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"Ask a Health Physicist"




Here in Canada,  the Canadian Nuclear Society's (CNS) Outreach and Education 
Committee has entered in a collaborative education outreach project with the 
Province's Education Network Ontario (ENO).

Earlier this year, members of the CNS Outreach and Education Committee and 
the Education Network Ontario met to discuss the provision of electronic 
Resource Groups for Educators in Science and Technology.  In Ontario, the 
Education Network Ontario project aims at having all public schools 
connected to the an electronic net (funded through various ministries).  The 
program and system are known as "school.net".  During the day, school.net is 
used by students to surf and retrieve information on various topics.  At 
night, the school.net is made available, free of charge, to the teachers. 
 School.net is already implemented in most Ontario schools.

The plan is to form advisory groups in order to provide updated resource 
materials to science and technology educators (The world has changed a lot 
since many of these teachers graduated). This would be in an electronic 
conference mode operation on a Educator / CNS-EPAC resource consultant 
network, via school.net.  The homepage would lists subject areas to which 
teachers would then link-to and ask questions or download resource materials 
 (eg. chemistry, physics, math, radiation).  The advisory groups would 
consist of members of "learned societies" (eg. Royal Society, Chemical 
Institute of Canada, Canadian Radiation Protection Association, the Canadian 
Chapter of Women In Nuclear).  By adressing many areas of science and 
technology, you avoid many anti-nuke accusations of brainwashing and undue 
influence on young minds.

There is always risk involved in new ideas and no guarantees of success, but 
we have no doubts as to the usefulness and viability of this project.

A similar system, but of much wider access is also being developed.  This 
second project is very much in its infancy.  Joint ventures help decrease 
costs - both time and money.

In both instances, we are having much, if not all, of the initial 
construction and updating done by high school students as part of their 
computer science curriculum (along the lines of how to use the internet). 
 With the former, the gateway will rest in one of our universities.

Personally, I am very excited about these initiatives.  I hope that the CNS 
succeeds.  I can advise radsafe when the project is launched onto the net.

E.S. Lamothe

Disclaimer:  I speak for myself not my employer.