Internet2 Applications Update 5-8-03

Internet2 Applications Update

8 May 2003

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Topics

- Showcase: Visual Thinking Strategies

- Conversations with Internet2 Campus Applications Leads

- Internet2 Participates in FDA Science Forum

- New Internet2 Health Sciences Security SIG

- Internet2 Commons Expands to Include Subscription Services

- Internet2 Commons Videoconferencing Training, May 18

- New Internet2 Commons Member Institutions and Site Coordinators

- Talks and Travel: eVLBI Workshop

- Archives

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Showcase: Visual Thinking Strategies

Utilizing Internet2 high-performance networks, the Hammer Museum on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) launched a pilot program in collaboration with an elementary school and academic technology research units at both UCLA (Academic Technology Services) and MIT. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) provides a learner-centered approach to art education for both school and museum-based art instruction. VTS employs a discussion facilitation approach that encourages careful looking and critical thinking, and supports a group's ability to communicate and build on shared ideas. Students look together at a work of art and voice ideas and responses to it, while the teacher/facilitator paraphrases comments, asks for evidence, and links thoughts. During VTS training, elementary teachers participated in lively discussions with a distant VTS mentor as they refined their understanding and techniques. Work with the teachers was so successful that museum educators in the project hope the VTS and the high-speed network can soon be used together with elementary students as well to foster active engagement with images and distant partners. VTS and distance learning over Internet2 networks have the potential to extend outreach for museums, beyond collection and exhibition access. VTS was created by Visual Understanding in Education (VUE), a non-profit research group.

http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/education_vts.htm

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Conversations with Internet2 Campus Applications Leads

In order to support and enhance our partnerships with the Internet2 Applications Leads for each campus, members of the Internet2 Applications Team are contacting all Applications Leads by phone between now and the end of June. Our goal with these calls is to keep Applications Leads informed about Internet2 applications efforts and opportunities and for us to learn more about the advanced networked applications activities on our member campuses. During these brief phone interviews we'd like to hear about your role as Applications Lead and find out how to improve our support of your university's activities. We hope this will be the beginning of a series of productive information exchanges, working together to facilitate the development and deployment of advanced networked applications in support of the teaching, learning, research, and clinical missions of our member institutions.

For more information, contact Ted Hanss <ted@internet2.edu>, Internet2 Director for Applications Development.

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Internet2 Participates in FDA Science Forum

At the invitation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Internet2 presented a workshop on high-performance networking technology and its future applications in the healthcare arena during the FDA 2003 Science Forum, which was held April 24-25 in Washington, DC. The workshop began with a brief Internet2 overview by Mary Kratz, Internet2 Program Manager for Health Sciences. Paul Fontelo, MD, MPH, of the Office of High Performance Computing and Communications, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health continued by sharing the history and background of Internet2 and its programs from his experiences working with the Internet2 community. Next, David W. Polly, Jr., M.D., Colonel, United States Army at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Chief, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Professor, Scoliosis and Spine Surgery, Uniformed Services University Health Sciences (USUHS) provided real world experiences on the clinical realities of advanced technologies. Dr. Polly is the world's leading pediatric spinal orthopaedic surgeon. Finally, Victor H. Frankel, M.D., a member of the Internet2 Orthopaedic Surgery Working Group, explained the value Internet2 brings to the FDA scientist. Dr. Frankel sat on the FDA Science Board for many years. Approximately 45 people attended the workshop, most of whom were FDA scientists.

Prous Science, an Internet2 Corporate Member, webcast the workshop and will make it and other FDA Science Forum sessions available here starting May 16: http://www.prous.com/fda2003/

Internet2 also had a booth on the FDA Science Forum Exhibition floor.

http://www.dcscienceforum.org/

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New Internet2 Health Sciences Security SIG

A new Internet2 Health Sciences Security SIG has been formed. The goal of this SIG is to promote policies, practices, and projects that overcome security and privacy-related barriers to the adoption of emerging Internet technologies in the health sciences. The Internet2 Health Sciences Security SIG will work closely with the EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force. The Internet2 Health Sciences Security SIG will focus primarily on the issues that uniquely concern the health sciences community that spring mainly from the high level of sensitivity and criticality of health sciences data and applications. The SIG is chaired by Jere Retzer, Oregon Health & Science University, <retzerj@ohsu.edu>.

http://health.internet2.edu/WorkingGroups/Security.html

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Internet2 Commons Expands to Include Subscription Services

Now that the Internet2 Commons H.323 videoconferencing service has proven reliable and has built a wide community of users, a formal production plan will advance the Internet2 Commons with several new levels of service. The new services, scheduled for deployment this September, will include blocks of port hours for H.323 conferences using advanced and impromptu scheduling features. The most innovative offering will create a subscription plan for communities with

members across institutions, beyond a single campus deployment. This Community plan will allow research groups and other inter-organizational collaborations to benefit from reliable, scheduled videoconferencing. Details on the subscription plans will be published soon.

Contact Jonathan Tyman <tyman@internet2.edu>, Internet2 Manager for Digital Video, for more information.

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Internet2 Commons Videoconferencing Training, May 18

An Internet2 Commons videoconferencing training session will be held in conjunction with the TERENA Networking conference in Zagreb, Croatia on May 18. This marks the first occurrence of Internet2 Commons training in Europe, and provides an opportunity to broaden both the user and support base for international videoconferencing.

This training will be led by Egon Verharen, Innovation Manager at SURFnet, and Ted Hanss, Internet2 Director for Applications Development, both of whom are members of the Internet2 Commons Management Team. Training topics include:

- Network Overview

- Multipointing Gateways

- Operating and troubleshooting procedures common to

videoconferencing systems

- Hands-on use of the equipment

Space is still available. There is a fee of 50 euros for the training. To register, send an email to tnc2003@terena.nl.

http://www.terena.nl/conferences/tnc2003/meetings/h323.html

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New Internet2 Commons Member Institutions and Site Coordinators

In order to participate in the Internet2 Commons, all member organizations must designate a Site Coordinator to provide technical support for participants using Internet2 Commons services at their location. Eighty-five Site Coordinators in 77 organizations have now registered with the Internet2 Commons. The Internet2 Commons welcomes the following new member institutions and their Site Coordinators:

Mississippi State University, Jim Harfst

University of Mississippi, Britt Fitts

Auburn University, Rusty Presley

Mount Holyoke College, Fred Kass

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Ken McCracken

Louisiana State University, Kenneth Tanner

UNI-C Denmark, Dan Monster

http://commons.internet2.edu/

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Talks and Travel

eVLBI Workshop

The Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE) is hosting an eVLBI Workshop on May 15-16 in Dwingeloo, The Netherlands. Charles Yun, Internet2 Program Manager for Science and Engineering, will make a presentation at the workshop on Internet2 activities relating to VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) and radio astronomy.

http://www.jive.nl/jive/evlbi_ws/meeting.html

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