Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture ________________________________________________________________ ISSN 1081-3055 August 31, 1995 Volume 3 Number 3 EJVCV3N3 SILVA Canadian K-12 Networks: Issues and Models by Marcos Silva Faculty Lecturer Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology McGill University 3700 McTavish St. Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1Y2 ADLC@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA SILVA@LIB1.LAN.MCGILL.CA Alain Breuleux Assistant Professor Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology McGill University 3700 McTavish St. Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1Y2 ED13@MUSICA.MCGILL.CA ABSTRACT This article examines the development of K-12 networks in Canada. A review of the history of Canadian networking is included. It also discusses the feasibility of using U.S. K-12 networks as models for Canada. Finally, it is argued that a model that maximizes university/K-12 collaboration may be feasible and practical for Canada and Quebec. INTRODUCTION The Internet, a worldwide network of networks, is growing at a phenomenal rate. The exact number of users is almost impossible to estimate, with approximations numbering in the tens of millions. In addition, depending on the measurement used, the overall growth of the network has been put at around 11% to 15% a month. However, it is the growing heterogeneity of the Internet that has interested researchers. Indeed, Internet access and use have expanded beyond the research and academic communities to touch almost all sectors of society. And it is the growing use of the Internet by children, teachers and school administrators that is of particular interest to educational researchers. Whereas but a few years ago Internet-based K-12 projects were something of a novelty, today they have become commonplace. The number of ongoing projects today may appear astonishing given their rarity but a decade ago. Moreover, research is now concerned with issues on implementing and designing projects as opposed to studying whether children should be introduced to network resources and services (Silva & Breuleux, 1994). Given the hundreds of thousands of children that have used and are using the Internet (Harasim, L. M.; Itzkan, 1992), it is safe to assume that interest in classroom-based Internet activities will continue to grow. In the United States and Canada, the advent of the Internet has engendered the development of K-12 state, regional, and provincial networks. Normally, these networks benefit from existing state research networks administered by research centers or universities; educational networks are created as sub-networks in the existing telecommunication infrastructure. In this manner, the K-12 sector is able to offer its community access to Internet services and resources (Clement, 1992a, 1992b). Moreover, connections to state or regional networks offer the K- 12 sector gateways to the National Science Foundation Net (NSFnet) or CA*net, the U.S. and Canadian components of the world wide Internet. Canadian student and teacher access to the Internet has been uneven; some regions have established educational networks while other regions, particularly remote regions, offer teachers almost limited or no access. Arguably, there is concern that some teachers and students are deprived of network-based activities, especially since research has consistently shown that these activities may offer substantial benefits (Cohen & Riel, 1989; Hunter, 1992; Silva & Breuleux, 1994). Nevertheless, regions which have not fully established K-12 networks are faced with the unique opportunity of profiting from existing K-12 network technical and administrative models, both Canadian and American. Of existing network models, those that are subnetworks or linked networks to existing academic networks appear to be the most popular. This article examines possible K-12 network models for Canada and Quebec. It also examines existing and evolving Canadian and American K-12 networking models. In addition, it will discuss current U.S. models and their interconnection to the Internet. Finally, it argues that K-12/university cooperation in the establishment of K-12 networks is a feasible model for Quebec and should be studied accordingly. THE STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNET The Internet was conceived as an experimental network to support research undertaken by the United States Department of Defense and its subcontractors. The Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) created ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet (Krol, 1994; Lynch & Rose, 1993). ARPANET was designed to provide interactive communication among different types of computers through the use of remote login (more commonly called telnet), transferring of files, and electronic mail. In 1971, ARPANET interconnected 23 computers. By 1977, 111 computers could exchange data (Hart, Reed, & Bar, 1992). Today, the Internet is composed of thousands of interconnected networks running under a suite of protocols called Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Essentially, protocols are rules that govern interactions among many different computers. That is, because computer architectures represent data in many different ways, they must have a way to prescribe the dialogue and exchange of data arising out of their interconnection (Lynch & Rose, 1993). Protocols, therefore, are the means that allow divergent systems to interoperate. TCP/IP is not the only existing network protocol. Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), for example, offers a viable alternative. Nevertheless, TCP/IP has become the most commonly used protocol and the de facto standard of the present day Internet. Although the main component of the Internet is in the United States, it is an international network that spans every continent of the globe, including Antarctic. In the United States, the Internet is composed of three levels: High-speed backbone networks, mid-level or regional networks, and local networks. Naturally, most of these networks function under TCP/IP. The National Science Foundation's Network (NSFNet) has acted as the backbone for the research community by offering networking services and the necessary telecommunication infrastructure. In Canada, the first network to be used extensively by the research community was NetNorth, the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. network BITNET (Because Its Time Network). BITNET is a voluntary academic network that provides universities with some networking capabilities. Although it is based on different protocols than TCP/IP, it has gate