The Education and Research Consortium
of the Western Carolinas (ERC) was
formed in 1997 by Congressman Charles
H. Taylor (R-NC) and the presidents
of Brevard College, Mars Hill College,
Montreat College and Western Carolina
University, later joined by representative
of Furman University in South Carolina,
UNC Asheville and the area's community
colleges. The ERC's goal is to work
cooperatively to bring to WNC and
the upstate of South Carolina, as
an integrated region, the economic
and quality of life benefits this
new technology offers.
Through the consortium, WNC was chosen
as the first in-the-nation pilot program
entitled An Adventure of the American
Mind. This program trains teachers
to use the vast digitized primary
resources of the Library of Congress
in the classroom and provides them
the hardware and software needed to
do so. Since then the program has
been implemented in more that 10 states
and communities across the country.
The Pisgah Forest Institute, dedicated
to science-based instruction, conducts
accredited Earth/Environmental Science
workshops for high school science
teachers. These ERC-sponsored workshops
are held at Brevard College and the
Cradle of Forestry and use the Pisgah
National Forest as a laboratory.
Congressman Taylor has also obtained
several million dollars to design
and fund a regional workforce development
center which includes improved high-speed
Internet access for schools and industries;
high tech training tools: and laboratories
for lasers and robotics in manufacturing.
To learn more about the ERC, visit
their website at www.ercwc.org
AAM Partners
In 1999, Congressman Charles Taylor
of the 11th Congressional District
in western North Carolina obtained
funding to start a local project to
bring the resources of the Library
of Congress (LOC) to K12 classrooms
in Western North Carolina. The Adventure
of the American Mind (AAM) project
would conduct teacher training through
local colleges (Mars Hill College,
Brevard College, Montreat College,
Western Carolina University, and Furman
University) to use LOC primary digital
resources in the classroom. Participating
K12 teachers prepared lesson plans
using primary resources.
Through the efforts of far-sighted
Senators and Congressman, AAM continues
to change and grow as it develops
new programs throughout the United
States. AAM has been a pioneer in
helping teachers to integrate digital
resources into the classroom.
