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 K12 Schools in Internet2?

K12 schools play an instrumental role in the Internet2 community in helping not only to extend the outreach of educational programs by higher education institutions and content providers across the country but also as an innovative partner in creating new paradigms for teaching and learning using advanced networking technologies. As of April 2007, there were over 35,800 K12 schools and 4,350 K12 connecting organizations (school districts, regional education service agencies, etc) connected to Internet2 across the country and those numbers are only growing.

The benefits of Internet2 in the K12 classroom are immense. Through Internet2 and advanced networks worldwide, teachers can now bring in experiences and expertise like never before directly into the classroom in real time. They can connect their students to other classes around the world so that they can read to each other, learn native languages together, or collaborate on distributed group projects using rich digital collections or highly specialized equipment over the network. K12 is innovating in new and exciting ways to enhance the learning experience using Internet2 and to better engage learners around the world.

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

Here’s just a sampling of how Internet2 is being used in the KI2 classroom. What inspires you?

• Students are using remote instruments around the world to collect data and perform problem based experiments
• Teachers are receiving live interactive professional development from NASA, Library of Congress, and more
• Classrooms walls are being expanded to include peer groups around the world
• Rich digital collections are being accessed for enhanced learning
• Virtual simulation environments are available to teach technical skills like automotive painting or deep ear canal examinations

What are other K12 educators doing with Internet2?

If you are a K12 educator or administrator and still aren’t sure what Internet2 can do for you in the classroom, check out some of these featured K12 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 in your classroom today.