MEMBER PROFILE: Wichita State University

http://www.wichita.edu/
http://www.hipecc.twsu.edu/internet2.html
http://gl.wichita.edu/

"Internet2 has greatly expanded faculty visions for collaborative learning and research. The support of the university administration for the development of networking technology will allow us to be more competitive in the research arena and to serve our students more effectively in their educational programs." -Dr. David Alexander, WSU Professor of Physics

Wichita State University and Internet2

The administration at Wichita State University recognized the importance of bringing WSU into the Internet2 community early on—one reason being that Kansas geography requires public universities to

provide more outreach to underserved areas throughout the state. In addition, administrators saw that opportunities for increased support for research required access to Internet2 networks. As a result of this commitment, WSU joined Internet2 in the summer of 2001. WSU’s 45 Mb link to Abilene, via the Great

Plains Network, became operational in September 2001. Over 30% of the local network connections at WSU have been upgraded in order to make them fast enough to take advantage of the Abilene connection. WSU also participates in KAN-ED, a project that is creating an information highway connecting schools, libraries, and hospitals throughout Kansas.

Among the early champions for Internet2 at WSU was Chief Information Officer Peter Zoller. Zoller worked with the Office of Research Administration on an NSF grant that awarded end-user equipment matching funds to launch Internet2-related projects across campus. Even the modest $5,000 that was awarded to each recipient allowed those WSU departments to purchase equipment, such as high-speed videoconferencing systems, to take advantage of the high-bandwidth connectivity. Another round of Internet2 seed grants were distributed in winter 2003 to stimulate further research and scholarly activity at WSU using Internet2.

Global Learning Project at WSU

In January, 1999, Wichita State University received a $1.5 million gift from the Boeing Company to create the Boeing Endowed Professor of Global Learning and launch a "global learning" project that would apply advanced technology to teaching and learning. In 2001, Dr. Glyn Rimmington, formerly senior member of faculty at the University of Melbourne in Australia, accepted the position.

The Global Learning project at Wichita State University (WSU) combines global reach, using advanced technologies such as Internet2, with global perspectives. The goal of this program is to facilitate interaction between learners and faculty living in different cultures, and produce the "Global Graduate." In addition to expertise in their subject areas, Global Graduates exhibit superior teamwork, communication, and IT skills. Most importantly, they have Global Savvy. They understand and are sensitive to the diverse cultures, languages and perspectives of our world.

The additional goals of Global Learning are:

• Globalize the Curriculum so students are exposed to multiple cultural perspectives in their topic areas.

• Deal with distance, time, culture, language and perspectives.

• Incorporate Global Learning into at least one course of each program by 2006.

• Maintain the highest level accreditation for all programs.

• Integrate research on the transition from traditional learning to global learning.

• Provide students with an enriched learning environment and prepare them for a globalized world.

Cooperating universities in other countries have depended on the Internet2 International Partner Program for links to Australia, Ireland, Taiwan, Canada, Germany, Turkey, and others.

Our Global Learning research efforts are pushing the envelope for Internet2 in many ways. We are learning more about the importance of QOS and aspects of IPv6 protocol applications as we move to more intensive combinations of simultaneous, live audio, video and data interchange.

Funding comes from the $1-for-$1 fund which comes from a contribution of $1 per credit hour by students that is matched $1 from the state and is intended to provide benefits for students. Other components of the $1-for-$1 fund are used for infrastructure and software licenses that benefit all students.