Remote Instrumentation & Data Visualizations Working Group

["Gross, Daniel" <>]

BTW: I should be more clear about the Megaconference call –

 

Megaconference started 10 years ago by Bob Dixon. ANYONE of ANY age was welcome to participate. You received a 15 minute time slot, and could play an instrument, talk about your village, dance – whatever you wanted to show the world.

 

A few years back, Magpie started Megaconference Jr. It was a bit more kid friendly and tailored more toward K12 schools.

 

Bob Dixon recently announced he would no longer be heading up Megaconference – so the open mic I’m organizing is part of a transition plan to see who will help take it over. Hence why I am asking for volunteers on the K20 list.

 

Another thing you might want to just be aware of – Internet2 is not “the Internet.” It is a private network between 208 research institutions and a few corporations like Google and Microsoft. Internet2 sits “on top of” the Internet, transporting member’s traffic back and forth to one another when possible, or offloading it to the regular Internet when it can’t. (The advantage is between any two I2 partners we can enjoy high speeds, few delays, and new technology that doesn’t yet exist on the Internet as a whole.) Many of those research institutions “sponsor” the K12 schools near them onto this super-high-speed experimental playground. They are what we call SEGPs, or Sponsored Educational Group Participants – and there are 60,000 institutions connected in 37 states!

 

Unfortunately, Nevada is one of the 13 states where a higher-ed/K12 SEGP partnership doesn’t yet exist that I’m aware of. You can find some of this information by visiting here: http://k20.internet2.edu/connectivity

 

So, I think the problem here is probably a couple-fold: you don’t yet have someone here advocating for you, and you’re probably not connected to Internet2 to begin with. We’re a really friendly and open group – and you’re welcome to stay with us and learn lots, ask questions and as soon as there is a SEGP effort in NV you would be the first one in the door – but unfortunately those are issues that are well beyond my sphere of influence.

 

But don’t get me wrong – you are more than welcome to not only lurk, but join in the discussions here. Doing so helps NV build a case that there is indeed interest in their K12 community for creating a SEGP program – without that case, it’s kind of a chicken and egg syndrome.

 

I hope that helps clear things up a bit!

 

Dan

 

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Daniel Gross, Director

Southeastern Wisconsin Instructional Network Group (SWING)

380 McCanna Parkway Burlington, WI 53105

www.swing.k12.wi.us

preferred: (414) 455-7488     desk: (262) 767-5312

fax: (262) 767-5313            mobile: (262) 359-0907

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"I used to be a Bear, and a good ole Bear too..." C48-07, DL/BALOO/PT SEWIS P324!

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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared - Buddha

 

 

 

From: Jordan Crittenden [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 10:51 AM
To: Gross, Daniel
Subject: help

 

Dan, I get emails like the megaconference open mic call and have no idea what you are talking about.  I got on this email list for K-20 internet 2 and it seems that the people on this list are not elementary teachers. I hear about "Travel" and meetings in "Second Life", events but I don't have the money to travel nor does the school district. The travel events seems to be tailored to College level personel and Second Life doesn't function well on any of our computers. And we have new dell computers.  I just want to know what is happening in the K-5 arena with internet2 and I don't want to hear about Higher Ed events or discussions.  Do you recommend another group or is this the right group-but nobody wants to talk elementary? 

 

Background: I have been teaching computers literacy to K-5 students in a computer lab for 12 years.

 

Jordan Crittenden
Site Technology Coordinator
Computer Literacy Instructor
Bordewich-Bray Elementary