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ELECTRONIC UNIVERSITY NETWORK New Online Service to Create National and International Markets and Distance Learning Solutions for Schools, Colleges and Corporate Training (Santa Barbara, CA)- Durand Communications, Inc. (Durand) and the Electronic University Network™ (EUN) announced today that they will create and market a new online service, The Pangaea NetworkSM, which will be wholly devoted to education and training online. The Pangaea Network will run on Durand's CommunityWare™ platform, making it accessible to a global audience from anywhere on the web. The Pangaea Network will provide complete virtual campuses, as well as a package of marketing and publishing services to universities, public schools and corporate training centers, at a fraction of what it would cost an organization to develop and operate its own online services for its own students. Dr. Steve Eskow, a 20-year college president who now heads the Electronic University Network, will be president of the Pangaea Network. Sarah Haviland Blackmun, former senior vice president of Harcourt Brace Publishing Group, will be the executive vice president. Together, Eskow and Blackmun bring a wealth of experience in education and distance learning to the Pangaea Network, describing it as "the first online service designed by academics and trainers for academics and trainers." "The Pangaea Network recalls the theory that at one time all of today's continents were in a single landmass," states Eskow. "Today, we see the world's continents again coming together as one, joined by an invisible network of copper and fiber strands and electronic signals moving across wires and through space, exchanging information, instruction and all forms of communication between the people of the world. We are creating the new Pangaea." The Pangaea Network will provide colleges and universities, public schools and training organizations with four basic services: the virtual campus, the Commons, marketing services and development and training services. The virtual campus includes all of the buildings, rooms and functions of the "real-life" campus—the academic center, administration building, counseling center, library, student union, campus store, continuing education center and the quad—all presented in a visually engaging style for each learning organization. The Commons offer a set of rich and complex services that can be shared by all learning organizations and individuals on the Pangaea Network. Marketing services will assist learning organizations to reach new audiences—local, national, and international audiences—both online and through print and other media. Professional development and training services will be offered for faculty, trainers and staff that empowers them to use and enjoy the Pangaea Network, their organization's virtual campus and all of its functions and tools. "Online education is now a worldwide enterprise, and there needs to be a service that allows practitioners around the world to learn from each other," states Eskow. "The Pangaea Network will feature forums and discussions on distance learning, host professional education and training associations, and bring schools, colleges and institutions from around the world together to learn from each other." According to Blackmun, each virtual campus will contain a Community Center™a building where the institution can partner with local businesses, schools, and government and private agencies to create online learning communities. "We are giving our client organizations the space, tools, and training needed to provide local leadership in developing online learning organizations. This helps our clients to strengthen ties to the local community as well as extending their reach to the nation and the world." Andre Durand, president and founder of Durand Communications, Inc., creators of the CommunityWare platform, envisions The Pangaea Network as a global online community through which colleges, schools and training groups can reach and teach students who live hundreds or thousands of miles away. "We believe that communities of dialogue are what teaching and learning are about. When faculty and students can engage easily and often in discussion and debate, in addition to doing research online, then we begin to realize the global power of the Internet to change institutions and individuals." Organizations that want to learn more about The Pangaea Network can contact Dr. Steve Eskow at (805) 692-6998. Email: dreskow@durand.com. The Electronic University Network, founded in 1983, is the operating division of CompuLearning Systems, Inc. The EUN offers face-to-face and online training and development to organizations preparing to teach and provide services at a distance; assists in course development and publishing; designs and maintains online campuses; and provides student enrollment services. For additional information, please contact Ms. Sarah Blackmun at:
The Pangaea Network Voice: (805) 962-2900, ext. 109
Durand Communications, Inc., founded in 1995 by Andre Durand, is a Santa Barbara-based developer of technology and services that enable the building of online communities and community-based electronic commerce. Its first software release, MindWire NT™, won the John Dvorak Award for Outstanding Windows Client/Server Based BBS Software. CommunityWare is a web-based service (www.communityware.com ) offering interactive communities as well as web publishing to organizations and individuals. For additional information, please contact Jennifer Larson at: Durand Communications, Inc. Voice: (805) 962-2900, ext. 109 Email: jlarson@durand.com The
Pangaea Network |
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1998 Durand Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.