Project Mercury
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A Pilot for Networking Teaching and Learning Resources in 
the Maricopa Community Colleges 


DESCRIPTION 
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Maricopa, like other multi-site organizations, is committed 
to a variety of networked information technology 
applications. In order to maximize the resource potentials 
of these various networked technologies, MCCCD is 
undertaking a pilot prograrn to create a strategic model 
with the following goals in mind:

1) to network faculty so that the information gathered in 
their class development and the software they have created 
can be made available through a district-wide Faculty Course 
Information Repository, an electronic database that allows 
faculty to post, retrieve and download course inforrnation 
in an object-oriented programming architecture;

2) to network course information so that every MCCCD course 
has an interdisciplinary potential by virtue of how course 
information is structured;

3) to network course access to wide-area information service 
systems and various information networks (NSFNET, BITNET, 
etc.) so that Maricopa students and faculty can retrieve 
information relevant to course material that, because of 
initial course design limitation, could not be included 
originally. The goal is to network in such a way as to 
foster individual student navigation into course materials 
not directly covered in class.

To create this strategic model of information retrieval for 
maximum teaching and learning effectiveness, MCCCD has 
developed a team of representatives from five of the 
colleges. This model addresses the Coalition for Networked 
Information emphases of collaboration and "doing more with 
less" in a networked teaching and learning environment. The 
team's plans and directions were presented at EDUCOM by 
Karen Schwalm (GCC) in October, 1992.

PROJECT MERCURY is in the idea stage. It has been seleaed by 
CNI as one of the outstanding projects for networked 
information planning in the United States.

CONTACT PERSON
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Janet Whitaker, DIST/ITS  731-8822