community technology trends in the context of projected impacts on 21st Century work-force development. http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm

What are the lessons learned from ten years of community technology centers, and community networks? The pace of change is accelerating for both the global economy and new community technologies.
In your community, what story would you like to tell about your most significant measurable outcomes regarding new skills imparted to a specific number of citizens, new self-employment businesses, new web sites for existing business, and a community telework skills registry to be co-marketed along with all local business websites?

March 29, 2005, Plummer, Idaho, Presented full day workshop for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe "Using the Internet for Cultural Sovereignty"

March 22, 23, 24, 2005 Fort Hall Reservation, American Falls, Montpelier, Idaho, Community Presentations for Idaho State University, "Profiting from the Internet"

February 24-28th, 2005, Vancouver, British Columbia, Presented for Pacific Community Networking Conference and attended First Nations Summit and Microsoft Telecentre Support Network Meeting.

I'd like to briefly summarize three very interesting CN-related conferences held in Vancouver BC, Feb. 24-28.

On Feb. 24, 100 persons attended the First Nations pre-conference with perhaps 25% being Aboriginal. British Columbia has 200 Aboriginal communities - 40 have broadband. An amazing amount of innovation has taken place, including Aboriginal Ecommerce and entrepreneurship. Various chiefs spoke on the issues of cutbacks in Govt funding and the need for more broadband in communities. Many Aboriginal ICT professionals presented their visions and ICT support businesses. Knet.ca representatives showcased their open source community networks (details and links at http://lone-eagles.com/indigenous_resources.htm)
Coming from Montana where we have 11 tribes in dire economic circumstances, it was refreshing to discover valuable resources and working models to share in Montana. Many collected links are below. One surprise was Steve Cisler showed up!  He's back online (sacisler@yahoo.com) after a year offline but states he doesn't spend as much time online as he used to.

Feb. 25-27, was the community networking conference hosted by the Pacific Community Networks Association. Folks from all over Canada and a dozen foreign countries attended. The Community Access Program started ten years ago and half a billion was spent creating 10,000 community public Internet access centers. Most are closing due to lack of continued govt. funding. Last year BC had 1000, this year, 500, and the CAP program ends after 2006. What I find interesting is Industry Canada funded these with the intent of an economic development return on investment - which never happened. My guess is no one took responsibility for providing Ecommerce training as we're beginning to explore here in Montana http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm  Canada has several major projects with similar goals, while the CAP program funded internet access and centers, the Community Learning Program funded projects.  Overall, Govt funding is disappearing, the average Canadian wage is dropping by $1/year, and no one seems to have a solution or guess as to where the future is headed.  Richard Civille, president of the Rural Telecommunications Congress, Michael Gurstein, and others advised on the upcoming AFCN Conference to be held in Austin, April 28-30. Doug Schuler presented, Max Gail attended,

It was refreshing to see hundreds of grassroots champions representing community tech centers, community networks, even dozens of small rural "information societies" which advocate for ICT benefits and projects. The almost unspoken biggest challenge however was "what do we do now and where can we learn-to-earn differently in order to adjust to a rapidly changing global economy?"

Feb. 28th was an invitation-only event hosted by Microsoft to begin the process for establishing a global Telecentre Support Network ($9 million over five years.) The Canadian International Dev. org, IDRC was asked to lead the effort and the day began with the leaders promising they were not mercenaries but good guys with the right vision and open source sentiments.  Michael Gurstein was there, Michael Miranda, Gary Shearman, Kavita from CTC, Randall Pinkett from BTC, Andrea Taylor from DDN, Sergei from Russia (CIRN member) and a dozen or more folks from Latin American countries representing various telecenter organizations.  Sergei told how scientists in Russia earn $200/month and can't pay $40/month for Internet so there are looking at BBS type local systems for $4/month (www.communities.org.ru/rcedc) .  Reminds me of the mid-eighties.  Governments in Latin America are still overtly murdering indigenous peoples as you can read on the web sites of many remote indigenous projects. Last Nov. I sent out an inquiry via the Telecentros listserv thanks to Michel Menou (from France, another CIRN member who also was at this meeting,) you can read the translated responses from 10 indigenous projects across S. America at http://lone-eagles.com/indigenous.htm   The IDRC leaders made it clear that the task is too big for any one organization to meet the challenge alone and they mentioned AFCN specifically as the type of organization Microsoft needs to partner with to help meet the need for gathering and sharing new knowledge to create new opportunities, globally.  Let's hope the channels for communications and funding open wide! The only thing that was decided was that everyone needs to know what each team member and organization has to offer to the others, and what each needs. We'll keep AFCN members posted on what happens next.

Lastly, http://cracin.ca was prominent, this is an community informatics research project funded by the govt for three years, with one year now past. AFCN advisor Michael Gurstein is involved with this and several other research enterprises.  One humorous comment shared at the close of the conference was "Research is too important to be left to the researchers."   At issue is the challenge at all levels to come up with practical advice for the future of community Internet training and applications.  The various research efforts are definitely important, with the Cracin team headed to Knet.ca headquarters to research their innovations. Knet's Brian Walmark was also at the telecenters meeting and heads the Knet internal research group http://knet.ca/research  Much discussion is taking place on how to involve citizens in action research fresh approaches.  The challenge for non-academic researchers is to consolidate lessons learned and to organize and disseminate existing resources.

Perhaps I've already gone on too long, but seeing the sheer volume of innovation, resources, and energy in Canada makes the USA's level of vision and activity seem very disappointing, in my humble opinion.
Next month, AFCN will host the "Open Space Austin" event to energize those who still believe there is a future for community networking and there is a definite opportunity to partner serious with many International projects as well as the various sectors representing community media, wireless, centers, and technologies here in the USA. Immediately prior to the AFCN Austin conference in the Rural Workforce conference where I'm presenting. Details at http://www.tocowa.org   Those attending the rural workforce conference generally have little awareness of the community networking world and the question remains "When will rural workforce and economic development folks get together with community networking and technology folks to innovate and create a serious effort toward creating a 21st century workforce??

The two days prior to the Vancouver conferences I met with 30 persons in Montana regarding the five year U.S. Dept of Labor demonstration project I've involved with. We just finished year one and are doing our best to directly address all the above issues, and I gave a link to resources in the second paragraph above.

Yesterday I quickly reviewed Bush's proposed budget cuts - which will hit rural community development programs very hard.

The bottom line is that this is more about people and how we learn to work together than it is about technology tools.
Combining caring and connectivity with common sense sounds simple enough. It is clear the future of many rural communities hangs in the balance - depending on what we all do next.

Montana Choice Project Presentations 2005:
January 19th, Browning, Montana, January 20th, Zortman, Montana, February 8, Plentywood and Glasgow, Montana, February 9, Malta and Wolf Point, Montana, February 10th, Zortman, Montana, February 22nd, Hamilton, Montana, April 14th, Fairmont Hot Springs, Nov. 22, 2004, Seeley Lake, Montana, Nov. 23, Stevensville, Montana,
Future-Proofing Our Rural Communities
Promising Practices from the Montana Choice Demonstration Project
 
With the federal budget eliminating and/or dramatically reducing rural community development support funding, the questions that demand good answers are “What’s the best a rural community can do for itself leveraging local resources to support local economic development, ecommerce, and telework?” and “How can we share best practices across all rural communities efficiently and on an ongoing basis?”
http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm

The Montana Choice customized employment project provides new choices for entry-level web-based self-employment training to individuals with disabilities and all rural citizens. Promising practices will be shared for developing rural leadership strategies to initiate widespread community skills transfer using peer mentoring programs.

The Montana Choice project is providing online train-the-trainer ecommerce and telework lessons as a first online learning experience providing a hands-on overview of whats working for others like you. (Online lessons are at http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm)  Our online Virtual One-Stop model demonstrates how such networks can streamline the flow of essential information helping everyone gain new skills while staying current on national rural innovations. http://lone-eagles.oldcolo.com

January 25-27, 2005 Sante Fe, New Mexico, Presented for the New Mexico County Commissioner's Affiliate, Mid-Winter Legistative Conference The registration material is available on-line at www.nmcounties.org

Future-Proofing Our Rural Communities
Promising Practices from the Montana Choice Demonstration Project
 
With the federal budget eliminating and/or dramatically reducing rural community development support funding, the questions that demand good answers are “What’s the best a rural community can do for itself leveraging local resources to support local economic development, ecommerce, and telework?” and “How can we share best practices across all rural communities efficiently and on an ongoing basis?”
http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice-2005.htm

The Montana Choice customized employment project provides new choices for entry-level web-based self-employment training to individuals with disabilities and all rural citizens. Promising practices will be shared for developing rural leadership strategies to initiate widespread community skills transfer using peer mentoring programs.

The Montana Choice project is providing online train-the-trainer ecommerce and telework lessons as a first online learning experience providing a hands-on overview of whats working for others like you. (Online lessons are at http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm)  Our online Virtual One-Stop model demonstrates how such networks can streamline the flow of essential information helping everyone gain new skills while staying current on national rural innovations. http://lone-eagles.oldcolo.com

November 11, 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada, The National Association of Counties Workforce Summit
( www.naco.org )
Presentation Title: People-Centered Knowledge Networks for Workforce Training
The “Montana Choice” customized employment project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy to provide new choices for entry-level web-based self-employment training to individuals with disabilities and all rural citizens. The “Montana Choice” project is providing online train-the-trainer ecommerce and telework lessons as a first online learning experience providing a hands-on overview of “what’s working for others like you.” (Online lessons are at http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm

 Promising practices will be shared for developing rural leadership strategies to initiate widespread community skills transfer to create learning communities using peer mentoring programs. Our online Virtual One-Stop model demonstrates how people-centered community knowledge networks can streamline the flow of essential information helping everyone gain new skills while staying current on national rural innovations.

 In your community, what story would you like to tell about your most significant measurable outcomes regarding new skills imparted to a specific number of citizens, new self-employment businesses, new web sites for existing business, and a community telework skills registry to be co-marketed along with all local business websites?

 Montana Choice Project Description
http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice.htm
The Montana Choice Process
http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice05.htm
Creating People-Centered Community Knowledge Networks
http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm
Montana Choice Grant Summary:
http://lone-eagles.com/MJTPChoiceProject.htm
Lone Eagle Self-employment Incubator
http://lone-eagles.knet.ca

October 11-13, 2004, Spokane, Washington, Rural Telecommunications Congress, www.ruraltelecon.org
Presentation "People-Centered Knowledge Networks for Workforce Training"
The Montana Job Training Partnership has a new $3 million dollar five-year demonstration project providing Rural Ecommerce and Telework Training as the basis for creating local low-cost community networks to grow local collaborative capacity. Learn how open source content management systems can streamline the flow of essential information in your community and serve as the basis for online Internet entrepreneurship development. Project Description: http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice.htm
Grant Summary: http://lone-eagles.com/MJTPChoiceProject.htm

October 2nd, 2004 Billings, Montana, Montana Youth Council,  
Presentation "Youth Technology Entrepreneurship Models and Resources"

Sept 15-17, 2004 Cody, Wyoming, Wyoming Association for Persons in Supported Employment
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

September 13th, 2004, Casper, Wyoming, Casper Rotary,
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

August 29-Sept. 1, Pocatello, Idaho Mobile Wireless Laptop Lab Training
Received possession of a USDA-funded laptop training lab and training to use it.

June 23rd, 2004, Great Falls, Montana, Montana First Youth Summit Conference
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

June 22nd, 2004  Browning, Montana, Browning High School,
Montana Choice, six-hour hands-on workshop for primarily Native American youth and adults creating web sites and learning what's possible for ecommerce entrepreneurship.

May 5th-6th, 2004,  Malta and Wolf Point, Montana,
Montana Choice Malta Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."  And Wolf Point, six-hour hands-on workshop creating web sites and learning what's possible for ecommerce entrepreneurship.

April 29-30, 2004, Hamilton, Montana,
Montana Choice, Community Mentors meeting and six-hour hands-on workshop creating web sites and learning what's possible for ecommerce entrepreneurship.

April, 25-27, 2004 Austin, Texas, National Rural Conference www.tocowa.org
Presentations - "People-Centered Knowledge Networks for Workforce Training"
                       "Youth Technology Entrepreneurship Models and Resources"

April 5th, 2004 Butte, Montana, Careers Office,
Montana Choice six-hour hands-on workshop creating web sites and learning what's possible for ecommerce entrepreneurship.

March 23-25, 2004 Billings, Montana, Montana/Wyoming Tribal Economic Development Summit
 Presentations - "Tribal Leadership: Indigenous Community Action Plans - How and Where to Begin"
"Echoes in the Electronic Wind: Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Innovations"
"Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want: Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies"

Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want
(Rural Internet Solutions: Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies)
Learn what's working for others using the Internet for Rural Ecommerce to sell worldwide at http://lone-eagles.com/eguide.htm. Learn how telework jobs can be brought home to your community. Learn how several tribes won multi-million dollar telework contracts with the Federal Government.  One out of ten U.S. workers is a teleworker. The easiest entry-level Ecommerce opportunity is Ebay where over 150,000 people learned to work for themselves.Over $60 million is exchanged between buyers and sellers every day, and only 4% of the potential market has been tapped. Rural citizens have opportunities to learn what's working for others via a new online course "A Beginner's Guide to Profiting from the Internet." http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm  Rural Ecommerce Success stories and the successes from two years of local events and training workshops from Montpelier, Idaho can be reviewed at http://lone-eagles.com/connect-idaho.htm

Echoes in the Electronic Wind: Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Innovations
Learn about real opportunities for Alaskan Native, Native American, and other cultural communities worldwide for cultural, social and economic empowerment through Internet applications. Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies training resources will be shared. Preview Lone Eagle Online resources: http://lone-eagles.com/village-sustainability.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/alaskan-resources.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/nativeguide.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/empowerment.htm Last year, the presenter spent 7 weeks providing Internet educational training for K12 educators in Alaskan Native villages and presented on Indigenous Internet empowerment for the governments of Jamaica and Australia.

 Tribal Leadership: Indigenous Community Action Plans - How and Where to Begin
We’ll share specific models for Native Community Action Plans, including grant templates concerning fast-track Internet awareness raising, citizen engagement events, efficient community Internet learning curriculum and Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies. Preview Lone Eagle online resources:  Tribal Leadership Empowerment Resources http://lone-eagles.com/empowerment.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/alaskan-resources.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/village-sustainability.htm

March 8-12th, 2004 Blackfoot, Montpelier, Pocatello, Idaho, 
Presentations "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

March 5-6th, 2004, Welches, Oregon, Rural Development Institute Conference "Regarding Rural" www.rdiinc.org
Presentation title "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want: Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies"

Feb. 11-13th, 2004 Browning and Cutbank, Montana
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

Feb. 9-11, 2004 Wolf Point, Plentywood, Poplar, Glasgow, Montana
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

Feb. 5th, 2004 Butte and Anaconda, Montana
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

Feb. 4th, 2004 Dillon, Montana
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

Jan. 28-29th, 2004 Stevensville, Darby, and Hamilton, Montana
Presentation "Making the Living You Want Living Wherever You Want."

Jan. 6-7, 2004, Missoula, Montana,
Participated in the INEAS advisory planning meeting. Seeking $100 million per year for 5-8 years for 127 counties across four states; Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Details at  http://www.inlandnwregion.org

Jan. 5-6, 2004, Missoula, Montana, participated in a Rural Institute training workshop for new distance learning broadband tools including PC video-conferencing, realtime applications sharing with voice-over-Internet, and co-browsing and more.

December 15-17th, 2003, Pocatello, Idaho, Received training for a new rural community network system slated to become the communications and training hub for the new MJTP grant referenced above. Preview this powerful content management system at http://lone-eagles.oldcolo.com

December 6-9th, 2003, Austin, Texas, Presented for the National Community Networking Conference and participated in the Association for Community Networking ( www.afcn.org)  board meeting as a new board member. Conference highlights are at http://lone-eagles.com/afcn4levels.htm

December 2 and 3rd, 2003, Helena, Montana  Attended first planning meeting for the new $3 million dollar five-year Montana Choices project. Lone Eagle Consulting will project online Ecommerce and Telework Training for the Montana Job Training Partnership. A grant summary is at http://lone-eagles.com/MJTPChoiceProject.htm

Homesteading the Ecommerce Frontier
The Montana Job Training Partnership, through a new five-year grant from the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy
, will be sponsoring two-hour multimedia presentations in a dozen rural communities statewide titled "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want."

This timely "Montana Choice" project addresses the needs of Montanans to understand the many ways they can earn income through Internet Ecommerce and Telework strategies. One out of ten U.S. workers today is employed through telework. Ecommerce opens a global market and can start with something as simple as Ebay, an online auction site. Our rural communities are suffering out-migration of our youth, representing the loss of our future citizens and the vitality of our rural way of life. To determine our own destinies we have the opportunity to quickly learn the rural ecommerce and telework strategies which are already working for other rural citizens.

This project is redefining workforce education by addressing systemic change and is summarized at http//lone-eagles.com/MJTPChoiceProject.htm

Everyone interested in the latest opportunities to learn to use the Internet for self-employment and entrepreneurship is invited to attend. Individuals with disabilities interested in self-employment will learn of offers for exciting free online training opportunities. K12 educators, parents, and students will find exciting opportunities for youth entrepreneurship and online learning. http//lone-eagles.com/teachercreated.htm

The workshop presenter will be Frank Odasz, President of Lone Eagle Consulting. The online course "A Beginner’s Guide to Profiting from the Internet" requires minimal computer experience. Everyone interested is invited to take this $39 online course at http//lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm. Extensive free entrepreneurial and community-building resources are available at http//lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm Native American and Alaskan Native resources are at http//lone-eagles.com/alaskan-resources.htm

Lone Eagle Consulting’s mission is to provide the very best fast track online Internet training possible for rural, remote, and indigenous learners.

http//lone-eagles.com

"The greatest freedom one can give to another is how to become a self-sufficient learner and earner, via the Internet. This site is dedicated to those who lend their wings to others."

HERE'S OUR ACTION PLAN

Measurable Outcomes and Stories to Tell Within Six Months!

Homesteading the Ecommerce Frontier
A dozen rural communities associated with the four Montana Choice project One Stops in Cutbank, Butte, Wolf Point, and Hamilton will receive motivational two-hour presentations in early February to recruit the first wave of clients interested in using the Internet for self-employment. By mid-February over fifty persons will be engaged in the ten two-hour online lessons covering an overview of ecommerce and telework possibilities and resources.

Telementoring Opportunities
In mid-April, hands-on essential Internet skills workshops will be conducted at each of the four One Stops where electronic resumes and web authoring skills will be developed. Those completing the ten Ecommerce lessons and mastering the essential skills will be invited to mentor others online to build up their online resumes with actual telementoring experience. Paid mentoring employment for the most effective mentors is one goal of the Montana Choice project.

The Montana Community-Builders Challenge
The first one or more communities with ten persons finishing the ten ecommerce lessons and the essential Internet skills workshop will be considered for continuing lessons to create a local community network where they will learn to develop community content themselves as a base for creating new income opportunities in partnership with the Lone Eagle Self-employment Incubator at http://lone-eagles.knet.ca . Pioneering people-centered knowledge networks are the means by which we’ll all have access to all our knowledge to combat information overload and to preserve our cherished rural lifestyle. Engaged in fun, social, learning, we're doing for ourselves, together!

Nov. 18-21th, 2003, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Moderated a panel on Gaps, Challenges, and Opportunities concerning rural Broadband applications for the Connect Idaho conference. The Lone Eagle Handout containing Rural Ecommerce Success stories collected through a grant from the USDA Rural Development Council and important workforce notes from the conference sessions are at http://lone-eagles.com/connect-idaho.htm

Nov. 6th, 2003, Montpelier, Idaho, Presented a six hour workshop for 100 Bear Lake District K12 Educators. Twenty signed up for the one credit online learning option. The role of K12 education in providing essential Internet and Ecommerce skills to stem the outmigration of youth in particular was emphasized.

Oct. 7-20th, 2003, Australia! First a keynote presentation in Canberra, then meetings and informal presentations in Melbourne, Alice Springs, Umuwa, Ernabella, Darwin, Halls Creek via Kununurra, Tjurabalan, Ringers Soak and Yagga Yagga.

Presentation "Upside Down Thinking - Down Under" Presented a keynote Oct. 7th for the Australian government's annual Regional Communications Forum which has promised Internet access to every community in the country. I've written a very special paper for that conference, and for the U.S. Rural Broadband conference for which Senator Burns (Montana) will keynote Sept. 28th, 03.  My paper "Authenticating Rural Internet and Broadband Benefits - A Reality Check" addresses vitally important issues related to rural Internet and broadband sustainability and is at http://lone-eagles.com/wings.htm Youth have an important role to play.

Australian Conference details at www.dcita.gov.au (See forum, then speakers)  The government then toured me around central, northern and western Australia until Oct. 20th meeting with regional government and local community leaders. I learned a lot and yes, I'm having a great time being a Lone Eagle able to live and work anywhere! All my online resources serve to lend my wings to others - for when you're ready.
The full trip report is at http://lone-eagles.com/sparks.htm

Oct. 2-3, 2003, Portland, Oregon, Advisory Committee Meeting for the Inland Northwest Economic Adjustment Strategy.
A four state strategy in the U.S. http://www.inlandnwregion.org  will propose to congress a major consortium with unique strategies for the survival of over 1000 rural communities in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Written for the upcoming Australian conference and 100% relevant to "our" issues here at home is the paper "Authenticating Rural Internet and Broadband Benefits - A Reality Check" which addresses vitally important issues related to rural Internet and broadband sustainability.
To found at http://lone-eagles.com/wings.htm    Youth have an important role to play.

June 19-20, 2003, Montpelier, Idaho - Four events in association with the new Emall at http://clovercreekmall.com   See the betasite for their new community network at http://lone-eagles.oldcolo.com  modeled after the one on Mount Everest. See the photo gallery for sherpa innovators of Namche, Nepal at 18,000 feet on the slopes of Everest. http://www.livingeverest.com

June 11-12, 2003, Great Falls, Montana, presented two workshops for the Montana Workforce Conference. I'm now a trainer for the Montana Job Training Partnership.

Presentation  The Internet as a Tool for Rural Vitality Learn how rural individuals and communities are using the Internet as a powerful business tool. Now that Dillon has high-speed wireless Internet, what do we need to know about how to turn access into opportunity? This multimedia presentation is geared toward non-technical rural citizens and will focus on local and regional success stories. No previous computer or Internet experience is required. A presentation preview is available at: http://lone-eagles.com/dillon.htm http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm http://lone-eagles.com/emalls.htm http://lone-eagles.com/academy.htm

June 10 -12, 2003, Lakeview, Oregon, presented "A Unique Community Learning Workshop for K12 Educators and Economic Developers. 

A Unique Community Internet Learning Workshop
for K12 Educators and Economic Developers

Rural communities today are facing many economic and social pressures. Thoughtful use of the Internet for education, community-building collaboration, and Ecommerce holds real potential. This one-day workshop will demonstrate specific skills, resources, and strategic action plans for educators and community developers.

Workshop Schedule

9am-10:30am   Introduction; What is the real potential of Internet: Self-directed Internet Learning, Internet’s three historical firsts for rural communities. Demonstrations of digital storytelling, digital art tablets, creating a three minute web page, and more.

10:30-10:45 Break

10:45-11:15am  Integrating classroom instruction with online instruction, project-based learning models, Webquests, and teachers’ Web-based tools and templates.

School and community networking synergies, community service and service learning, dealing with the dark side of the Internet for K12 and home Internet use.

11:15-12pm Community Internet Empowerment – the history of community networking; Awareness, Access, Ability, Applications. Community engagement activity models to create measurable outcomes, web-based content and mentoring programs, Grant-writing resources and templates.

12-1pm Lunch

1-2pm Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies – Learning what’s working for others.

2-2:30pm Trends – wireless, mobile, interconnected, implications for business at the speed of thought, K12 education, new forms of ongoing adult education

2:30-3pm Questions/Discussion.

Workshop Presenter: Frank Odasz, as Lone Eagle Consulting, specializes in fast track Internet training for remote, rural, and indigenous learners. Frank has been teaching teachers online for over 15 years and regularly presents on rural ecommerce and Internet empowerment – most recently in Alaska, Australia, and Jamaica.  Frank’s Resume is at http://lone-eagles.com/articles/frank.htm

June 3-5, 2003, Dillon, Montana, presented three two-hour presentations and three three-hour hands-on workshop in a series funded by the Montana Economic Development Association and Qwest. 

Building A Better Economy Workshop
Scheduled June 3-4-5-
Dillon, MT

May 12, 2003

2003-06-03 15:30:00
UMW Swysgood Technology Center

Building a Better Economy Workshop Scheduled June 3-4-5

Using the Internet as a Tool for Rural Vitality

The Beaverhead Development Corporation has received funding through The Montana Economic Development Association (MEDA) and Qwest for a unique series of multimedia presentations and hands-on computer workshops for local residents, businesspersons and entrepreneurs interested in the real opportunities now availability due to high speed wireless Internet access. The workshop is free if you pre-register before May 30, 2003, call 683-3758 or email fmastandrea@co.beaverhead.mt.us to register.

While most Montana communities can’t yet afford broadband Internet access, Dillon already has it. What’s at issue is what do we need to learn in order to benefit from it? Sure the economy is depressed and rural retail is going through some changes, but solutions do exist. Learn how other businesses and communities are applying new knowledge and new strategies to ride the wave instead of being swept aside by inevitable change.

The presentations and workshops will focus on who is already benefiting locally and what we can learn from rural success stories elsewhere, with fast-track hands-on workshops on the essential Ecommerce readiness skills needed to tap into new opportunities. An online course “Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies” has been specifically created for rural adults as an easy way to see what’s already working for others. The presentation and workshop series will be presented by Frank Odasz, a specialist in fast track Internet training for remote, rural, and indigenous learners, president of Lone Eagle Consulting and a Dillon resident since 1985.

Over a three-day period, three two-hour presentations, followed with three three-hour hands-on workshops, will train participants to create economic value utilizing advanced telecommunications. All presentations and workshops will be held at the University of Montana-Westerns Swysgood Technology Center, in Dillon, June 3-4-5, 2003.

Internet Rural Ecommerce Presentation Schedule

Presentation One - The Internet as a Tool for Rural Vitality
Tuesday, June 3,
1pm – 3pm at the Great Room, UMW Swysgood Technology Center Learn how rural individuals and communities are using the Internet as a powerful business tool. Now that Dillon has high-speed wireless Internet, what do we need to know about how to turn access into opportunity? This multimedia presentation is geared toward non-technical rural citizens and will focus on local and regional success stories. No previous computer or Internet experience is required.

A presentation preview is available at: http://lone-eagles.com/dillon.htm http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm http://lone-eagles.com/emalls.htm http://lone-eagles.com/academy.htm

Presentation Two - Rural Community Action Plans - How and Where to Begin
Wednesday, June 4th, 9am-11pm at the Great Room, UMW Swysgood Technology Center For community leaders and community-minded citizens we’ll share specific models for community action plans and grant templates concerning fast-track Internet awareness raising, citizen engagement events, efficient community Internet learning curriculum and Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies. The Ten First Steps plan, based on a major grant submitted to the U.S. Department of Community Technology Opportunities Program, will be shared and discussed. No previous computer experience is required. A preview of rural development resources: http://lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm

Presentation Three - Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies
Wednesday, June 4th,
2pm-4pm at the Great Hall, UMW Swysgood Technology Center Learn what’s working for others using the Internet for Rural Ecommerce to sell worldwide. Learn about how Ebay has 150,000 people working fulltime as self-employed entrepreneurs. Learn how telework jobs can be brought home to your community. An online course “Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies” has been specifically created for rural adults as an easy way to see what’s already working for others. No previous computer experience is required.

A preview of Rural Ecommerce resources: http://lone-eagles.com/eguide.htm

Three Hands-on Workshops - No previous computer experience is required

Extensive online resources for learning on your own will be presented. Ample time for self-directed practice and resource explorations will be available. We’ll be informal and flexible to accommodate different comfort levels with technology, different specific interests, and different skill levels.

Essential Skills for Ecommerce Readiness – A hands-on computer workshop.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 3, 3:30pm-6:30pm Wednesday, June 4, 6:30pm-9:30pm Thursday, June 5, 6:30pm – 9:30pm

WHERE: UMW Swysgood Technology Center

a. First Half Hour: Searching and Browsing Skills (The Power of a Self-Directed Learner) Successive hands-on experiences are presented to build the basic Self-Directed Internet Learning Skills for web browsing, cut-and-paste, and using search engines to learn anything from anywhere at any time. http://lone-eagles.com/ecommerce-search.htm

b. Second Half Hour: Creating Your Own Web Pages (The Power of Self-Publishing Globally) Learn the basics of Web Self-Publishing Skills, creating and posting web pages with text, images, and hyperlinks. http://lone-eagles.com/ecommerce-web.htm

c. Third Half Hour: Communicating and Working Together (The Power of Building Learning Communities Through Internet Collaboration) Learn how to minimize information overload by sharing what you learn in return for access to the knowledge of others. If we all share what we learn, we’ll all have access to all our knowledge. Email, listservs and other online collaborative tools will be discussed. http://lone-eagles.com/ecommerce-email.htm

d. Last Hour and a Half: Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies – A hands-on computer workshop. Learn what’s working for others in rural communities. Identify the best rural ecommerce resources to bring home to fuel the fires of local innovation. http://lone-eagles.com/ecommerce.htm

Workshop Presenter: Frank Odasz, as Lone Eagle Consulting, http://lone-eagles.com, specializes in fast track Internet training for remote, rural, and indigenous learners. Frank has been teaching teachers online for over 15 years and regularly presents on rural ecommerce and Internet empowerment – most recently in Alaska, Australia, and Jamaica. Extensive resources include an online course specifically for rural citizens titled “Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies.

Resources are online at http://lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm Recent Ecommerce keynote presentations and other presentation events are at http://lone-eagles.com/new.htm Frank’s Resume is at http://lone-eagles.com/articles/frank.htm

Beaverhead Development Corporation
Contact: Frank Mastandrea
406-683-3758 fmastandrea@co.beaverhead.mt.us

 June 11-12, 2003, Montana Workforce, Great Falls, Montana, presented two workshops.

The Internet as a Tool for Rural Vitality 
Past emphasis on Internet infrastructure is giving way to recognition that the difference between positive change and negative change depends on the specifics of how individuals and communities learn to utilize Internet infrastructure. If you’re not growing through new learning as a community  your community is dying due to inertia in a world of accelerating change. Learn how other rural communities are using the Internet as a tool. A preview  http//lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm  http//lone-eagles.com/emalls.htm http//lone-eagles.com/academy.htm

April 29-May 2, 2003, National Native American Employment and Training Conference, Anchorage, Alaska Presented two workshops on Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Applications and Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies.

Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Applications     Learn about real opportunities for Alaskan Native, Native American, and other cultural communities for cultural, social and economic empowerment through Internet applications. Extensive resources available free. The presenter recently spent 7 weeks providing Internet and Ecommerce training in Alaskan Native villages and presented on this topic in Jamaica and Australia. A preview: http://lone-eagles.com/village-sustainability.htm   

April 27-29, 2003, Rural Workforce, 2003, Reno, Nevada Presented three workshops focused on creating rural community action plans, Ecommerce, and creating community Internet awareness and training programs.

1.The Internet as a Tool for Rural Vitality  Past emphasis on Internet infrastructure is giving way to recognition that the difference between positive change and negative change depends on the specifics of how individuals and communities learn to utilize Internet infrastructure. If you’re not growing through new learning as a community  your community is dying due to inertia in a world of accelerating change. Learn how other rural communities are using the Internet as a tool. A preview  http//lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm   http//lone-eagles.com/emalls.htm http//lone-eagles.com/academy.htm

2. Rural Community Action Plans  How and Where to Begin We’ll share specific models for community Action Plans and grant templates concerning fast-track Internet awareness raising, citizen engagement events, efficient community Internet learning curriculum and Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies. A preview http//lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm 

3. Realizing Cultural Sovereignty Through Internet Applications     Learn about real opportunities for Alaskan Native, Native American, and other cultural communities for cultural, social and economic empowerment through Internet applications. Extensive resources available free. The presenter recently spent 7 weeks providing Internet and Ecommerce training in Alaskan Native villages and presented on this topic in Jamaica and Australia. A preview: http://lone-eagles.com/village-sustainability.htm   

February 16-21, 2003, Montpelier and Soda Springs, Idaho Presented for multiple community groups in Montpelier and Soda Springs, Idaho. Details at http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm

January, 2003, 2003, Jamaica After moderating a tjree-week online discussion of Jamaican leaders (while in Alaskan villages at temps near -55 below zero) hosted by the International Institute for Community Development www.iicd.org,  I presented a televised keynote for the Information and Communications Technologies conference. Details at http://www.ictjamaica.com

January 4-24, 2003, Alaska. Presented Internet empowerment workshops for educators and citizens for one week each at the following Alaskan Native Villages: Manley Hot Springs, Allakaket, Koyukuk.

December 7-13, 2002 McGrath, Alaska Presented for multiple community groups and met with community steering committee leaders to create a strategic plan to capitalize on the fact that McGrath is the first Alaskan village with 70% of homes connected with high-speed wireless for only $40/month.

December 6th, 2002, Fairbanks, Alaska Presented a four-hour workshop for youth opportunity program directors of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, INC. Native organization details their Internet training opportunities and providing them with copies of the Native Internet Training Guide http://lone-eagles.com/nativeguide.htm

November, 2002, Anchorage, Alaska Presented two workshops at the Alaskan Workforce Investment Act Conference in Anchorage on Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies and Realizing Cultural Sustainability Through Internet Applications. conference in Alaska.

October, 2002, Ely, Nevada, Presented a keynote for the Nevada Rural Telecommunications Task Force on Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies

September 1-21, 2002, Alaska. Presented Internet empowerment workshops for educators and citizens for one week each at the following Alaskan Native Villages: Manley Hot Springs, Allakaket, Koyukuk.

August 16-30, 2002, Rockhampton, Australia. Presented at the Community Informatics conference as co-chair for the track on "Developing Nations and Indigenous Peoples." Paper presented is on successes in Montpelier, Idaho:
"The Homesteaders' Ecommerce Cooperative" http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier.htm

June 25-28, 2002, Montpelier, Idaho. Returned to Montpelier to plan events to make Montepelier Idaho's first outstanding community Internet success story. Details at http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier-story.htm

May 19-21, 2002 Anchorage, Alaska. Met with potential funders to discuss village projects, then on to Fairbanks for three days of workshops for educators from the Yukon-Koyukuk Regional Consortiutm. http://www.yksd.com

May 9-10, 2002, Pocatello, Idaho. Presented a two-hour workshop "Homesteading the Ecommerce Frontier" for 30 rural economic developers from Idaho focusing on how the online course and 200 page handbook "Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies" can be used as a regional initiative creating paid incentives for peer mentors and online resumes for rural citizens...and much more. Details at http://lone-eagles.com/eguide.htm

May 8, 2002, Montpelier, Idaho. Provided Montpelier community leaders with a presentation on their possibilities for becoming a model community for Idaho. The concept paper distributed is online at http://lone-eagles.com/montpelier.htm

April 28-30, 2002, Reno, Nevada. Provided the opening keynote for the Rural Workforce 2002 conference "Homesteading the Ecommerce Frontier." 300 persons from 24 states attended. The NEW online course "Rural Ecommerce and Telework Strategies" was unveiled along with the 200 page printed handbook by the same name. Online at http://lone-eagles.com/eguide.htm My handout was http://lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm

April 14-17, 2002, Columbus, Ohio. Attended the meeting for the American Distance Education Consortium as a member of the Educational Effectiveness committee for their $4 million dollar NSF project which is installing 70 high-speed satellite systems in minority higher education institutions, (including tribal colleges,) rural county extension offices, and other community organizations. Details at www.adec.org Select NSF Project, then read the Summary and FAQ.  Also visiited Tamsco headquarters in Dayton, OH, and offices of www.arel.com which offered virtual campus software for IP Video-based distance learning instruction.

April 9-10, 2002, met with Fletcher Brown of www.tamsco.com regarding a partnership where Tamsco will install wireless and satellite systems and Lone Eagle Consulting will provide culturally appropriate training. Tamsco has installed 70 Tachyon satellite systems for tribal schools.

February 5-8, 2002, SE Idaho. Presented a community workshop for four rural SE Idaho communities titled "True Community Internet Empowerment."

January 5-10th, 2002, Bethel, Alaska - Judging an RFP for satellite video-conferencing and Internet for 28 Alaskan villages of the Lower Koskokwim School District. Created a proposal to articulate suggestions for realizing their potential in light of the recent FCC Erate waiver which allows schools to extend Internet to the communities for Ecommerce. "An Alaskan Village Bootstrap Academy" http://lone-eagles.com/northstar.htm

December 6-9th, 2001, Austin, Texas - National Community Networking Conference
Presented on Community Internet Awareness programs and Ecommerce. Of interest was that there is a sudden awareness that infrastructure alone will not be the solution, but that ultimately it is what people learn to do with the infrastructure that will make a difference. At the request of Alpine, Texas, I created a proposal for their TIF funding application "A Texan Community Bootstrap Academy" http://lone-eagles.com/alpine2.htm

October 25, 2001 - Boise, Idaho, presenting for the Connect Idaho Internet Infrastructure Conference.
Presentation title - "Community Networking; Why Should We Care?" The Lone Eagle handout "Community Internet Empowerment Resources for Rural Idahoan Communities" is at http://lone-eagles.com/ruralempowerment.htm At issue is creating a model community so others can see the tangible benefits from thoughtful application related to Internet at BOTH local dial-up speeds as well as broadband speeds.

October 16-17, 2001 - Anchorage, Alaska - Presenting for the Rural Communications Forum on Alaskan Villages and Information Technology with Red Boucher, former Lt. Governor of Alaska and president of Alaskan Wireless. It was determined that the main barrier to connectivity in the 192 villages is not distance or money, but politics with the phone companies. The Lone Eagle Native American Empowerment Resources handout given to forum participants is at http://lone-eagles.com/nativeresources.htm   Tamsco disseminated 200 copies of a custom printing of "Echoes in the Electronic Wind - A Native American Self-directed Internet Guide" http://lone-eagles.com/nativeguide.htm

August 21-23, 2001, Los Angeles   A three day Camp Internet workshop for Los Angeles Unified School District teachers. Details at http://rain.org, select "Camp Internet."

July 11-12th, 2001, Bellingham, Washington - Advising on Native American Information Technology vocational opportunities at Northwest Indian College in Seattle, WA. A full report with specific suggestions for the best use of computer and Internet by Indian Vocational Education programs is at http://lone-eagles.com/indian-voc-ed.htm

July 10-11th, 2001, San Diego/Barona, California -  For the Hewlett Packard Tribal Digital Village, involving 17 tribes, I presented on July 10th a one day hands-on workshop for their youth academy and on July 11th presented for 2 1/2 hours multimedia created by youth the day before plus examples of how other Native Americans have used the web for community-building and cultural self-expression.  Details written up at http://lone-eagles.com/indian-voc-ed.htm
See also:

Key Issues in Realizing Tribal Benefits from Internet Infrastructure
http://lone-eagles.com/triballeadership.htm  

An Executive Overview for Project Planners
on the Hard Questions for Community Internet Empowerment
http://lone-eagles.com/overview.htm

June 21-23rd, 2001, San Antonio, Texas, for the Texas School Board Association, two three-hour workshops titled "Building Sustainable Learning Communities; Are You Ready?"

Description: Ongoing, lifelong learning is becoming more home-based as access to the Internet and PC's becomes comonplace. Odasz will present the opportunities that the Internet brings us and will address the advantages and disadvantages of traditional and online classrooms. In the Information Age, students will need to learn social skills both on line and off line, and everyone will need to know how to combine caring and connectivity with common sense.

June 15th-18th, 2001, San Diego, California  CTCnet presentation "Creating Cultural Communities Online - Youth as Technology Leaders and Change Agents in all Cultures." Co-presenting with Al Rogers of the Global Schoolhouse and Lightspan. Also serving on a panel on "Citizens as both Consumers and Producers" for the Association for Community Networking. http://www.afcn.net 

Presentation Title: Youth Leadership Resources for Cultural Community Internet Awareness
Youth today are key technology leaders and technology change agents in all cultural communities. Learn how youth can use digital photography, art and music to motivate citizens to learn to use the Internet to become self-directed Learners and to self-publish locally and globally. An online "Train-the-Trainers" Internet Guide will be presented along with a review of many self-teaching Internet training resources. A dozen low-cost, short-term youth-driven citizen engagement initiatives will be showcased. A new Native American version of the Trainers guide will be included as an example of how any cultural group can adapt the cross-cultural guide for their own local community and culture.

June 13-15th, 2001, Moscow, Idaho  for the Idaho's County Extension 4-H Youth Technology Conference, a keynote and two workshops for youth as community Internet Trainers. Sponsored by the University of Idaho.
The resources handout is at http://lone-eagles.com/idahoyouthrock.htm

Keynote Title: Teen Leadership for Community Internet Awareness; Are You Ready?

Teens today are key technology leaders and technology change agents in all rural communities. Learn how you can use digital photography, art and music to motivate citizens to learn to use the Internet to:
- Become Self-directed Learners
- Self-publish Globally
- Improve their communities
- Create an online business

Online Ecommerce startup sites for teens will be presented along with many online resources for providing community Internet Training.

For Teen Tech Teams
Workshop I Title: Delivering Highly Motivating Community Internet Presentations

Description: This session will cover tips for youth presenters on how to deliver the most highly motivating multi-media Internet presentations for adult audiences. This session will include demonstrations on how to use digital photography, digital art, digital music, offline browsers and Digital storytelling. Tips on training adults in the use of Internet will include pointers to major collections of online training resources, including Ecommerce training resources.

For the General Teens Workshop
Workshop II Title: An Internet "Train-the-trainers" Workshop

Description: This workshop will showcase many online resources for those planning to be Internet trainers. An online "Train-the-Trainers" Self-directed Learner's Internet Guide will be presented along with a review of the highest levels of benefit the Internet offers for rural citizens. Many self-teaching resources will be shared along with rich listings of current online Internet training resources. A dozen low-cost, short-term youth-driven citizen engagement initiatives will be showcased. Demonstrations will include how to use digital photography, digital art, digital music, offline browsers and Digital storytelling.

May 6-10, 2001 Northeast Oregon: Rural Internet Training
A three county rural community presentation tour for six rural Oregon communities featuring educational, community, and Ecommerce Internet applications. Presentation title is "Youth Leadership for Community Internet Awareness.
Details at http://lone-eagles.com/oregonarticle.htm and http://lone-eagles.com/ruraloregon.htm      For more rural empowerment resources see http://lone-eagles.com/teled.htm

            Over three days, I presented 10 sessions in six communities for over 300 persons. During the tour $13000 was received by three county community technology centers for the same equipment I was demonstrating in my presentations: a Sony CD-1000 digital camera (writes to a mini-CD), a digital art tablet, and a MIDI Musical keyboard. Since this tour, I've drafted a grant for a multi-year program for rural communities. This draft is for Alaskan villages: http://lone-eagles.com/Bartsgrant.doc (A WORD '97 file) You're welcome to use it to get funding!

SEE ALSO: Dillon, Montana makes front page headlines in the San Jose Mercury News!
Three-part series on wiring the rural west from the front page of the San Jose Mercury News

Check it out at http://www0.siliconvalley.com/news/special/ruralwest/  

Read more about the award-winning Dillonnet Community Technology Center
at http://lone-eagles.com/chap2.htm    See it at http://www.dillon-net.org

March 6, 2001, Miami, Florida for the Association of International School Administrators
A presentation on online learning and project-based learning models for International Schools.
The partnership between Digitalclassrooms.com and Lone Eagle Consulting will be unveiled!
The handout is online at http://lone-eagles.com/class.htm   An article on the use of Internet for
International teaching is at http://lone-eagles.com/practical.htm

March 20, 2001,  Pocatello, Idaho, a 3 hour ITV presentation for rural Idahoan communities titled
Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want.
Sponsored by Idaho State University. Handouts: http://lone-eagles.com/pocatellotour.htm
http://lone-eagles.com/teled.htm

Jan 23-25, 2001, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
For the Rural Workforce 2001 Conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Representatives from eight rural states attended. I presented a keynote address titled "The Future of Community Development - Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want" plus three workshops.
        - Best Practices for Rural Community Self-Empowerment
        - Community Internet Training Strategies and Resources
        - Creating Sustainable Community Technology Centers and Ecommerce Incubators

The keynote powerpoint presentation is at http://lone-eagles.com/coeurkey01.ppt but the digital slideshows and other multimedia presentations are not online.

Jan. 14-17, 2001 Clyde, Kansas
I presented over two days for the library board, the senior center, the JRHS faculty, the HS faculty and students, and presented a keynote for the annual Chamber Banquet. By the time I was finished I'd presented for 299 persons out of the population of 800. All handouts, including recommended low-cost short-term action initiatives, plus three mini-courses for citizens are at http://lone-eagles.com/clyde.htm   Clyde had received an innovative grant for building electronic communications skills for personal, civic and business applications.

When I arrived in Clyde, KS, I met with 2 HS students and within 10 minutes they were creating a digital storytelling presentation tour of Clyde using my new CD-write digital camera (Sony Mavica CD-1000). Then, I showed THEIR multimedia creation as I presented for the library board, clients at the senior center, the JRHS staff, the full HS assembly of students and faculty, and then at my keynote for the Chamber Banquet. The day I left these same HS students created a web authoring and training business and I've continued to keep in touch them. They have created business flyers, business cards, have T-shirts with their logo and have five businesses on contract for web page creation. They are not allowed to pocket their earnings, but will use the money to buy multimedia presentation equipment, and a CD-1000, to support their business and training activities. The idea is they are created jobs for themselves that will allow them to remain in Clyde to assure the future of the community.

I continue to encourage/praise them and 'send' them Ecommerce curriculum URLS to assure their expertise and ability to contribute to the community. I also told their story via my keynote for 200+ rural community developers Jan. 23rd at the Rural Workforce 2001 conference. Afterward, I wrote this up in a little article for the Clyde newspaper, again to showcase what the HS kids are capable of. Several people from the Workforce conference has asked if I'd consider a multi-community road show to help get them going. Some communities are getting fiber optics and are just beginning to realize they don't have a clue what to do with high speed Internet access.

Six short-term, low-cost action initiative, plus 3 online mini-courses http://lone-eagles.com/clyde.htm
Rural Community Development Web Tour (Exemplars as we discussed are needed) http://lone-eagles.com/clyde3.htm    
My best articles on building learning communities, written for rural readers http://lone-eagles.com/teled.htm 
A K12 Web Curriculum Authoring and Staff Training Resources Web Tour http://lone-eagles.com/clyde2.htm

Dec. 11-13, 2000, Tracy, California
I presented an Internet workshop for the Tracy, Calif. School District's curriculum committee and participated in planning a sophisticated teacher-training program for the district. Tracy has 14 schools, 600 teachers, fiber everywhere, and is an hour from Silicon Valley. 
Staff Training Resources http://lone-eagles.com/tracy1.htm  
K12 Web Curriculum Web Tour http://lone-eagles.com/tracy2.htm

Dec. 4-6th, 2000, Kansas City, Missouri
I flew to Kansas City to serve on a distance learning panel for the new NSF distance learning project which will use 2-way Internet dishes to provide high speed Internet instruction to minority land grant institutions. For details on this exciting project see http://www.adec.edu  Select NSF Grant.  I now have a 2-way dish from http://Tachyon.net in my yard in return for creating "Echoes in the Electronic Wind - A Native American Cross-cultural Internet Guide" http://lone-eagles.com/nativeguide.htm

Nov. 27- 28th, 2000, Santa Barbara, Burbank, and Ontario, California
I hosted two Web-curriculum-authoring workshops for Camp Internet teachers in Southern California. ( Another great project from RAIN.ORG)  Every attending teacher created their first curriculum web site with multiple web pages and images usiung my new Sony CD1000 camera to create digital stories. The camera uses 156 megabyte mini-CD's.

Past Presentations and Events

Nov. 10th, 2000, Twin Falls, Idaho
I presented an Ecommerce keynote for the College of South Idaho in Twin Falls, ID. The powerpoint presentation "Internet Ecommerce - Your Greatest Opportunity" is at http://lone-eagles.com/idahoecommerce.ppt.
Note: I'll present a three hour televised workshop, March 20th, in Pocatello titled "Making the Living You Want, Living Wherever You Want.

Nov. 2-6, 2000, Anaco, Venezuala
I presented a teachers' workshop at the Anzoategui International School in Anaco, Venezuala. They  got so fired up they created their own International web-based curriculum business at http://digitalclassrooms.com
Here's a short report!

I've just returned from presenting a workshop for teachers in Anaco,
Venezuala, who are interested in creating online curriculum for rural
International schools featuring integrated learning to supplement
face-to-face instruction, to include project-based learning, character
education, global citizen concepts and collaborative skills. The idea is to
create a "Teach from any Beach" instructional entrepreneurs' coop in
partnership with creative teachers internationally. Everyone got copies of
my "Common Ground - Self-directed Learners Guide" and I sold them my Sony
Mavica camera so they could begin innovating right away.

The superintendent took us all sailing on the carribean for a day. We sailed
to a desert island for snorkling, enjoyed a fresh seafood meal served under
open-air thatched roofs with 2 foot long iguanas nipping the upper leaves of
the bushes just a few feet away. Tiny finches flitting to and from a feeder
about a foot from my shoulder. Candidly, this was also my first face to
face contact with poverty. People living under a few sheets of tin, with
violence commonplace. My return flight was delayed 8 hrs because of a
demonstration that prevented the flight crew from getting to the airport.
Last December 50,000 people died in Caracas due to a flash flood, the
100,000 homeless were the ones demonstrating for housing as they are still
homeless even one year later. The politics are really hurting the people
despite a wealth of rich natural resources.

Oct. 24-25, 2000, Idaho Falls, Idaho
I presented for Idaho's Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors on what the Internet can offer the disabled regarding new vocational Ecommerce opportunities. Presentation is at http://lone-eagles.com/reabled.ppt

Oct. 11-14, 2000, Taos, New Mexico
I worked with the Taos, NM MIRA project steering committee drafting their next proposal. http://www.taosmira.net

Oct. 1-4, 2000, Aspen, Colorado
I presented on "Creating Sustainable Community Networks" at the Rural Telecon conference in Aspen, Co.
http://www.ruraltelecon.org

Other Spring 2000 events include regional MIRA workshops in rural Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Mississippi. Presentations for Idaho's Annual Technology Education Conference, Idaho's County Extension Annual Conference, and for Idaho's Community Telecommunications Infrastructure Conference.

Past Highlights: During 1998-2000 I presented 80 days of workshops for Alaskan Native villages and Alaskan Homeschoolers associated with the Interior Distance Education for Alaska (IDEA) program. http://galenaalaska.org .
I also consulted for six migrant technology projects funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Migrant Education.
Details and Spanish language resources at http://lone-eagles.com/migrant.htm   During 1999-2001 I presented for 10 regional rural groups brought together by the Kellogg MIRA project (Managing Information for Rural America). The speakers database and evaluations are posted at
http://www.4w.com/heartland/mira.ihtml

About Frank Odasz, President of Lone Eagle Consulting -

Born in Cody, Wyoming in 1952, Frank Odasz has been a carpenter, oil field roughneck, dude ranch manager, college professor and is now a "Lone Eagle," an independent instructional entrepreneur. In 1982, Frank attended the University of Wyoming to learn the benefits computers and telecommunications could bring to citizens. As one of the earliest pioneers with both online learning and community networking, he founded the Big Sky Telegraph network, 1988-1998, one of the first online systems to offer online courses. Frank’s biography, resume, and photograph are at http://lone-eagles.com/articles/frank.htm

Contact:
|
Frank Odasz    
Lone Eagle Consulting
2200 Rebich Lane
Dillon, Montana 59725
PH/Fax: 406-683-6270
frank@lone-eagles.com