FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 8, 2007

Contact: Peg McLeish

Director of Communications

Phone: (317) 638-1500 ext. 117

Email: pmcleish@iupui.edu

Networks Financial Institute partners with IHC smartDESKTOP^®

INDIANAPOLIS – The Learning Collaborative, an affiliate of the Indiana Humanities Council, is proud to announce that Networks Financial Institute (NFI) has recently partnered with the IHC smartDESKTOP^® to provide a new venue of engagement for the organization’s educational activities. Through this partnership, NFI will increase the ability to provide resources, news, and event announcements to a wide audience of educators across Indiana through the smartDESKTOP's online collaboration services.

Networks Financial Institute exists to help the financial services industry transform itself through better leadership, creative collaboration, and community-based financial literacy initiatives. With innovative programs and services in the areas of education, outreach, and research, NFI provides an unprecedented link among educators, students, professionals, policy-makers and citizens.

Launched in 2003 as an outreach of Indiana State University’s College of Business, NFI provides the nation with a new level of access to Indiana’s world-class network of researchers and practitioners.

NFI members can now participate in real-time forums, share event information through a calendar system, access archived documents, and promote activities through the online “NFI Community" within the smartDESKTOP.

First debuted in 2005, the smartDESKTOP is a project of The Learning Collaborative, an affiliate of the Indiana Humanities Council lead by a distinguished board of education and community leaders from across the state. In addition to convening education-focused organizations and educators, the smartDESKTOP is an education service that provides tools to support the work of individual educators in curriculum management, instructional planning, measuring student learning, and collaborating with other professionals. Schools and corporations are also using the smartDESKTOP to provide professional support in communication, curriculum alignment, and student achievement reporting.

The Learning Collaborative provides smartDESKTOP accounts to any educator in the state of Indiana at no cost. For more information and to request a free account on the smartDESKTOP, please visit www.smartdesktop.org.

To learn more about NFI refer their website at www.networksfinancialinstitute.org. To learn more about the smartDESKTOP, go to their website at www.smartdesktop.org.

The Learning Collaborative is an affiliate of the Indiana Humanities Council. The Indiana Humanities Council is an independent, nonprofit organization supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations and by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In its thirty years of existence, the Council has created a legacy of work dedicated to promoting education, nurturing leaders and expanding cultural resources.

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