Internet2

Have been meaning to post about every two weeks, but as we have been busy with several projects, meetings and deadlines, oh and some holiday coming up soon it wasn't happening. We just finished an article on Internet2 applications in K-12 classrooms for NYSERNet. We will post a link to the article when it is officially published by NYSERNet.

If you are not familar with NYSERNET or did not attend the eLearning Symposium in November, you may not be aware that Monroe #1 BOCES component schools are connected to an extremely high speed, dedicated network called Internet2.

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer from September 22, 2005 explains more:

The network used by Internet2 members aims to provide speeds of 100 megabits to each desktop connected to it, far faster than residential connections available today. Researchers are using it for a variety of purposes, such as connecting U.S. mainland astronomers with telescopes in Hawaii, and linking supercomputers with radar stations to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts.

In an interview in Technology Review, David Talbot asked this question of Douglas Van Houweling, Internet2 CEO:

TR: What do you predict will be possible in the future?

DVH: I believe the network of the future will support a whole new set of applications -- immersive collaboration environments, resource-sharing, real-time computation-intensive simulations, HDTV-quality video on demand, and many others that probably can't even be imagined today. These applications will lead to further fundamental changes in the way we work, the way we learn, the way we entertain, the way we govern, and the way we live. We see three key areas of work we think are required to unleash the unrealized potential of the Internet: optical networking, federated authentication, and reliable end-to-end network performance. More...

We are only scratching the surface of the possibilities of using Internet2 in our K-12 classrooms. The gist of our article was that we need to start by thinking of ways to connect with classrooms around the globe. One-on-one desktop conferencing will change the way we think about distance learning. The potential of remote instrumentation brings the real world to our classrooms and may make some field trips obsolete (read.. saving money). A way out there idea for K-12 schools is the use of tele-immersion or virtual reality to collaborate on projects. . This is real heady stuff, but it's happening now. Read about Tele-Immersive learning here.

As we try to make connections with other users of Internet2 technologies we are also looking for classrooms in our component districts who are interested in working with us.