Meeting ICT Challenges in the Arctic

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Meeting ICT Challenges in the Arctic

• Nancy N. Soreide
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
• Seattle, Washington

Meeting of Arctic Council of Ministers for
Education and ScienceAn International Conference
of the Arctic CouncilReykjavik, Iceland, June 9,
2004
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Technology Challenges

• Overall global infrastructure
• Availability of the Internet
• Access to high quality resource material
• Ability to interact with the global community
• Computing infrastructure
• Computers
• Computer skills
• Advanced software
• Technical support

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Information Challenges

• Availability of high quality information and
  resource material on the Internet
• Clarity of presentation of educational materials
• Ease of exchanging information and ideas with
  others
• Alternative presentation of material for access
  when bandwidth is limited

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Human Challenges

• Human challenges are subtle, but recognized
• Is available content suitable to meet students
  and other users needs?
• Are students and other users interested in
  utilizing information technology for educational,
  medical and other purposes?

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Information Technology can meet these challenges

• A lack of basic ICT services prevents the most
  remote rural Arctic residents from developing
  their full potential
• Technology advances are making real inroads
  towards global Internet access
• Satellite communications, fiber capacity and
  wireless connectivity
• When the requisite IT resources are available
• Fast computers, high bandwidth Internet, advanced
  software and high level of technical support for
  users
• Extremely functional shared classroom,
  laboratory, medical and research experiences can
  be provided remotely

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Global Internet Growth
Global count for 1994-2004
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Non-English-speaking on-line Internet Users

• Internet growth is a global phenomenon

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Arctic countries are leaders in building and
using ICT
Reaping the benefits of ICT Europes
productivity challenge Economist Intelligence
Unit white paper, sponsored by Microsofthttp//gr
aphics.eiu.com/files/ad_pdfs/MICROSOFT_FINAL.pdf
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Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation
(NDBC) Aims to bring affordable high speed
Internet access to every Nunavut community by
March 2005.
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Wireless Arctic Network(proposed)

• Proposed by
• U. of Alaska, U. of Cincinnati, ATT, NASA
• Integrate
• Wired, wireless, terrestrial, airborne and space
  based communications technologies into a robust
  and reliable infrastructure
• Objective
• Support remote instrumentation and scientific
  communication in remote Arctic regions
• Meet communication and informational needs of
  remote Arctic residents

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The Web The most universally available
technology for transcending barriers in
communication and cooperation in the Arctic
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• The Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network
  (AFHCAN) is developing sustainable telehealth
  systems.
• Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network website

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• Some Technologies used in Telemedicine
• The AFCHAN advanced workstation consists of a
  mobile cart loaded with a workstation, power
  management hardware, and telemedicine
  peripherals. Digital cameras capture diagnostic
  images for referral to a specialist.
• For most sites especially the small village
  clinics - it is more cost effective and reliable
  to use wireless connectivity.
• To assure wide accessibility, AFCHAN software is
  web-based.
• Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network website

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• Distance Learning
• Public educational institutions offering courses
  over the Internet advanced from 33 in 1995 to
  gt90 today
• Internet and video were the two most commonly
  technologies used for instruction delivery.
• The Web is a primary delivery vehicle, leading to
  the creation of entire virtual schools
• US Department of Education
• Education Week on the Web

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The Internet Style of Learning
fromTHE FRONTIER OF COMMUNITY LEARNING INTERNET
ON THE YUKON by Frank Odasz (http//lone-eagles.c
om/articles/arctic.htm)

• The Internet Style of Learning entails use of
  vast information resources, collaboration and
  self-expression via multimedia self-publishing
  worldwide.
• Unable to afford many textbooks, the excitement
  for the learning resources which would soon be
  available was contagious.
• One of the teachers' sons had attended the
  Galena workshop and she reported he could speak
  of little else.
• the first Yukon village to receive two-way
  Internet via Satellite (1998)

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The Web can serve as a reference
library Information portal to health issues of
Northern peoples. It provides access to evaluated
health information from hundreds of local, state,
national, and international agencies, as well as
from professional societies and universities (US
National Library of Medicine)
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The Web supports human interests that transcend
cultural and geopolitical boundaries
Lets see some examples that illustrate these
ideas..
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English-Inuktitut weekly newspaper serving the
people of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of
Arctic Quebec.
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High-level intergovernmental forum addressing the
common concerns and challenges faced by the
Arctic governments and the people of the Arctic
(Eight countries, Icelandic chairmanship)
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An international nongovernmental organization
representing 150,000 Inuit living in the Arctic
regions of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia,
Denmark
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With the goal of stimulating interest in the
peoples and environment of the Arctic and
Subarctic region.
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Presenting scientific data and analyses, maps,
photographs, essays and other information for a
wide audience including scientists, decision
makers, educators, students, citizens.
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Arctic Change Detection
DRAFT DO NOT QUOTE OR REPRODUCE

• Relevant, effective, reliable, understandable,
  objective information
• Based on the findings of the Arctic Climate
  Impact Assessment (ACIA) Report
• Converted the ACIA ten key findings into six core
  issues

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Detailed narratives on Individual Indicator
Summary of recent conditions
Historical Indicator Time Series and scientific
references provide perspective
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Despite significant challenges of technology,
information, human factors, geography and climate
The diverse communities of the Arctic have
demonstrated exceptional resourcefulness!
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Looking forward

• The trend of increasing penetration of internet
  availability and use will continue to unite
  people across vast distances and cultural
  differences.

• Virtual reality applications, such as computer
  video games, can be harnessed for distance
  delivery of realistic healthcare and education,
  as in these demonstration projects
• a virtual classroom in electronic space
• touch over the internet
• virtual scalpel telemedicine application

• There is a need for development of relevant,
  effective, reliable, understandable, objective
  information (content) that people can relate to.

• Only a few years ago, ideas such as these were
  considered visionary, but today they are
  beginning to meet the needs of remote Arctic
  residents and enabling the global Internet to
  interconnect the citizens of this one world.