CENIC Today -- June 2008
CENIC Today
cenic-today at lists.cenic.org
Thu Jul 3 15:08:27 PDT 2008
[CENIC Today -- June 2008, Volume 11 Issue 6] <http://www.cenic.org/>
CENIC News:
* President's Message: Computer and Internet Use in California,
Progress and Paradox <#1>
* CalREN Update: Network Projects and Activities <#2>
* "Astronomy without Borders" -- Demonstration Enables
Intercontinental Telescope Control and Real-Time Data Processing
with Help from CENIC and Pacific Wave <#3>
* CA Public Utilities Commission Votes to Include Community Colleges
in CA Teleconnect Fund <#4>
* Regional Networks Recognized by EDUCAUSE as "Visionary Pioneers"
with 2008 Catalyst Award <#5>
* CalREN Helps UC Language Consortium Build UC-Wide Teaching and
Learning Community <#6>
* Award-Winning CAHSEE Program Presents at UC21st Century Conference
on Teaching Technology <#7>
US & World Networking News:
* SETDA urges schools to boost bandwidth
* International HealthGrid Conference: Attendees examine the
challenges of improving medical research and healthcare using grid
technology
* Free Download: One-to-One Computing in the K-12 Environment
* Fiber-to-the-Home Council Applauds Introduction of "100 Megabit
Nation" Resolution in U.S. House
* São Paulo State University Announces Largest Cluster in Latin America
* UCSF and YouTube Educate the Public about Neurodegenerative Diseases
CENIC News
President's Message: Computer and Internet Use in California, Progress
and Paradox
by Jim Dolgonas, CENIC President & CEO
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Picture of Jim Dolgonas]
I wanted to share with our readers some information from a newly
published report by the Public Policy Institute of California
<http://www.ppic.org/> on computer and Internet use
<http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=831> in the state. In
general, I have to say the information contained in the report is both a
bit disappointing and not entirely surprising. Some surprises do exist,
however.
Among the report's findings are those that compare overall computer and
Internet use between 2000 and 2008. An unfortunate plateau appears to
have been reached; computer use in California has not changed much
(2000: 76%; 2008: 75%), and Internet use has increased only slightly
(2000: 65%; 2008: 70%).
It's important when viewing these statistics to remember several things,
the first being that the importance of computers and the Internet as a
means of providing more equal access to a broad range of services and
information across all demographics is widely recognized by many people.
When some segments of the population do not have network and computer
access, their ability to participate fully in government services,
healthcare, and education -- including school web sites -- becomes
reduced over time relative to those with computer and Internet access.
The second thing to keep in mind is that California is a very large
state, the most populous in the union with over 36 million inhabitants.
While a two-thirds to three-quarters affirmative response to a question
about computer or Internet use may seem fairly large, these responses
indicate that some nine to eleven million Californians do not habitually
use computers or the Internet at home or in school. In other words, the
number of Californians who do not use computers or the Internet is
larger than the complete populations of all but the ten most populous
states -- and roughly equal to the population currently being served by
CalREN. In this regard, the study results that indicate a plateau are
disappointing and symbolize a strong need for action.
The report also considers computer and Internet usage by age. While
usage varies somewhat, age variations do not account for the major
variations in overall usage. 71% of those between 18 and 34 report
having a computer in their home, and 68% report having an Internet
connection.
The over-55 age group not surprisingly has somewhat lower use, but what
may be more surprising is the magnitude of the difference. The over-55
age group does not lag by very much: 67% of over-55s report having a
home computer and 53% an Internet connection. This suggests that,
despite beliefs about a technology-phobic older population, aged-related
reticence to adopt technology taken by itself is unlikely to account for
the majority of the difference between computer and Internet users and
non-users.
Another section of the report focuses on how Californians feel about the
government's role in regulating and improving access to computers and
networks. 54% of Californians say that the government is doing "just
enough" or "more than enough" to regulate the Internet. More surprising
to me is the finding that 51% of respondents say that the government is
doing "just enough" or "more than enough" to improve access and
availability of broadband Internet technology. (30% say the government
is not doing enough and 19% are undecided.)
Given that over the last 8 years there has been essentially no change in
network use among those who are not current users, I must wonder how
increased usage will occur without greater government involvement and
how that involvement will be "sold" to a population a large portion of
which believes, despite evidence, that the government is currently
expending sufficient effort toward that end.
To me, this report seems to cry out for some dramatic change being
necessary to reduce barriers to use, as plateaus appear to have been
reached with current strategies both in terms of their effectiveness and
the public perception of their effectiveness. Whether future
improvements in computer and Internet usage will be provided by the
government, the private sector, or some combination of the two, we must
all hope that eight years from now, we will have moved on and upward
from the current plateau, to the benefit not only of those who are now
underserved, but to all of California as we would all prefer to live in
a state where all citizens are empowered to obtain the information they
need to live meaningful and secure private lives and to participate
fully in public life.
[***] <#top>
CalREN Update: Network Projects and Activities
by Ed Smith, CENIC Project Manager
------------------------------------------------------------------------
During the past months, CENIC has continued to work with the K-12
segment and telecommunications service providers on upgrades to a
significant number of SONET circuits, all of which will be migrated to
Gigabit connections. Thus far this past fiscal year, 23 county offices
of education and one branch office (the Riverside County Office of
Education's Indio office) have been upgraded.
This month, four more circuits have also had acceptance testing
completed, making the connectivity to CalREN currently enjoyed by the
K-12 sites even more robust and high-performance. Those circuits are
that between the Kern County Superintendent of Schools
<http://www.kern.org/> and the Bakersfield CalREN backbone node; that
between the Stanislaus <http://www.stancoe.org/> and Merced
<http://www.mcoe.org/> County Offices of Education, both of which are
connected to the Merced CalREN backbone node; that between the Victor
Valley Community College <http://www.vvc.edu/>, serving the San
Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
<http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/>, and UC Riverside <http://www.ucr.edu/>;
and that connecting the California Department of Education
<http://www.cde.ca.gov/> to the Sacramento CalREN backbone node.
In the upcoming fiscal year, we're looking forward to even more upgrades
for the K-12 and other segments, so be sure to check out future issues
of CENIC Today!
[***] <#top>
"Astronomy without Borders" -- Demonstration Enables Intercontinental
Telescope Control and Real-Time Data Processing with Help from CENIC and
Pacific Wave
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Astronomy, along with sciences like deep ocean studies, seismology, and
high-energy physics, is often a natural beneficiary of high-performance
networking like that provided by CalREN. All of these areas of study
feature large, remotely located observational platforms that generate
massive amounts of information, the effectiveness of which would be
greatly increased if they could be controlled in real-time. Experiments
carried out on these platforms are also routinely composed of worldwide
collaborations, which require worldwide high-performance networks.
Observational astronomy does, however, have some unique qualities that
make it particularly able to benefit from this type of networking --
what's called "very long baseline interferometry" (VLBI) where radio
telescopes placed far from one another are virtually "linked" in
real-time, creating in effect, a single telescope as large as the
distance between the linked telescopes, with all the resulting increases
in resolution.
[Map of the network path]
On June 18, 2008, this was precisely what took place between a 25-meter
radio telescope of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
<http://www.shao.ac.cn/english.htm>, the 34-metre telescope of the
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
<http://www.nict.go.jp/about/index_e.html> in Kashima, Japan, and the
64-metre CSIRO <http://www.csiro.au/> radio telescope New South Wales,
Australia. In order to complete the link-up, five different networks
(Japan's JGM2, China's CSTNet <http://www.cstnet.net.cn/english/>, and
AARNet <http://www.aarnet.edu.au/>'s SXTRansPORT
<http://%20noc.aarnet.edu.au/international/sxtransport.html>) were
connected through CalREN and the Pacific Wave <http://pacificwave.net/>
distributed peering facility, run by CENIC and the Pacific Northwest
Gigapop <http://www.pnw-gigapop.net/> with support from the University
of Washington <http://www.uwashington.edu/> and USC <http://www.usc.edu/>.
According to the CSIRO, the observations focused on active galactic
nuclei, super-massive black holes at the heart of distant galaxies.
Without the added resolution of VLBI, such observations are impossible.
With VLBI made more powerful and responsive by the high-performance
international networking made possible by CENIC, they can become
commonplace.
[***] <#top>
CA Public Utilities Commission Votes to Include Community Colleges in CA
Teleconnect Fund
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This month saw some significant news for California's Community College
System <http://www.cccco.edu/> in terms of funding as the California
Public Utilities Commission voted 5 to 0 to include them in the CA
Teleconnect Fund beginning in either October 2008 or January 2009.
As many readers of CENIC Today know well, the California Teleconnect
Fund, made possible by a small end-user surcharge placed on all
telephone bills in the state, provides discounts on selected
telecommunications services to qualifying schools, libraries,
government-owned and operated hospitals and health clinics, and
community based organizations. Thanks to the California Teleconnect
Fund, qualifying organizations can receive a 50% discount on all
measured business service lines, switched 56 lines, ISDN, DSL, T-1,
DS-3, and up to and including OC-192 services or their functional
equivalents.
More information on the fund can be found at the CPUC's website
<http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/Telco/Public+Programs/CTF/>, including FAQs
and applications.
This vote is certainly significant news for California's Community
College System, and CENIC Today will keep its readers apprised of all
updates on the status of this expansion of the California Teleconnect Fund.
[***] <#top>
Regional Networks Recognized by EDUCAUSE as "Visionary Pioneers" with
2008 Catalyst Award
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten to fifteen years ago, not only were many of the nation's regional
R&E networks just getting started, but the Internet itself was still in
a state of flux. Of course, "flux" can be said to be a permanent state
for the Internet, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the
network-of-networks that would become such a force for global knowledge
and economic development was in many ways still finding its feet. Forces
at work during that time would shape the network for years to come.
[EDUCAUSE Catalyst award picture]Happily, those forces included the
burgeoning regional networks and all to the good -- a fact recognized by
EDUCAUSE, nonprofit association familiar to many CENIC Today readers
whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the
intelligent use of information technology. On June 24, 2008, EDUCAUSE
announced the recipients of its 2008 Awards in Higher Education
Information Technology
<http://www.educause.edu/PressReleases/EDUCAUSEAnnounces2008AwardsinH/122056>,
and the Regional Networks were honored as recipients of the 2008
Catalyst Award <http://www.educause.edu/2008/121980>. Awardees will be
recognized at the EDUCAUSE 2008 Annual Conference
<http://net.educause.edu/E08> in Orland, FL taking place October 28-31,
2008.
According to the award statement, "The Regional Networks that evolved in
the late 1980s and early 1990s were an essential part of the
collaborative dynamics that created the Internet. Evolving from and
supporting higher education consortia with roots in supercomputing
research centers, the Regional Networks were able to solve formidable
technical problems." More can be found at the 2008 Catalyst Award
<http://www.educause.edu/2008/121980> statement.
Other 2008 awardees include Joel Hartman, the Vice Provost of
Information Technologies and Resources for the University of Central
Florida, recipient of this year's Leadership Award, and Michael Albright
and John Nworie, recipients of the EDUCAUSE Quarterly Contribution of
the Year Award for their article "Rethinking Academic Technology
Leadership in an Era of Change" from the Volume 31, Number 1, 2008 issue
of EDUCAUSE Quarterly.
[***] <#top>
CalREN Helps UC Language Consortium Build UC-Wide Teaching and Learning
Community
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Distributed throughout the state of California is the world's most
successful research university, the University of California. On its ten
campuses, the UC community has at their disposal an enormous amount of
expertise on very diverse topics -- and CalREN enables that community to
leverage this expertise for the benefit of the entire UC system and the
state's K-20 public education as a whole.
Among those areas of expertise is a topic of great interest to the world
at large: language. Language education in the United States is often
comprised of French or Spanish, which is unsurprising as we border on
Canada and Mexico. Other languages are far less frequently taught, but
these languages have lately become of significant interest for many
reasons, some economic or cultural, and some because as one of the most
diverse states in the union, California boasts many students for whom
English shares their home with another of the world's languages.
However, many of these languages -- among them Arabic, Chinese, Farsi,
Filipino, Japanese, Punjabi, and Vietnamese -- are not among the more
commonly taught Romance or Indo-European languages. Few campuses may
feature classes or specialists in some of these languages or their
cultures and literatures.
Broadband networks like CalREN, however, make it far easier for the UC
system to share scarce but hotly pursued resources like these not only
among themselves but among the larger K-20 community. Also, language
learning, with its keen dependency on real-time interaction with native
speakers, can benefit significantly from the worldwide distributed
education made possible by networks like CalREN.
[UC CLLT Logo] <http://uccllt.ucdavis.edu/>A consortium currently
achieving just this sort of synergy is based at UC Davis, the UC
Consortium for Language Learning and Teaching
<http://uccllt.ucdavis.edu/> (UCCLLT). Headed by Robert Blake of the
Department of Spanish and Classics at UC Davis, the Consortium aims to
leverage the UC's language expertise -- especially for less commonly
taught languages, or LCTLs -- to the benefit of the entire UC community
and the larger education community in California.
Begun in 2000, the Consortium has an admirable success under its belt
with its Arabic Without Walls
<http://arabicwithoutwalls.ucdavis.edu/aww/> online course, made
possible by a 2003 FIPSE grant. In fall of 2007, the course debuted with
Sonia S'hiri of UC Berkeley teaching. Eleven non-Berkeley students
enrolled via simultaneous enrollment, from Santa Cruz, Riverside,
Irvine, Merced, Davis, and the Berkeley Extension. (Course content was
produced in partnership with Brigham Young University
<http://www.byu.edu/>'s Kirk Belnap
<http://humanities.byu.edu/faculty/rkb>.)
The course itself was a stunning success, winning the 2007 Language
Learning Website Award
<https://www.calico.org/p-297-%20CALICO%20Awards.html> from CALICO
<http://www.calico.org/>, the Computer-Assisted Language Instruction
Consortium. In the course, rich media is integrated with distance
instruction and textbook work using applications like Moodle and Wimba.
Much of the Consortium's online materials has been accessed for
instruction beyond the UC system, demonstrating its use and popularity
as a resource for teaching LCTLs in general.
With additional attention to integrate such courses into the course
catalogues of the UC system, and the support of broadband networking to
make such courses even more immediate and richer for students and
instructors both, efforts like the UCCLLT can go a long way to ensuring
that the entire UC community and more can benefit from the resources
spread throughout the world's most successful research university.
For more information, please visit the UCCLLT
<http://uccllt.ucdavis.edu/> online.
[***] <#top>
UC21st Century Conference on Teaching Technology, Award-Winning CAHSEE
Program Presents
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 21st century has brought not only a wealth of new education
technology but a wealth of ideas on how best to use it. On June 20-21,
2008 at UC Davis, educators came together to share experiences and ideas
about how technology is, and can be, strategically used for teaching and
learning. The conference program emphasized student learning outcomes,
communication inside and outside of the classroom, and assessment of
technology's effectiveness in the instructional process.
Among the presentations and posters was one given by Doug Cremer of the
Butte-Glenn Community College District <http://www.butte.cc.ca.us/> and
UC Santa Barbara <http:/www.ucsb.edu/>'s Judith Green, focusing on the
winner of the 2008 CENIC Innovations in Networking award winner for
Educational Applications, CAHSEE: Stepping Into Your Future
<http://www.cahseesteps.net/>. The program itself was developed to
address the population of students who were unable to graduate high
school due to the requirement to pass the California High School Exit
Exam, or CAHSEE. It combines online course content, rich media, and
real-time instructional interaction via videoconferencing with a
flexible take-up model to result in a course that can be tailored for
student needs. The program also features a research-based assessment to
ensure that those needs are met.
[Small CAHSEE insert image]
<http://www.cenic.org/pix/publications/cenictoday/CAHSEEinsert.pdf>
/(Click to download CAHSEE insert.)/
As a collaborative program relying on input from all public education
segments as well as community-based partners such as libraries and
technology centers, it's a perfect example of how to use technology to
meet a significant educational need. Not only that, it also showcases
how the UC system can work together with other segments to create a new
and extremely flexible instructional model with the help of innovative
educational technology.
Visit the website for CAHSEE: Stepping Into Your Future
<http://www.cahseesteps.net/> to learn more. You can also learn more
about the UC21st conference <http://trc.ucdavis.edu/uc21st/> by visiting
their website and finding out about the presentations made by other UC
researchers into educational technology and how it can be most
effectively used.
[***] <#top>
US & World Networking News:
SETDA Urges Schools to Boost Bandwidth
Source: eSchool News <http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=54254>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite significant gains in high-speed connectivity among schools in
the last decade, most schools' broadband access is still not sufficient
to accommodate current and future technology needs, according to a
report released this month by the State Educational Technology Directors
Association (SETDA).
High-speed internet access is vital for U.S. education and global
competitiveness, and ensuring broadband access for all students has
become a critical national issue, SETDA says in its report, titled
High-Speed Broadband Access for All Kids: Breaking Through the Barriers.
<http://www.setda.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=270&name=DLFE-211.pdf>
Fiber-to-the-Home Council Applauds Introduction of "100 Megabit Nation"
Resolution in U.S. House
Source: FTTH Council <http://www.ftthcouncil.org/?t=288>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fiber-to-the-Home Council, representing more than 170 companies and
organizations involved in connecting American homes directly into fiber
optic networks and delivering next-generation broadband services over
them, today welcomed the introduction of H. Res.1292, a resolution in
the U.S. House of Representatives calling for universal availability of
next-generation broadband networks with transmission speeds of 100
megabits per second (Mbps) by 2015.
The resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and is
cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) the Chairman of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and
the Internet, and U.S. Rep Mike Doyle (D-PA).
Free Download: One-to-One Computing in the K-12 Environment
Source: Converge Magazine
<http://www.convergemag.com/mpc_gateway/?utm_source=CenterCampaign&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Converge&utm_campaign=MPC>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This guide has been developed to help educators think their way through
one-to-one computing initiatives. It is organized as a collection of
materials more than just an essay. Each section summarizes what we have
learned about the challenge of developing, implementing and sustaining
one-to-one programs; provides exhibits with information straight from
the experts; and offers resources for deeper inquiry. It doesn't have
all the answers, but it does offer a big picture and direction on where
to learn more.
International HealthGrid Conference: Attendees examine the challenges of
improving medical research and healthcare using grid technology
Source: GLIF <http://www.glif.is/publications/press/20080603.php>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sixth International HealthGrid Conference opened this past month
with a warm welcome from Robert Zimmer, President, University of
Chicago, being held at the university's Gleacher Center. "You're doing
important work that is having and will continue to have a positive
effect on healthcare."
The HealthGrid 2008 conference is the premier meeting on the
transformation of medical research, education and care through the
application of grid technologies. Grid technology allows many computers
to work together to better understand the interactions between a patient
and treatment. HealthGrid is dedicated to enhancing biomedical research
and healthcare delivery by creating an open collaborative virtual
community and communicating collective knowledge.
São Paulo State University Announces Largest Cluster in Latin America
Source: GRIDToday <http://www.gridtoday.com/grid/2385900.html>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
São Paulo State University has this semester begun to set up the largest
computational cluster in Latin America, on seven different sites in the
State of São Paulo. GridUNESP (Computational Capacity Integration at
UNESP), powered by Sun Microsystems' technology, will allow research
groups at the university access to the highest levels of data processing
and storage capacity for particle physics, genetics, meteorology,
medicine, and other areas of scientific investigation.
GridUNESP will be connected at high speed to the United States'
Internet2 through the MetroSampa network -- which connects educational,
cultural and research institutions in the metropolitan region of São
Paulo -- and the ANSP/RNP/Florida International University connection
between São Paulo and Miami.
UCSF and YouTube Educate the Public about Neurodegenerative Diseases
Source: Converge Magazine
<http://www.convergemag.com/story.php?catid=421&storyid=107426>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
YouTube is home to funny home-videos, TV reruns and sports matches, just
to name a few. And now, the online video Web site, partnering with the
University of California, San Francisco, launched an Internet channel to
educate people about neurodegenerative brain diseases.
The UCSF Memory and Aging Center YouTube channel seeks to promote
earlier, accurate diagnosis and to help families cope with such
illnesses. Featured on the channel's landing page is Dr. Bruce Miller,
director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.
About CENIC and How to Change Your Subscription:
California's education and research communities leverage their
networking resources under CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network
Initiatives in California, in order to obtain cost-effective,
high-bandwidth networking to support their missions and answer the needs
of their faculty, staff, and students. CENIC designs, implements, and
operates CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, a
high-bandwidth, high-capacity Internet network specially designed to
meet the unique requirements of these communities, and to which the vast
majority of the state's K-20 educational institutions are connected. In
order to facilitate collaboration in education and research, CENIC also
provides connectivity to non-California institutions and industry
research organizations with which CENIC's Associate researchers and
educators are engaged.
CENIC is governed by its member institutions. Representatives from these
institutions also donate expertise through their participation in
various committees designed to ensure that CENIC is managed effectively
and efficiently, and to support the continued evolution of the network
as technology advances.
For more information, visit www.cenic.org <http://www.cenico.rg/>.
Subscription Information: You can subscribe and unsubscribe to CENIC
Today at http://lists.cenic.org/mailman/listinfo/cenic-today.
[(c) Copyright 2008 CENIC. All Rights Reserved.] <http://www.cenic.org/>
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