UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 30, Page 6
May 2, 1996
Students with disabilities and mentors create Web site page

     A new site on the World Wide Web, created by students with
disabilities and their mentors, will be unveiled Saturday, May 4, at
the University's Applied Science and Engineering Laboratory at the
Alfred I. du Pont Institute, Wilmington. Special activities are
planned from 10 a.m. to noon.
     The web page was created as an entry in CyberFair, an
international World Wide Web (WWW) contest entitled "Working Toward
the Future."
     The web site focuses on information of interest to students with
disabilities and includes information on specific disabilities;
college and education; on-line and personal resources; local and
regional resources; personal experiences and interviews; and Internet
disability sites, educational sites and recreational sites.
     The contest and Saturday's event are part of a telementoring
(Internet mentoring) project that is part of the Science, Engineering
and Math (SEM) Project, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The SEM Project is designed to encourage students with disabilities to
pursue scientific academic programs and careers.
     Through the mentoring program, 20 regional students with
disabilities have been paired with mentors who are professionals in
the sciences. Some of the mentors also have disabilities. The students
and mentors exchange e-mail and work on projects over the Internet.
     Saturday's program also will give students and mentors a rare
chance to meet face to face to discuss their individual projects and
future SEM telementoring ideas. They will discuss the possibilities of
weekly laboratory workshops at the University, a summer Science and
Technology Camp and a student-directed Internet newsletter.
     Other students and would-be mentors are invited to attend. For
more information or directions, call the Applied Science and
Laboratory at 651-6830.
                                                          -Beth Thomas