Internet2: Marking faster territory.FAST FACTS: Internet 2 * Creates leading-edge network for national researchers. * Enables virtual laboratories, digital libraries and distance education. * Access is through regional "gigapops" usually headed by a higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. or research university. What was once supposed to be Internet territory is slowly being taken over by something bigger and better: Internet2. About 24,000 schools nationwide are taking advantage of higher bandwidth, which enables high-definition broadcasting, multicasting and videoconferencing A real time video session between two or more users or between two or more locations. Although the first videoconferencing was done with traditional analog TV and satellites, inhouse room systems became popular in the early 1980s after Compression Labs pioneered digitized video systems ; crisper crisp·er n. One that crisps, especially a compartment in a refrigerator used for storing vegetables and keeping them fresh. images; and faster connections thanks to Internet2, a not-for-profit consortium led by more than 200 American universities. Internet2 recreates the academia, industry and government partnership that helped create the existing Internet, or commodity Internet, when it was first born. In Pennsylvania alone, districts use it for science, history, geography, and real-life lessons, allowing experts to talk to students via videoconferences and allowing students to see, in real time, experiments or projects. Educators are saying the network keeps students engaged in learning as they get to see real projects they would otherwise just read about in books or online. Students can watch astronauts work on the International Space Station, they can peer over the shoulder of a heart surgeon operating, or go underwater via a camera to learn about sea creatures. They can even exchange ideas with students in Japan and Taiwan. "Kids are taking ownership of what they can do," says Kim Breuninger, instructional technology There are two types of instructional technology: those with a systems approach, and those focusing on sensory technologies. The definition of instructional technology prepared by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology specialist at Chester County Chester County is the name of several counties in the United States:
"This is giving them tools to expand their local horizons and enrich the curriculum. It's not adding, but enhancing and promoting cultural awareness and sharing across cultures," adds Gina Vives, director of technology at Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is the name of the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia in the United States. The region is named for the Delaware River which flows through it. School in Pennsylvania. But James Gates, instructional technology trainer at Capital Area Intermediate Unit, says there is some understandable teacher resistance to use it because they need to focus more time on matching standards and raising test scores given NCLB NCLB No Child Left Behind (US education initiative) demands. The Franklin Institute Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia; chartered and opened 1824 "for the promotion of the mechanic arts," the first of its kind in the country. It was named for Benjamin Franklin. Since the 19th cent. in Philadelphia is among the first science centers in the U.S. to use the network. With Internet2, science centers can present real-time interactivity with scientists and research laboratories. Karen Elinich, Franklin's director of educational technology, says they recently brought a neurogeneticist in to discuss with Pennsylvania high school students genetic tendencies. The scientist used dogs to explain why retrievers retrieve and pit bulls dig. "I personally don't think kids or teachers have the opportunity to interact with a neurogeneticist" on any real basis, Elinich says. |
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