Online version of the NEN trial extension update published in the June issue of Interface Magazine (http://www.interfacemagazine.co.nz/).

June 2010 NEN update

Nelson – Marlborough schools first to connect to NEN in trial extension

From 1 May 2010, a further 25 Nelson-Marlborough schools are being connected to the NEN trial. The 25 new NEN schools, which are already connected to The Loop, join the existing four Nelson schools that were part of the original proof-of-concept trial. Another ten Nelson-Marlborough schools expect to connect in July when Network Tasman completes the next rollout of open-access fibre cable.

The early connection of the Nelson-Marlborough schools has been possible because of the pioneering work over nearly five years by The Loop, and especially digital education pioneers, Charles Newton, Ruth Elmey and Geoff Scrimgeour (left).  The Loop owes its original vision to Wayne Mackey, CEO of Network Tasman.  Network Tasman sponsored dark fibre connections to the original seven core schools in 2005 and has progressively rolled out fibre to a further 20 schools. Two schools on the Loop connect using high-speed point-to-point and broadcast wireless links.

One of the reasons for setting up for The Loop was to combine demand from member schools and local tertiary provider, NMIT, to secure better Internet access.  “Our goal was to achieve Internet access that is ‘fat, fast and free from constraints’ and with the support of our partners, we have achieved this,” said Charles Newton.  “We are delighted that the benefits four of our schools have had from the NEN trial are now being extended to all our Loop schools.”

ISP services are currently provided by SNAP. The Loop also provides a range of local services to member schools, including Moodle, Clickview, CCTV, virtual server hosting and a range of network management tools, with other collaborative applications in development.

Schools’ Relationship Specialist Appointed

Andrea Jones has been appointed to the REANNZ NEN team as the Schools’ Relationship Specialist.  Andrea is well known to schools through her current role as a senior data analyst in the Ministry of Education managing school roll returns.  “Andrea was selected for the position from a strong field of candidates,” said NEN Implementation Manager, Laurence Zwimpfer. “We know she is going to be missed by her colleagues in the Ministry, but we are delighted to find someone who can hit the ground running. Planning for the NEN trial extension is now well advanced and we need someone with Andrea’s communication and data management skills, as interest and enquiries from schools start to grow.”

Andrea’s first priority when she takes up the position at the end of May will be to establish the NEN trial extension schools’ database, initially for monitoring implementation progress and subsequently for fault recording and management.

Andrea's bio on the REANNZ team page

Case study: Growing the next generation of scientists

The LENScience Senior Biology Seminar Series connects world-leading scientists with Year 13 biology students throughout New Zealand for regular curriculum-linked seminars. This interactive e-learning experience is broadcast over satellite television and over the National Education Network using multicast and video conferencing.

LENScience is an initiative of the Liggins Institute (founded by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman) that gives schools access to scientific research communities; the programmes are designed to inspire both science students and their teachers. In 2009, around 100 schools participated in eight sessions involving the Institute’s medical researchers.

Winner of the 2009 TUANZ Education Innovation Award, LENScience demonstrates the possibilities of a NEN. Science teachers from schools that took part have been full of praise for the initiative, with many commenting that students really enjoyed the opportunity to ask live questions via the videoconferencing link.

“Any opportunity to make students think and engage is useful. This was a great opportunity for teachers and students to hear biology straight from researchers,” says Jacquie Bay, Director LENScience.

“Secondary schools that aren’t connected to the NEN are still able to participate by sending students to local universities to receive the broadcasts. In late 2009, we conducted the first trials using videoconferencing to bring students from KAREN-connected schools live into the satellite broadcast. This live face-to-face interaction particularly demonstrates the value of having your own school NEN connection,” says Ms Bay.

Liggins at the University of Auckland (http://www.liggins.auckland.ac.nz/)

KAREN case study on the LENScience programme

Tech Spot: what is multicast?

Multicast is an exciting communication technology available through KAREN, the core network being used to deliver the NEN. Normal Internet traffic is sent from one location to one other, so if the same information is to be sent to many different locations, the source computer has to send multiple data streams – one for each destination. Via multicast, information is sent only once and this then branches at each network node until it reaches all destinations.

Multimedia streaming is a common use of multicast. TelstraClear used multicast during the original NEN trial in 2008-09 to stream IP Television (IPTV) to schools, and this was well received.  The implications for NEN trial schools are that any school can send information to many different destinations simultaneously without stressing their servers or clogging their Internet connections.

More technical detail on multicast on the KAREN wiki (http://wiki.karen.net.nz/index.php/Multicasting)

Update 14 June 2010