Internet2 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. The Internet2 network is an advanced, high-performance network that supports advanced or complex applications that do not work on the commercial Internet or do not work well. 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.

What’s the role of Four-Year Colleges and Universities in Internet2?

Four year colleges and universities are playing an increasingly important role in the Internet2 community as faculty and staff are developing innovative projects and teaching paradigms that take advantage of advanced networking technologies. Additionally, an increasing number of liberal arts colleges and four-year institutions are using Internet2 to bring in experts as part of their classes or connecting classes to other classes and specialists around the world. As of April 2007, there were over 1000 four-year colleges and universities connected to Internet2 across the country and this number is only growing.

In the early 1800’s Thomas Carlyle is quoted as saying “The true university is a collection of books.” Today the modern institution of higher learning is no longer a cloister where students hide away and study…today students are required to reach out to the global nation for their education.

There are two major ways that any small college or university can benefit from a connection to Internet2. First, students can benefit from having real world debates, science experiments, medical simulations, and any number of electronic experiences brought directly into their collegiate classrooms. For example, Medical Spanish has become a necessity for today’s health care professional. Students attending classes at Saint Francis University, in rural Loretto, Pennsylvania, are regularly attending medical Spanish classes, taught by a faculty member in residence at the University of Puerto Rico. Not only is the student learning Spanish, they are also learning how to conduct a history and physical exam in a culture that is different from their own. In the Spanish culture many times in a medical history you will hear a patient talk about the ‘tea’ she drinks as a medicine? In fact this ‘tea’ is a mild sedative that has various interactions with many widely prescribed medicines. This type of live, interactive real-world educational experience can only be done today because of the power of Internet2.

The second major effect that Internet2 has on the four-year college/university is in the role of faculty collaboration. Today’s professor not only has a role in the academic classroom, the professor also spends a good deal of his or her time conducting research and publishing the results. Until recently, this research was conducted in a near-vacuum of remote isolation. Today, because of Internet2, the faculty can attend professional meetings via Internet2 or collaborate with colleagues in various laboratories anywhere in the world. Internet2 makes small colleges and universities attractive to many faculty that want the unique and essential atmosphere of a global research institution.

Model Projects Using Internet2

• Medical Spanish; taught from the University of Puerto Rico.
• Medical Simulation; (using medical models) taught from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
• Medical Disaster Simulation Gaming; played between first responders simulating a state wide disaster event.
• The Annual Holiday Traditions Conference, sponsored by Saint Francis University; which unites individuals and groups from around the world, sharing their memories and traditions of the December holiday

What are other four-year colleges and universities doing with Internet2?

If you are a four-year college educator or staff and still aren’t sure what Internet2 can do for you, check out some of a few of the featured projects to the right. The only limit to what’s possible is your imagination so get inspired - find your “muse” to do something truly great on your campus today.