The Internet was influencing higher education even before the phrase “age of the Internet” was coined. Faculty research was a driver in the foundation of early national networks like ARPANET in the 1960s. Institutions began transitioning distance education programs to Internet-based learning environments in the 1990s, followed by Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in 2012. Today, Texas universities like Rice University are widening bandwidth on campus for students, faculty and staff.
With more wireless devices being added to the network, and students using the Internet for just about everything (course-related work as well as general communication, social and entertainment activities, etc.), it is hoped that these increases in bandwidth will help alleviate the demand for bandwidth. One way a Texas university can increase bandwidth on its campus is through LEARN, the Lonestar Education and Research Network. LEARN is a consortium of 39 universities, community colleges, and public schools plus the National Weather Service. The consortium functions to connect these organizations through high performance network services that support research and education. Through the consortium, these organizations are able to access an extremely high-speed Internet stream, known as Internet2, utilized specifically for research computing.
“We want to make sure our researchers are able to perform their experimentation, move stuff around,” said Vice Provost for Information Technology at Rice, Kamran Khan. “Data is growing at a pretty rapid clip as the storage becomes a lot cheaper…now you’re able to have many, many more lanes on that superhighway.”
Rice, along with a small group of other universities, is expanding its Internet2 bandwidth here in Houston, with the help of a $900,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. While the local consortium currently accesses bandwiths up to 10 gigabits, the expansion to 100 gigabits will occur within the next four months. Read further details in the Houston Chronicle or eCampusNews story.