SchoolAxxess Internet Caching Pilot Project The Ministry of Education of British Columbia, together with federal government partner Industry Canada/CANARIE, and the Open Learning Agency (Knowledge Network), has provided advice and support for Advanced Interactive Canada Inc., a B.C.-based company, to undertake research, development, and pilot testing of the "SchoolAxxess Internet Broadcast Caching Project." Internet caching gives schools the ability to store selected Internet sites on the school's network server and deliver the content at high-speeds. This storage system makes it faster and more reliable for teachers and students to use the Internet in their classrooms and libraries. Downloading the information is accomplished by broadcasting the Internet data via satellite or cable TV. Pilot project results show this combination of broadcast and caching results in performance increases of 5 to 15 times that of a T1 high-speed telecom line, at less cost. Teachers using the SchoolAxxess Internet Caching System request web sites ahead of time from the Internet. The requested sites are then broadcast and downloaded onto the SchoolAxxess server in the school. Teachers receive faster and predictable access to these web sites because they are not relying on an overloaded Internet connection or an unstable Internet site. Cached web sites are regularly updated to stay current and can be 'managed' to be available when required by the teacher. The SchoolAxxess caching system allows each school to set up a "virtual" Internet library. Immediate Internet response encourages teachers to use the technology in the classroom. Instant access to sites from the cache means teachers engage students in learning by capturing their attention right away, rather than wasting class time waiting to download a web site. Prior to the SchoolAxxess installation, the Burnaby South Secondary School, BC's largest secondary school, experienced slow network connections during the day simply because of the high volume of use in the school. With 500 PCs and 3000 students the school is absolutely thrilled with the performance. In addition 5 nearby elementary schools are clustered through this SchoolAxxess system. Each of these elementary schools have 25 PCs. "This technology provides capacity and opportunity," says Mike Greenway, principal of Burnaby South Secondary School. The school's technology coordinator, Jeremy Meharg, agrees. "For us, this solution is a real enabler. It has led to improvements in using technology for teaching." A search engine called The Librarian catalogues and indexes web sites as they are added, using the Dewey Decimal system. Students and teachers can search the websites stored in the SchoolAxxess cache, often to find the information is available immediately at LAN speeds. SchoolAxxess also provides other services such as e-mail and personal web hosting for each student and teacher. Doing so will eliminate the use of free email accounts such as Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail. The use of these free email accounts will consume a great deal of bandwidth. Originally the pilot testing took place in 19 schools around British Columbia over a two-year period. In addition to Burnaby South, schools around the province involved in the project include: Revelstoke Secondary and Big Eddy Elementary in Revelstoke; Boundary Central Secondary and John A Hutton Elementary in Boundary School District; North Peace Secondary and Dr Kearney Junior Secondary in Peace River North; Fort Nelson Secondary and R L Angus Elementary in Fort Nelson; Port Hardy District and Fort Rupert Elementary in Vancouver Island North; Fulford Elementary in Gulf Islands; Nakusp Secondary in Arrow Lakes; Robson Community School in Kootenay Columbia; Gladstone Secondary in Vancouver; Burnaby North Secondary in Burnaby; Westview Secondary in Maple Ridge; Topham Elementary in Langley; and Mountain Elementary in Abbotsford. FOR A TECHNOLOGY PAPER ON “SCHOOLAXXESS” click here. Ó 2005 Advanced Interactive Ó