Who We Are
We bring together Internet2's world-class network and research community members with innovators from colleges and universities, primary and secondary schools, libraries, museums and other educational institutions, the full spectrum of America's education community, including both formal and informal education. The National K20 Initiative extends new technologies, applications, and rich educational content to all students, their families and communities -- no matter where they're located. We have had immense success connecting the institutions above - in fact, over 65,000 institutions are now connected to the National Internet2 network. Five themes help to organize our approach toward working together under the banner of the K20 Initiative. Community - connectivity - communication - content - collaboration
What We Do
- Bring K-12, community colleges, universities, libraries, museums, and cultural centers into appropriate regional, national, and international advanced networking efforts, via the "Sponsored Education Group Participant" (SEGP) process.
- Serve as a convener and catalyst, helping to encourage and sustain partnerships among these education institutions, the private sector, and government
- Enhance teaching and learning by facilitating projects that explore the ways in which advanced network applications, services, tools, and digital content can extend access to education and educational resources
- Develop mechanisms for timely communication across all educational sectors and regions in order to enable quick, pervasive technology diffusion.
- Work with government agencies to ensure the appropriate policies and regulations are in place that allow K20 institutions the flexibility to choose the cost effective broadband options and the ability to shape their own IT futures.
- [can we say anythng yet about our role in US UCAN?]
Why We Do It
Many in the Internet2 community believe that an important lesson learned from previous networking and technology experiences (e.g., World Wide Web) is that big payoffs come from getting tomorrow's technologies into the hands of as many innovators and sectors as quickly and as "connectedly" as possible. This time, with the Internet2 K20 Initiative, it seems possible to bring in the broader education community much closer to launch by inviting innovators across the educational spectrum to engage in initiatives involving Internet2 technologies - without over-promising, overextending, or losing focus on its advanced technology missions.