Connecting to the World Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications Grade Seven Social Studies

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Grade 7: Social Studies DR7.3 English Language Arts CR7.4, CR7.7, CC7.5, CC7.9

Historical Thinking Concepts: Historical Significance

LESSON PLAN ONE: CLASSROOMCLASSROOM INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION TOTO THETHE THEME

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will learn about how communications, or a lack thereof, affected the lives of people in the past, challenges which im- peded communication with others, and how communications continue to play a major role in the lives of people today.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Fast Facts information (at the end of the resource package)

Postmaster carrying mail from the train at Marchwell, circa 1920. Saskatchewan Archives Board S-A358 PROCEDURE 1. Prepare to teach the lessons on communication by reading the Fast Facts section at the end of the resource package. isolated from others and the outside world. It would be 2. Introduce the topic of communication by asking students many years before radios, telephones or televisions were what communication means to them. (Communication is available. There were only sporadic trips to the nearest the transmission of information.) Ask students what types settlement for supplies and a newspaper, and if they were of communication they use on a regular or daily basis. lucky, a letter from a friend or relative would be waiting Students will likely offer answers like television, radio, for them. Visits from neighbors and social gatherings were telephone, Internet, email, cell phones and one-on-one important to offset loneliness, which often accompanied personal communication. Discuss how communications the isolation. are entwined in our daily lives. Ask students to estimate 4. Explain that in the early years, many barriers existed which how much of their day is taken up by sending and affected how people communicated. Discuss the following receiving information from others, electronic devices and factors with students so that they may gain a better print materials. How would they feel if they were suddenly appreciation for the communication challenges faced by disconnected from other people and the outside world? people a relatively short time ago. 3. Explain to students that in 1905 when Saskatchewan became a province, the population was spread very thinly across a large area. The homesteads of new settlers were interspersed with railway lands, school lands and Hudson’s Bay Company lands. Newcomers often found themselves

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• Poor roads, especially in winter, were an impediment 5. Introduce the topic of how developments in communication to travel. During winter, roads often became affected people’s lives, by reading the following refl ection impassable. How would this have affected how people of Saskatchewan homesteader George Shepherd in his communicated? Would loneliness have been felt more book, West of Yesterday: “The automobile, the telephone acutely in winter for those isolated on homesteads? and later the radio dispelled the feeling of isolation that (Yes, during the warmer seasons, the homesteader’s weighed on the fi rst settlers of the distant frontier.” Ask days were fi lled with work, and time would have students how they think these developments would have passed by more quickly.) closed the gap between the perceived quality of life for • Communication beyond the homestead was rural and urban people. dependent on distance and the stamina of a 6. Distribute copies of the Fast Facts information found homesteader’s horse(s). Horse-drawn vehicles were near the end of the resource package. Have students the mode of transportation used by most settlers. select telephone, radio or television, and design a poster How would the illness or loss of a horse have affected to herald the coming of one of these inventions using a settler’s psyche? For one woman, whose family’s either the theme of “bringing the world into your home” horse died on a trip to town, the loss of a horse caused or “bringing people closer together.” In developing their her great anguish according to her son: “She realized posters, students should consider how each development in her far-seeing mind what it would mean to us living might have impacted people’s lives. one hundred and more miles from the nearest source 7. Students should review the entire set of Fast Facts to of supplies and now deprived of the only means of prepare them for their Western Development Museum reaching the outer world.” visit. • Immigrants came to Saskatchewan from many different countries. Neighbours, including local First Nations people, often spoke different languages. How could people communicate with others who did not speak their language? (Music, dancing, food, “sign” language and games may have been methods used to overcome language barriers.)

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Conduct an in-class simulation to give students a mild taste of what it would be like to be cut off from contact with others. For an afternoon, instruct students not to speak with other students, not to use any electronic communication devices including telephones, radio, television, or computers, and not to read any newspapers or magazines. Students may want to wear signs to say that they are participating in an experiment, and asking people not to initiate conversation with them. At the conclusion of the experiment, have students write a brief journal entry to chronicle their experience of being unable to communicate. How did they feel? Were they frustrated by being unable to communicate? Did they feel lonely or isolated?

144 Connecting to the World Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications Grade Seven Social Studies

LESSON PLAN TWO: AT THE MUSEUM

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will explore the content of a discovery box and tour exhibits in the Museum.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Materials and information sent to you in your Museum tour confi rmation package Students will explore the evolution of communications in Saskatchewan, and how home-grown development and exploitation of new technology has closed the gap between people living in urban, rural and remote areas in the Connecting to the World – Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications discovery box. PROCEDURE 1. Prepare to teach and to tour the Museum by reviewing the resources listed. Divide your class into groups before the visit. Discuss the required number of groups with Museum Programmer when you book your visit. Select other staff members or parents to lead the groups. Advise the group leadesr about what they will have to do. 2. Students will visit a Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Saskatoon or Yorkton. The entire class will assemble for a welcome and orientation. 3. The class will be divided into two, three or more groups depending on the class size. Students will interact with artifacts, replicas and photographs located in a discovery box. A leader’s script included in the discovery box will spearhead discussion. 4. The class will tour pertinent exhibits in the Museum using a tour handout to guide their exploration. This handout may be a question-and-answer sheet or scavenger hunt. A tour script for the group leader will be sent to you with confi rmation of your Museum tour booking.

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LESSON PLAN THREE: WHENWHEN AA MUSEUMMUSEUM VISITVISIT ISN’TISN’T POSSIBLEPOSSIBLE

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will write a short story from the perspective of someone who witnessed the adoption of the telephone, and the coming of radio and television. Instructions for developing a simple telegraph system are offered here to introduce a hands- on component to the lesson, and to develop an appreciation for the limitations and challenges of using an early communication system like telegraphy.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS • Fast Facts information (at the end of the resource package) • Morse code reference sheet gathered by the teacher (Internet search or other source) Advertisement by Northern Electric Telephone as it appeared • Blank telegrams (appendix one) in the May 1, 1926 issue of the Grain Growers’ Guide. Western Development Museum Collection

PROCEDURE 1. Using the Fast Facts information as a reference, have • “Talk By Lighting Telegraph” from the Yes Mag: The students write a short story from the perspective of Science Magazine For Adventurous Minds website at someone who experienced the coming of telephone, radio http://playpen.icomtek.csir.co.za/~acdc/club%20ideas/ telegraph/telegraph.html or television. In their stories, students should consider how 3. Prior to conducting the telegraphy activity, review the the availability of these three modes of communication telegraphy information from the Communications Fast would affect their personal and professional lives and their Facts section with students. communities as a whole? Students must provide a short 4. Using Morse code, practice sending and deciphering the paragraph describing the fi ctional character they have students’ names and simple messages with the homemade chosen, and include information about whether they were telegraph. A Morse code reference sheet can easily be urban or rural, and what their occupation was. located by using an Internet search engine. A blank telegram 2. Construct a homemade telegraph system using instructions can be printed off and copied from appendix one for use from one of the following sources, or consult books in your during the exercise. To add an air of authenticity, utilize a school or local library. manual typewriter (if available) to type out the messages. • “Tap, Tap, Tap: Telegraphs and Morse Code” from The Case of the Electrical Mystery: 2000-2001 Series – a 5. Once the activity has been concluded, discuss the idea children’s science series produced by NASA’s Centre that want stimulates invention. What were the limitations for Distance Learning, Langley Research Centre. The of the telegraph? Why was it not frequently used by the educational guide can be accessed online at general population? The telephone was the next step in the communications timeline to impact Saskatchewan people. https://www.knowitall.org/video/case-electrical- What factors stimulated the adoption of the telephone in mystery-part-1-nasa-scifiles Saskatchewan? Why was private industry not interested in • “Send It In Code” from Ella Ratner’s publication, Sound expanding telephone service to all areas of the province, Science (Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1991).

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resulting in the Saskatchewan government becoming involved? (Delivering service to a widely dispersed population was not as profi table as delivering service to larger centres.) How would the lack of telephone service in rural and remote areas have impacted the quality of life for people living there?

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Visit a local museum to view communications artifacts from the past in the museum’s collection. To find a local museum, visit the Museums Association of Saskatchewan at http://www.saskmuseums.org. 2. Explore the Humboldt and District Museum’s online exhibit, A Line Through the Wilderness, which is part of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Memories program. The exhibit traces the history of the Humboldt Telegraph Station dating back to the 1870s. The exhibit can be accessed at http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/virtual-exhibits/exhibit/a-line- through-the-wilderness/

LESSON PLAN FOUR: CLASSROOMCLASSROOM WRAP-UPWRAP-UP

LESSON OVERVIEW Saskatchewan has and continues to be a world leader in communications technology involving the application of fi bre- optics. Students will analyze the article, “SaskTel Installs World’s Longest Fibre-Optics Network,” compiled by Saskatchewan Industry and Resources. Using critical thinking and research skills, students will answer questions related to the development of communications technologies in Saskatchewan.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Kendall Bitner sitting in front of his home computer, 2006. Ruth Bitner Photo • Copies of the Communications Article Analysis Worksheet from appendix two, which includes the text of the article, “SaskTel Installs World’s Longest Fibre-Optics Network”

147 Connecting to the World Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications Grade Seven Social Studies

PROCEDURE 1. In review, ask students what struck them as most interesting about the development of communications in Saskatchewan. Did any of the Saskatchewan achievements surprise them? 2. Explain that the application of fi bre-optics technology by SaskTel, beginning in the 1980s, is one of Saskatchewan’s most notable communications achievements, and established the company as a world fi bre-optics leader and authority. Distribute copies of the Communications Article Analysis Worksheet, which includes the text of an article entitled, “SaskTel Installs World’s Longest Fibre-Optics Network,” and a set of corresponding questions. 3. Using the article as a basis, and conducting further research where necessary, students will analyze the article and answer a series of questions related to learning objectives in the grade seven social studies curriculum.

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Interview parents or grandparents on what technological advances in communication they have been witness to in their lives, and how they have been impacted. Share what the students learned in a class discussion. What advances in communications technology do the students foresee in the future, and what will drive development?

148 Connecting to the World Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications Grade Seven Social Studies

RESOURCES • “SaskTel History” on the SaskTel website: https://www.sasktel.com/about-us/company- info/vision-mission-and-values/history-site/history • 2001 Press Release from the Government of Saskatchewan announcing CommunityNet, Saskatchewan’s world-class broadband system: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/ news-and-media/2001/may/23/communitynet-launched. • The Friends of the Communication Research Centre website includes information about the activities of the Prince Albert Radar Laboratory: http://friendsofcrc.ca/. • Explore the Humboldt and District Museum’s online exhibit about the Humboldt Telegraph Station, A Line Through the Wilderness, which is part of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Memories Program: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/virtual-exhibits/exhibit/a-line- through-the-wilderness/ • Find a local amateur radio club in your area by visiting the club links on the Saskatchewan Amateur Radio League website: https://sarl.ca/ • General information about amateur radio in Canada and the process to become a licensed operator may be found at industry Canada’s website: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt- gst.nsf/eng/sf01862.html • Listen to the Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation’s radio network online, which includes Cree and Dene language programming, and news relevant to people living in northern Saskatchewan: https://www.mbcradio.com/ • Learn more about the history of SED Systems and current projects at https:// www.sedsystems.ca/ • Atlas of Saskatchewan. Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan, 1999. • The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2005. • The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan is also available online at https://esask.uregina.ca/. • Love, Ronald S. Dreaming Big: A History of SaskTel. Regina: SaskTel, 2003. • Schmalz, Wayne. On Air: Radio in Saskatchewan. Regina: Coteau Books, 1990. • Clements, Montagu. “Listening In On the Prairies,” in Saskatchewan History. Volume IX:No.1, Winter 1956, 16-18. Saskatoon: Saskatchewan Archives Board, 1956.

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FAST FACTS Newspapers • The fi rst newspaper printed in present-day Saskatchewan, then part of the North-West Territories, was the Saskatchewan Herald which was published in Battleford in 1875. The publisher was Patrick Laurie, who reportedly, in the absence of rail travel at the time, transported his printing press by ox cart from Fort Garry to Battleford. • Early newspapers included the Prince Albert Times, Moose Jaw News, Fort Qu’Appelle Progress and Qu’Appelle Vidette, Regina Leader, Saskatchewan Review and Moosomin Courier. • By 1905 when Saskatchewan achieved provincehood, there were some 52 newspapers in production around the province. • For settlers during Saskatchewan’s early years, newspapers were often brought from larger centres by train to smaller points along the rail line. Because visits to town could be few and far between, the news was almost always dated by the time it reached the hands of isolated settlers. Nevertheless, the newspapers provided a much-appreciated link to the outside world. • Several factors including the Great Depression, the development of radio, television and the Internet, have all affected the newspaper business in Saskatchewan by competing for advertising dollars and the attention of potential readers. As a result, many daily papers have merged over the years. • In 2006, 84 newspapers across the province belong to the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association, and reach a readership of 500,000 people.

Wire Telegraphy • Samuel Morse, with assistance from his partner Alfred Vail, developed the Morse system of telegraphy in the United States in the 1840s. Morse code is a system to convey the letters of the alphabet, the ten numerals and punctuation with short and long pulses, represented by dots and dashes respectively. The telegraph system consisted of a key or switch, an electromagnet or sounder at each end, in a series with a wire and a battery, and the earth, which acted as a return line. Electrical signals to represent short and long pulses are sent by an operator over an electrically conducting wire using a telegraph key, and the signals are translated back into letters, numbers and punctuation by a skilled operator at the receiving instrument. • In an effort to prepare the North-West Territories (including present day Saskatchewan) for settlement and the coming of the railway, the Dominion Government dispatched 275 members of the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) to bring law and order to the region in 1874. An initial handicap for the NWMP was the lack of a communication system. A solution came in 1874 when the Dominion Government began building a telegraph line which would link Edmonton with Livingstone (36 miles north of present day Kamsack), the fi rst headquarters of the NWMP. In 1876, the line east from Selkirk to Livingstone was completed, the line to Battleford, across the South Saskatchewan at Clark’s Crossing, was completed by late 1876, reaching Edmonton in 1879. • The telegraph line followed the proposed route of the Canadian Pacifi c Railway. When the route was moved farther south, closer to the American border, the line which connected Selkirk to the Humboldt Station was abandoned, and a new line was built from Humboldt

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to Qu’Appelle Station, to connect to the new Canadian Pacifi c Railway telegraph line. A branch line to Prince Albert was constructed in 1883. • Service was not always reliable, as the lines were subject to the ravages of extreme weather and fi re. Linemen were 100 miles or more apart, and had only a horse and buckboard for travel, often making line repair slow. • The Dominion Telegraph and the Canadian Pacifi c Railway telegraphs played an important role in the 1885 North West Resistance, allowing rapid military communication. • In 1886, the government line was changed once more. The wilderness line between Battleford and Edmonton was replaced by one that followed the North Saskatchewan River, and passed through communities and Indian reserves. • By the start of the First World War, telegraphy was the domain of the railway companies, who used the communication system to monitor the location of their trains and to give operating instructions. The companies also sent messages for the public. • On the whole, most people used a telegraph only to send very urgent and important messages due to the high cost. Eventually the telephone superseded the use of the telegraph. The telegraph was largely used by governments, businesses and the railways. • In the early days of the telegraph, Dominion Government surveyors relayed their results via telegraph to offi ces in Ontario. Medical advice was dispensed by stations having a medical book on site. Some operators even played games of long-distance checkers with other operators to pass the time.

Telephone • The telephone came to present-day Saskatchewan only six years after Alexander Graham Bell received his patent for the telephone in 1876. Regina, then part of the Northwest Territories, had two telephone systems in operation by 1882-83. Bell Canada began offering telephone service in Regina in late 1882, with 20 telephones in use by the end of the year. The North West Mounted Police also constructed a telephone system to connect their various facilities. Other locations along the line were also connected including the Territorial Administration buildings and Government House. • When the Province of Saskatchewan was formed in 1905, many homes in Moose Jaw, Regina, Yorkton, Moosomin, and Saskatoon had telephone service. There were 2000 phones in operation. None of these centres provided rural service, however. Telephone development in those early days was controlled by private enterprise which had no interest in constructing unprofi table rural lines across vast distances. • In 1908, the Saskatchewan government passed the Railways and Telephone Department Act, creating the Department of Railways, Telegraphs, and Telephones to provide and expand local and long distance telephone service in the province. • In 1908, after a comprehensive review of existing telephone service in the province, the Government of Saskatchewan passed The Rural Telephone Act, which encouraged farmers to provide their own telephone service through the co-operative organization of locally owned and operated companies. The Saltcoats Rural Telephone Company was the fi rst company formed under the new Rural Telephone Act. In 1908, only 300 Saskatchewan farms had telephones. • A rural telephone school was fi rst offered by the Department of Railways, Telegraphs, and Telephones in 1917. Rural telephone companies sent representatives to learn about all aspects of telephony, including set-up and maintenance.

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• By 1921, there were about 1,200 rural companies in Saskatchewan providing local telephone service to 58,000 farm subscribers, while the government served 30,500 customers in urban areas. • It was reported in 1926 that Saskatchewan had more rural telephones per capita than any other province or country in the world, except Sweden. Over 50 percent of Saskatchewan farmers were telephone subscribers. There were approximately 65,000 rural phones and 33,000 urban phones in the province, or one telephone for every eight people. • A telephone in the farm home had many advantages. It gave families in isolated areas a sense of security knowing they could quickly get in touch with neighbours if something unexpected happened. In the event of sickness or injury, a doctor could be summoned quickly by phone. For the farmer, valuable time was saved. Instead of driving into town to obtain market prices, to fi nd out whether rail cars were available, or to order repairs, he could simply use the telephone. In 1928, a bumper crop year, many farmers made arrangements for the marketing of their crops over the telephone. • In 1923, Canada’s fi rst church service was broadcast over Saskatchewan government lines. In the same year, long distance telephone lines were used to carry a music festival program in Prince Albert, to Regina where it was broadcast over the radio. • In 1947, the responsibility to provide and expand local and long distance telephone service in the province was transferred to a crown corporation called Saskatchewan Government Telephones. The Department of Railways, Telegraphs, and Telephones now oversaw the rural and privately-owned telephone companies. • In 1964, the Regina and Saskatoon long distance centres were connected to the continent- wide direct dialing network, making direct long distance dialing possible anywhere in North America, without the assistance of an operator. Gradually this service was extended to other parts of the province. • SaskTel began a program in 1966 to serve 6000 rural customers who were not served by rural telephone companies. • In 1969, the name of Saskatchewan Government Telephones was changed to SaskTel. • The last rural telephone company, East Borden, joined SaskTel in 1982, completing a program begun in 1976 to assimilate the remaining 700 rural companies. • In the 1980s, SaskTel pioneered the application of fi bre-optics – a revolutionary new telecommunications technology. In the book, Dreaming Big: The History of SaskTel, author Ronald S. Love explains how fi bre-optics works: “Using high-speed streams of laser-generated light impulses to carry computer-coded voice, image and data information through strands of glass no thicker than a human hair, a fi bre-optic telecommunication system has far greater information-handling capabilities than any transmission method of the past.” The company completed the world’s longest commercial fi bre-optics system in 1984, 3,268 kilometres long, connecting 52 communities. Since then, the network has expanded to reach hundreds of communities, and the fi bre-optics cable has been replaced by newer fi bre-optics capable of transmitting more information. • SaskTel International was formed in 1986 to market SaskTel’s expertise in telecommunica- tions to customers around the world. In 1994, SaskTel International completed a four year commitment as a fi bre optics consultant for the Channel Tunnel project, which connects the United Kingdom and France.

152 Connecting to the World Saskatchewan Achievements in Communications Grade Seven Social Studies

• In 1990, SaskTel successfully completed its largest project - the rural individual line service program. 70,000 customers were converted from multi-party line to individual line service. • In 1995, SaskTel patented technology that allowed hotel guests to make and receive telephone calls while playing a video game, even though the controller was hooked into the same telephone jack. This technology was marketed through the Hospitality Network and Nintendo.

Radio • The fi rst trans-Atlantic radio signal is credited to Guglielmo Marconi, and took place on 12 December 1901 at Signal Hill in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The use of radio for communication quickly became apparent, as it enabled instant contact over long distances without the need for interconnecting wires or cables. • Two young Colonsay area farmers, Ben Taylor and Elwood Campbell, made Saskatchewan radio history when they set up their own “radio stations” in 1911. At this time, wireless telegraphy was in its infancy, and was still in an undeveloped and unreliable state. Using parts ordered from the United States and information from the magazine Scientifi c American, the pair set up stations on their farms 15 miles apart. This system did not transmit voice, but rather, the dots and dashes of the Morse code. The inventive pair was able to send signals and to hear some “noise” at the other end, so their experiment was a partial success. Before their experiment could progress further, someone reported their set-up to police, apparently concerned that it might pose a security threat because of the First World War. Ben Taylor’s equipment was dismantled by police. • Amateur radio in Saskatchewan grew slowly, but was already evident in the 1920s. Morse code was the main form of communication, as it was more reliable than voice broadcasting during times when static and other adverse atmospheric conditions were prevalent. Most of the equipment was home-built, as there were almost no commercially available products for radio amateurs until after the mid-1940s. Even then, many radio amateurs continued to build their own equipment or modify surplus wartime equipment due to the expense of commercial products. • Today, as in the past, amateur radio operators must be licensed by the Federal government. Licensing involves passing an exam which tests the candidate’s knowledge of radio theory and operating practices. Each operator is assigned his/her own call sign. • In times of public emergencies, when telephone or Internet communication may be disrupted, amateurs have been able to maintain communication with the outside world. • Today, there are more than 1,000 amateur radio operators in Saskatchewan. Although the Internet has fulfi lled much of the general public’s need for instant, long distance communication, the amateur radio hobby still provides the only legal method of personal, world-wide communication without any intervening or supporting infrastructure. • CKCK Regina, Saskatchewan’s fi rst commercial radio station, debuted on July 22, 1922. CKCK was established by the Regina’s The Leader newspaper. Other early radio stations established in Saskatchewan include: CFQC Saskatoon (1923), CHAB Moose Jaw (1923 as 10AB), CKRM Regina (1926), CJGX Yorkton (1927), CKBI Prince Albert (1933), CBK Watrous (1939), CJNB North Battleford (1946), CKOM Saskatoon (1951), CFRG Gravelbourg (1952) and CFNS Saskatoon (1952).

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• Crystal radio sets were popular, beginning in the 1920s when radio was in its infancy in Saskatchewan. A crystal set could be constructed quite cheaply, and consisted of an antenna, a tuner, and a detector usually consisting of a sharp wire or pin pressing against a sensitive point on a galena mineral crystal in a holder. The headphones which were required to listen were the most expensive component. • An annual license was required to operate a home radio receiver until 1953. • Radio communication has played an important role in keeping remote areas in Saskatchewan’s north connected. During the 1950s, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Saskatchewan operated a network of over 500 two-way radios. Many remote areas rely on airplanes to fl y people and goods in and out. Flying would be hazardous and a less effective way of conducting business without the ability to communicate. Commercial fi shermen relied on the timely arrival of planes to fl y out their catch of fi sh when it was still fresh. Mining companies, outfi tters and the administration of the natural resources of the north would have been severely restricted without this important means of communication. In addition, people relied on radio communication to arrange evacuation of sick and injured people in need of medical treatment. In 1954-55, an astounding 104,000 radio messages were sent over the network operated by the DNR. • Two private French language radio stations, CFNS Saskatoon and CFRG Gravelbourg, went on the air in 1952. The stations were later sold to la Société Radio-Canada in 1972. • The Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was formed after the establishment of the Northwest Native Broadcast Access Program in 1983, and has since become a leader in indigenous communications. The MBC broadcasts out of La Ronge, and reaches an estimated audience of 100,000 people, including 60 communities across the province. MBC provides news and programming relevant to northern people, including ten hours each of Cree and Dene language programming each week. To listen online, visit MBC at http://www.mbcradio.com/. • Saskatchewan’s fi rst reserve-based radio station was launched on the Okanese First Nation near Balcarres on June 12, 2003. CHXL-FM (95.3) broadcasts the usual musical offerings like rock and country, as well as old-time fi ddling, blues, gospel and pow-wow music. The music is complemented by an assortment of live talk shows, stories from local elders and conversational Cree programs.

Internet • The universities in Saskatoon and Regina brought the Internet to Saskatchewan in 1989 when they built the Sask*net network, part of the national CA*net network initiative. For more infor- mation, visit Canada’s advanced internet organization CANARIE at http://www.canarie.ca/. • In 1990, University of Saskatchewan librarian Peter Scott developed the world’s fi rst hypertext directory of worldwide Telnet sites, called Hytelnet. Colleague Earl Fogel wrote the Hytelnet software for UNIX and VMS systems. Hytelnet was the world’s fi rst Internet browser. Before there was the World Wide Web as we know it today, there was Telnet and Gopher. • SaskTel became Saskatchewan’s Internet access provider when it launched SaskNet in 1995, which offered dial-up access, email and a news service. According to SaskTel, “…[SaskTel] brought universality of service and moderation of prices to the residents of Saskatchewan including being the only Internet provider to waive long distance dial-up charges for rural customers.” • http://www.sasktel.com/about-us/company-information/history/1990s.html

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• In 1996, SaskTel became the fi rst in North America to offer commercial high-speed Internet service using Assymetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology. (Unlike a dial-up connection, an ADSL connection is always on. More of the channel is devoted to receiving/ downloading information versus sending/uploading information.) • In 1996, Peter Scott and Doug MacDonald with the University of Saskatchewan Library developed WebCATS, a web-based program for searching online library catalogues around the world. WebCATS was replaced by Libdex, also developed by Scott. • CommunityNet, a partnership between SaskTel, the Government of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Communications Network and the Government of Canada, was launched in 2001. As a result of the project, Saskatchewan has emerged as a world leader in the provision of Internet services. CommunityNet is a high-speed Internet system which to date, has provided every educational facility, government offi ce, health care facility and library with high-speed access in 366 communities. CommunityNet provides high-speed Internet access to rural and remote communities that would be over-looked by private sector companies, due to the expensive nature of the project. CommunityNet’s backbone also provides a framework for SaskTel to expand its high-speed service to smaller communities on a case by case basis, at a faster rate than would otherwise be possible. To learn more about CommunityNet, visit the CommunityNet website at http://www.communitynet.ca/ intro.html.

Television, Radar and Satellite Communication • Television came to Saskatchewan in 1954. CKCK in Regina and CFQC in Saskatoon began broadcasting that year. • According to the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies (ISAS) website, part of the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Physics, ISAS has long been involved in research involving radar and satellite systems: The Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies (ISAS) was formed in 1956 to study the aurora (northern lights), the related ‘disturbances’ in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere, and the effects of solar activity upon climate. Since that time members of the Institute have expanded the world’s knowledge and understanding of how the sun and the earth interact; and trained more than 200 scientists and engineers in a wide range of technical and scientifi c areas. ISAS developed observing systems for space and atmospheric sciences, ground based optical and radar instruments, and satellite systems, remote sensing technology, and knowledge of STP processes are a vital resource for “Canadian Space Science” and couples powerfully into high- technology industries. http://www.usask.ca/physics/isas • Saskatchewan’s portion of the Trans Canada Microwave relay system, by which signals could be beamed from tower to tower carrying video, voice and data, was completed by SaskTel in 1957. As a result, live television could be broadcast across the country, making programming like Hockey Night in Canada possible for Saskatchewan fans to enjoy. • On June 6, 1959, to inaugurate the offi cial opening of the Prince Albert Radar Laboratory (PARL), American President Dwight Eisenhower bounced a congratulatory message off the moon from the Millstone Hill Radar station near Boston, Massachusetts, to PARL. This was an historic occasion, because the moon was the world’s fi rst and largest satellite, and it foreshadowed the power of bouncing signals off objects orbiting the earth for the purpose of communication.

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• PARL was a joint initiative of Canada’s Defense Research Board and the United States Air Force to investigate potential problems, including the aurora borealis, which might impact the detection of intercontinental ballistic missiles offi cials feared might be destined for North America from countries like the former Soviet Union. A sister radar was located at Millstone Hill near Boston. Following its experiment with using the moon as a satellite, the PARL was also involved in communications experiments involving the fi rst man-made satellite called U.S. Echo in 1960. SED Systems converted PARL to a satellite tracking station in the 1970s, and it was used to receive remote sensing images of the earth taken by the Landsat satellite. For more information, read the article “The Prince Albert Radar Laboratory” by D.R. Hansen on the Friends of the Communications Research Centre website: http://friendsofcrc.ca/PrinceAlbert/PARL%20History/PARL%20History%20p1.html. • The present day SED Systems was formed as the Space Engineering Division of the University of Saskatchewan’s Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies in 1965. SED was changed to SED Systems when it became a private company in 1972. SED Systems is a world expert in network management and satellite ground communications technology. In 1998, SED Systems was awarded the largest ever contract to a Canadian company by the European Space Agency (ESA) to build a gigantic, 35-metre deep space antenna located in Australia. The antenna sends and receives information to and from ESA spacecraft, namely the Rosetta spacecraft which is on a ten year journey to meet up with the 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko comet, and the Mars Express craft which is delivering information from Mars. SED Systems is also building a similar ESA antenna in Spain. For more information about SED Systems, visit http://www.sedsystems.ca and http://www.sk25.ca. • In 1984, as part of a fi eld trial, SaskTel’s new fi bre-optic system was used to beam live lectures from the University of Regina to students in Moose Jaw, Melville, Yorkton and Swift Current. • The University of Saskatchewan began offering introductory credit classes via television satellite in 1987. The classes involved a televised lecture from the University, on-site tutors to assist students, and live discussions between the instructor and students via telephone. • The Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) was created by an act of the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1989. SCN provides informative Saskatchewan programming on its Broadcast Network, the delivery of educational credit classes through its E-Learning Network, and uses satellite technology to deliver its networks, and for the delivery of high- speed internet to rural and remote communities with the CommunityNet program. SCN was licensed and began broadcasting in 1991.

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APPENDIX ONE

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APPENDIX TWO Communications Article Analysis Worksheets Article reproduced in 2005 with permission from The 25 Saskatchewan Science Achievements website, compiled by Saskatchewan Industry and Resources: http://www.sk25.ca/. SaskTel Installs World’s Longest Fibre-Optics Network

This is the story of how a small telecommunications company blazed a trail ahead of the world’s telecommunications giants to become the fi rst to develop and operate a large-scale fi bre-optics network in the early 1980s. When SaskTel fi rst started building the network in 1980, the longest network in the world was less than 10 kilometres. By the time the Saskatchewan Crown corporation completed its work in 1984, it had installed the world’s longest fi bre-optics network - covering an amazing 3,268 kilometres to link 52 communities. The project was started to help SaskTel keep ahead of rapid advances in telecommunications technology. In the late 1970s, SaskTel business managers and engineers foresaw the coming digital revolution, when most of the world’s information would be communicated digitally from computer to computer. “Our dream was to digitize the province,” explained Graham Bradley, who was part of SaskTel’s original fi bre-optics team and went on to become director of the research and development group before retiring in 2000. “Today, this means that people in small-town Saskatchewan have better telecommunications services than people in many large American cities.” Bradley’s team began researching fi bre optics in the late 1970s. What they saw was a technology that allowed voice, video and data to be carried on the same fi bre, with a transmission capacity far greater than any other communications medium. “Fibre optics is the science of communicating with laser-generated pulses of light travelling through hair-thin fi laments of glass,” said Bradley. “This digital system was much superior to the analog system then in use in terms of capacity and quality of transmission over distances.” There were three technology trends driving SaskTel to consider replacing the old analog telephone cable network with fi bre optics. First, cable television was beginning to make inroads into the television market, and more consumers were asking for cable. The Government of Saskatchewan and SaskTel wanted to ensure there was a comprehensive cable network that could transmit video images throughout the province. Second, the team wanted a network that could transmit high volumes of data in anticipation of the rapid growth of computer-to-computer communication. Today, that communication has evolved into the worldwide Internet. Third, the team wanted to develop a telecommunications system that could transmit over long distances without losing quality of voice, video or data. Fibre optics fulfi lled all three needs at once. At that time, one hair-thin fi bre was enough to transmit 672 telephone calls or one video channel. Since the early 1980s, the capacity of fi bre optics has increased tremendously to the point where, today, one fi bre could possibly handle one million calls.

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The conversion to fi bre optics made even more sense after SaskTel decided in the late 1970s to replace its old telephone switches with digital computer ones. Fibre optics was the perfect digital carrier between these digital “hubs” or switches. The plan for a provincewide fi bre-optics network was approved in 1980, and Bradley’s team began installing the fi rst 200-kilometre fi bre-optics cable between Regina and Yorkton, primarily for use in transmitting video. From there, they were ready to tackle the whole network. The Government of Saskatchewan convinced Northern Telecom Corporation to build a plant in Saskatoon to manufacture the fi bre-optics cable and other electronic components. The SaskTel engineers mapped out a plan for how the network would operate. Bradley said that mostly home- grown technical talent was used. Construction crews plowed trenches for the cable in registered easements, usually next to railway lines. Although the initial network was completed in 1984, it has been expanded many times since then to reach hundreds of communities across Saskatchewan. As well, gradually the fi bre optics in the entire original network were replaced by newer fi bre optics able to carry greater volumes and maintain transmission quality over longer distances. That original decision to convert to fi bre optics led to many technology advances and economic benefi ts in the decades to come. Recognizing the market value of its fi bre-optics expertise, SaskTel created an international subsidiary to market the corporation’s telecommunications consulting services to global markets. SaskTel International has helped develop fi bre-optics networks around the world. In fact, the subsidiary was one of the main consultants that commissioned the fi bre- optics system in the Channel Tunnel connecting England to France, which was built in the 1990s.

“Without fi bre optics, there would be no high-speed Internet,” Bradley added. Now Saskatchewan has one of the most comprehensive high-speed Internet networks in North America.

SaskTel became famous in the telecommunications industry because of these accomplishments, said Bradley. “Our work is known better internationally than here in Saskatchewan or even in Canada,” he added. Along with that recognition came the secret satisfaction of having beat the giants such as Bell Canada in the digital telecommunications race.

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Using the article as a basis, and conducting further research where necessary, students will analyze the article, “Sasktel Installs the World’s Longest Fiber Optics Network”, and answer the following questions related to learning objectives in the grade seven social studies curriculum. 1) What is fi bre-optics technology and how does it work?

2) Necessity and want stimulate invention. What factors stimulated SaskTel to utilize fi bre-optics technology?

3) SaskTel has become a world leader in telecommunications, thanks in part to its fi bre-optics expertise. Discuss.

4) Technological change is continuous. In what ways has the use of fi bre-optics technology changed since SaskTel fi rst started using it in the 1980s?

5) What are the positive consequences of using fi bre-optics technology in Saskatchewan? Are there any negative consequences?

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