News Release

May 25, 2007

New Web Community Created by Boise State Student, Professors is Aimed at Scholars Worldwide

A new Web-based community for scholars has debuted at www.pronetos.com. Pronetos, the Professors’ Network, is the brainchild of Chris Blanchard, a Boise State University graduate student in history. While working as an undergraduate student to publish a paper with social work professor Dan Huff in 2003, he became frustrated by the cumbersome process of peer review and publishing. As a certified Web developer, he knew the Internet could solve a lot of his problems.

Fast forward to 2007, where MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites attract millions and building a site has become easier and cheaper. With the assistance and support of Huff, Boise State economics emeritus Larry Reynolds, and other faculty and students, Pronetos finally became a reality, going public earlier this week.

The free site allows registered scholars from around the globe to collaborate on research, review one another’s work and ultimately get published with less hassle. Pronetos gives academics a robust set of tools such as blogs, forums, wikis and more, and is organized by academic discipline.

The site’s main page lists the following uses: “Publish your life’s work. Share an idea with colleagues, and get real-time feedback. Post messages. Start a blog. Upload podcasts of your lectures. Post your curriculum materials. Use Pronetos as a repository for papers in your field — they’ll be indexed, searchable, publicly available and secure.”

In addition to furthering research, Pronetos will increase or improve collaboration between faculty members interested in doing multimedia projects and providing online materials for students, said Reynolds, who over the years offered many of his class materials online.

“I had a lot of students who said it was really great that I provided them with online text and peripheral matter for free,” he said. But posting that content can be difficult for professors who don’t have the technical support they need. Pronetos will simplify that process for instructors and students.

The Pronetos project was launched with advising assistance from the Boise State TECenter and a marketing plan authored by Boise State’s fall 2006 GB450 class. In addition, Pronetos’ software was created by MenloPrk (note: spelling is cq), a company led by a Boise State alumnus.

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Contact: Chris Blanchard, Department of History, (208) 608-2223, chris@lgmllc.com 
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu

May is “Return to Learn” month at Boise State University. “Return to Learn” is a concentrated effort to provide information on the best options for returning to school to those who are considering taking classes from the university. For more information, call (208) 562-3127 or click http://returntolearn.boisestate.edu.
 

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Last reviewed on Friday, May 25, 2007