Remote Instrumentation & Data Visualizations Working Group

["Scott Bryan" <>]

All,

 

I'm getting ready to enter the Read Across America project into myK20.  I've been talking with the project coordinators, who are updating the project page at http://www.twice.cc/read/index.html to mention Internet2.  The registration form asks for the technology that a participant can use, and will include an I2 option.  Teachers will be filling out the form, and may think to themselves: "I have Internet, and two codecs, so I am Internet2" :-).  Also, some of the language currently on the project page should be updated to indicate that H.323 and I2 calls won't incur long distance charges, so teachers might choose that method whether they have the technology available or not.  The project schedulers would like to connect I2 sites to I2 only if at all possible. 

 

Does anyone have ideas that we can give to TWICE to put on their page for how an end user teacher can check whether they are Internet2 connected?  I thought about the I2 Detective, but that requires a download and extra steps that teachers may not go through.  I wondered about a web link to an applet that can query the connecting computer and pop up a Yes or No, but not sure what that would involve and whether it could be done in time (registration starts Dec 1).  It would be extremely labor intensive to manually confirm whether Washington Elementary in Anywhere, USA is I2 enabled, and I wouldn't even know for sure where to go to ask that information!  Hopefully, our publicity efforts have notified those who *do* have I2 access, but we want to help those who don't know yet. 

 

It may be enough to have the schedulers connect those who say they have I2 access with any H.323 site, and we can find out the real case during testing, but any proactive steps we can take will be most appreciated by the two people who match up the classrooms.  Thanks for your thoughts!

 

Scott Bryan
IT Director, St Clair County ISD

ph: (810) 364-8990 x366
fax: (810) 364-7474