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nternet2 is a non-profit membership organization of 208 universities working in conjunction with government and industry to operate a private national Internet Protocol (IP) network reserved for the exclusive use of the US research and education (R&E) community.As the national R&E backbone, the Internet2 Network provides connectivity between institutions and connectivity to international research and education networks thereby providing access to the global research and education community. While there are many benefits of using Internet2 in the classroom here are the top three for K12:
1. Immediate access to experiences and expertise
2. Access to rich multi-media digital collections and resources
3. A truly global education network at your fingertips.

In California, we have a localized statewide version of this effort called K12 High Speed Network/K12HSN

A range of research reports suggest that digital literacy should be a key part of curricular developments in both primary and secondary schools. Digital literacy is about far more than functional ICT skills: it requires support for children to access, create and communicate using ICT, as well as to be evaluative and critical about the influences and impacts of new media.

Thinkquest Award Winner 2008. Digital Cooperative is a global exploration of censorship in the digital age. This winning team studied the topic from academic perspectives, analyzed five countries in in-depth case studies, conducted exclusive interviews with industry experts, and created interactive quizzes. Their goal is to raise awareness and increase understanding of this often invisible issue.

When Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) administrators recently turned their attention to social studies education, they concluded that a better means of engaging and holding students' interest was needed. Textbooks alone weren't enough to keep today's digital generation, raised in a dynamic visual environment, focused on learning. Thanks to the administrators' commitment to improvement, IPS educators and students are now accessing streaming video, images and other digital media in the classroom.

[May 2008] AASA article gives examples of school organizations that are desperately and inappropriately blocking the future and Scott McLeod pleads, "Please don't block the future." Please don't relegate your students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to second-class status in the new economy because you left it to them and their families to figure out on their own what it means to be digital, global citizens. Ask AASA and its state affiliates to provide more technology leadership-related professional development opportunities. And let us know how we can help.

Phenomenal global collaboration project involving students from 15 countries. Teaching assignment is replicated across continents. Last year's project, Rock n Sol, was featured in the California K-12 Technology Showcase. This year's project, "Are You Game" focuses on digital storytelling. Students collaborate to compose music, make movies, podcasts, and experiments and met in face to face video-conferences. Using Garage Band, kids annually create a collaborative song that has been touched in every continent in the world. Each week, each group contributes 30 seconds with a specific musical instrument. Even blind students are involved in the project.

This teacher had his physics students describe Einstein by creating his Facebook profile. Since they couldn't access Facebook at school, he had his students create a mock-up of the profile using Microsoft Publisher. He provided the students with a Publisher template, some screenshots of actual Facebook profiles and links to Einstein information to get them started.

Ben Rigby and Rock the Vote have put together a book for activists, politicos, and organizers called "Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0." It is a how-to guide to help those who want to mobilize using the web, focusing on how organizers can leverage blogging, social network sites, photo/video sharing, mobile phones, wikis, maps and virtual worlds.

When Christopher Laub was in the third and fourth grades, chemotherapy treatments for his leukemia kept him out of school, feeling sick and weak. But through a close collaboration between Bel Aire Elementary School and Apple - as well as a creative use of iChat AV - Laub was able to continue with his classes. Thanks to the system that he dubbed "iCan," the young student remained connected to his classmates and his studies.

Blocking access to these tools in classrooms discourages student-centered learning, leading education technology consultant says

Otumoetai Intermediate School will pioneer a first in New Zealand education by allowing students to use cellphones as part of everyday learning. Students will be able to use phones to assist with projects, with the added ability to speak up if they see other students behaving inappropriately in the playground.

The modern American school faces rough challenges. Budget cuts have caused ballooning class sizes, many teachers struggle with poorly motivated students, and in many schools a war is being waged on distracting technologies. In response, innovative educators are embracing social media to fight back against the onslaught of problems. Technologies such as Twitter and Skype offer ideal solutions as inexpensive tools of team-based education.

Part of a wider effort to use technology to extend learning beyond classroom walls and the six-hour school day. Internet buses may soon be hauling children to school in many other districts, particularly those with long bus routes. The company marketing the router, Autonet Mobile, says it has sold them to schools or districts in Florida, Missouri and Washington, D.C.