Derek Harwell: in the
Driver's
Seat
KRIS BELMONTE
staff writer
Derek Harwell has never taken
a computer class. Odd, consider
ing that he was hired just a few
months ago to be the manager of
computer training here at Guilford.
His story begins with an IBM and
two million dollars.
At the age of 16, feeling dis
heartened and bitter about the pub
lic schools system in his home
town of Morrisville, NC, Derek
dropped out of school. Within
months he received his GED and
three years later, his perseverance
and diligence earned him a politi
cal science degree from Virginia
Tech.
Following graduation, Derek
moved around the country, work
ing for various social organiza
tions. While living in California,
he began teaching English to a
group of impoverished immigrants
at the Community Action Center.
From there he moved to Northern
Quebec, where he poured his en
ergy into other social advocacy
groups such as Greenpeace.
It was his intense desire to teach
that led him back to North Caro
lina, where he obtained his teach-
Cruisin'down the info highway
Do you feel like you are driving a '77 Datsun in
the right lane of the information highway? Or maybe
you are lost on the back roads and cannot even find
the on-ramp. Well, cruising the 'net may not be as
hard as you think.
This is especially true here at Guilford where In
ternet access is free (read: you already paid for it)
and unlimited (read: when you have the spare time).
From most computer terminals on campus, you can
get on the Internet.
Essentially, the Internet is millions of computers
connected internationally by modems, which utilize
phone lines. It is a bit more complex, though.
To get onto the Internet, you need a server. The
server allows you to get in touch with the electronic
addresses of other computers, thus connecting you
to the information you want
Septembers, 1995
ing degree from Appalachian State
University.
Soon, Derek landed a position
at Southwest Guilford Middle
School in Greensboro, teaching
social studies and language arts.
During the time that he was at
SW Middle, $2 million dollars
were invested in computers and
multi-media equipment. South
west found itself at the pinnacle of
technological advancement among
schools nationwide.
"Because of my terrible hand
writing, I was forced to buy a com
puter so my students would be able
to read the assignments. I knew a
smidgin more about the new tech
nology in the school because I had
a computer of my own. Therefore,
I was responsible for conveying
my knowledge to the other teach
ers and administrators in the build
ing. I was considered to be an ex
pert, but I don't understand why,
considering I never had any com
puter training," laughs Derek.
Amazingly enough, using the
available technology, Derek was
able to create a multi-cultural
project for his sixth graders. The
project involved each student cre
ating his or her own home page
that contained a cultural theme.
The web site that was home to
COLIN MCFADDEN-ROAN
staff writer
features
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Derek Harwell
these pages was created by Derek
and his students as well.
Derek not only made significant
contributions to his classroom, but
he has also presented more than 30
workshops regionally and nation
ally on computers in education.
Thousands of teachers across the
country have heard him speak
about the uses of the Internet and
multimedia and digital imaging.
Now Derek is exceedingly
pleased to be a part of the Guil
ford community. He is very ex
The most often used internet opportunity on cam
pus is e-mail. Not only can people communicate with
one another on campus this way, but they can also
correspond with anyone, anywhere in the world who
is connected to the Internet. Over 30 million people
are linked by the internet.
"E-mail is great," says first-year student Susan
Stanley. "My friends and I always send each other
messages, but it can get addictive."
It can be very captivating. Part of the reason it is so
entrancing is the sheer volume of information avail
able in cyberspace that anyone can access.
Discussion groups of all types, like the VAX Notes
used on campus, can be found on the internet as well
as news and all sorts of general information.
Difficulty may come in finding the information that
you are looking for. "What I don't like about the in
ternet is that it can be so complicated and not easy to
use," comments Amanda Leinonen-DuFresne.
Internet service providers and web browsing soft-
The Guilfordian
cited and eager to work with stu
dents and professors as the college
embarks on a new technological
journey.
"In three years, I imagine Guil
ford will be totally different... ul
timately the application process
will be done entirely by computer,"
states Derek.
It is evident that Derek Harwell
will be an instrumental figure here
as Guilford enters a new realm of
computer technology.
ware are designed to combat this problem. At Guil
ford, there are two servers: Lynx and Netscape.
Lynx is run by the University of Kansas and uses
only text. Netscape, on the other hand, is multi-me
dia. It is connected to the World Wide Web.
The internet grew out of a "network of computers
linked around the world in the military and scientific
communities," notes Jesse Snipper. Because of ties
between those two groups and a multitude of univer
sities, it quickly spread to campuses around the coun
try and around the world.
Since that time it has become commercialized.
Servers like America Online, Prodigy and
CompuServe now bring the internet to companies and
private citizens.
Guilford has the technology to put you in the
driver's seat on the information highway, but if you
are still nervous, don't hesitate to go to Computer
Services for a little bit of driver's education.
New head
of info, tech
arrives soon
Norm Gibbs has accepted the
position of Director of Information
Technology and will join the col
lege officially on November 1.
Gibbs comes to Guilford from
Carnegie Mellon University,
where he has been with the Soft
ware Engineering Institute.
His previous experience in
cludes service as chair and profes
sor of computer science and infor
mation studies at Bowdoin, with
earlier faculty and administrative
appointments in mathematics,
computer science and computer
centers at Arizona State and Will-
iam and Mary.
His undergraduate degree is in
mathematics from Ursinus. His
Ph.D. is in computer science, from
Purdue.
He is active in information tech
nology organizations related to
undergraduate instruction and has
consulted at leading liberal arts
colleges.
His special expertise is in tech
nology transfer, which is to say
finding ways to make contempo
rary software and hardware serve
the needs of users.
Gibb's family includes his wife,
Barbara, who has taught math
ematics, and two daughters. One
is a student at Colgate. The other
is a Dartmouth graduate now in
graduate school at Ohio State.
-from the Community Newsletter
7