The Digital California Project (DCP) reached a milestone in January when 50 percent or thirty-five (35) of the Round 1 node sites were successfully installed and connected to the Digital California network. About half of the installed sites have their local area networks connected to the DCP router. The feedback from the sites using their DCP connection continues to be very positive.
At the Sunnyvale hub site, 15 circuit segments were installed during the week of February 4, 2002, providing service to 11 node sites in the greater San Francisco Bay area. The Sacramento hub was also brought online in February, and will provide service to ten node sites in early March. Due to new telecommunications infrastructure, DCP Project Management members have now concluded that connectivity to the Lake Tahoe and Alpine regions will be provided from the Sacramento hub site. This telecommunications infrastructure did not exist at the start of the DCP project.
Plans with recommendations for Round 2 funding options were due by the end of February, and decisions regarding Round 2 funding are scheduled to be made in March. Since nearly all the Round 1 node sites are expected to be installed before the end of March, it is anticipated that Round 2 implementations may begin as early as April 2002.
There is good news for some outlying sites in the northeastern part of the state: DCP Project Management is awaiting quotes and due dates for several node sites formerly identified as needing a microwave connection. It now appears that CENIC (Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California) will be able to serve the sites sooner, rather than later.
The regional network planning liaisons are all busy holding meetings and evaluating their options for expansion of the Digital California network with Round 2 funding. Submissions of plans with recommendations for either additional node sites or enhancements to existing county or regional network infrastructures were due by the end of February.
At its regularly scheduled meeting in Sacramento on January 10, the DCP Program Steering Committee featured a presentation from Bridget Foster of the California Learning Resources Network (CLRN). CLRN is a statewide education technology service of the California Department of Education listing K-12 supplemental electronic learning resources on the CLRN web site (http://clrn.org) based on successfully meeting the State Board of Education approved CLRN criteria. The process includes:
• a review for compliance with the Standards for Evaluation of Instructional Material with Respect to Social Content (E.C. 60040-60044);
• verification of alignment with California’s State Content standards, and;
• verification that the CLRN minimum requirements are met.
The DCP Applications Coordination team and CLRN representatives work closely together so that the resources of both groups are well used.
Van Wilkinson, who has been coordinating efforts for the CENIC DCP Last Mile Cost Relief Program, reported that the E-Rate applications have been filed successfully. In addition, the Program Steering Committee (PSC) heard reports from the Network Installation, Applications and e-Content teams for the project.
Following the November 14th meeting of the Digital California Project Applications Coordinating Team (DACT), the Team’s work products were added to the CENIC DCP Web site. You can now find more complete information about the team, the DCP applications plan, the DCP applications framework, the DCP applications team, and the terms which describe levels of network use for applications.
As the introductory page at www.cenic.org/DCP_ac.html points out: “There are hundreds of curriculum-based, teacher preparation, teacher/staff professional development, and student outreach and support initiatives underway at all levels of California education that focus on improving K-12 education via electronic learning. While not developing new applications, CENIC will focus on identifying applications and facilitating making them accessible on the network.” The work on these new Applications Team pages traces those efforts.
Warren Williams
Assistant Superintendent
Information and Technology Services
Grossmont Union High School District
Source: DCP Today, CENIC’s biweekly electronic newsletter