WiscNet is a membership organization that provides research and education networking services to public and private higher education, K12 school districts, libraries, municipalities, and hospitals throughout Wisconsin. We connect people and strategies to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of educational, research, and community service missions.
WiscNet Connect +1 and Connect K12 +1 Service allows WiscNet member organizations to utilize multiple connections from your site to the WiscNet backbone. Whether to increase reliability or simply to add capacity, Connect +1 provides support for the increasingly critical network access members need.
WiscNet's Custom Private Network Service reserves a portion of your bandwidth -- an amount you specify, up to 25% -- that enables you to connect directly with an endpoint of your choice. Maybe this allows you to increase your class options, send information over a private network from one point to another, deliver a continuously reliable service to those your constituents, or keep going with the magic you're already got. WiscNet's Custom Private Network Service can help you plan for the future, and then bring you there.
Using natural language process algorithms, Securly flags students' social media and e-mail activity when there are indications someone is being bullied or at risk for suicide and alerts school administrators as well as parents so that everyone can work together quickly and effectively, in equal partnership, to keep students safe.
It's the second year of WiscNet's focus on "next generation leaders" across our membership. The idea is pretty simple. Tease out the next generation of leaders across the WiscNet community and do great stuff to support their professional growth.
We're particularly excited about what's on tap this year. We are focusing three full days around the concept of design thinking. I'm guessing many of you – like me – have brushed it gently aside a few times. For me, it's always been in the context of fixing up a library, or designing a cool website, or selling the latest gadget. I was recently listening to a podcast where the topic was design thinking in the context of patient intake procedures in a hospital. My entire view shifted. What about designing experiences? Professional development? Communities? Surely, design thinking goes beyond the physical.
We're teaming up with David Jakes Designs to bring this to the WiscNet membership. Three days. September 19 in Madison, December 12 in Eau Claire, and April 10 in Stevens Point. Day 1 will focus on teaching/learning design thinking concepts/processes. Day 2, you will come with their own design "problem" and begin working through it. Day 3 will be an opportunity for you to share your projects and progress with others. Anything goes. Redesign your library checkout process. Rethink your approach to a help desk. Build a wireless infrastructure with your community. Welcome new teachers to your district. Form an esports program in your high school to compete with others in Wisconsin. Rebuild a computer lab. Come with whatever ideas and together we'll help you think of new and exciting ways to approach big ideas and make them happen.
This opportunity is free and open to all WiscNet members, though we're limiting space to 30 people. We ask a few important things:
Commit to all three days of in-person work. We believe continuity is important. (As such, when you register below, you will be registering for events on all three dates.)
Limit the number of folks you send to one or two so we can spread this goodness around to the biggest number of WiscNet members. Find the right person that can learn with us and bring good things back to the rest.
David Jakes is aboard to help. Here's a bit about who he is and what he does: https://davidjakesdesigns.com/what-i-do/
We're excited about this and we have as much to learn as you do.
With approximately 30 established CANs state-wide and more communities interested in the CAN concept, WiscNet's CAN Advisory to the Membership addresses some of the many questions, challenges, and opportunities CANs deliberate. Focused on three CAN concepts—Membership, Governance, and Sustainability—the advisory continues to address the what, when, why, and how around these CAN concepts for both new and established CANs and brings their expertise back to the WiscNet membership. Contact Jill Hietpas (608-210-3956) or jillhietpas@wiscnet.net if you are interested in participating in this advisory group.
Mark your calendar and give a “shout out” to your local leaders—city and county officials, school district administrators, board members, legislators, hospital administrators, etc.—to do the same. WiscNet is hosting its second Smart(er) Communities Event to learn how community anchor institutions (schools, libraries, cities, counties, libraries, healthcare, and non-profit agencies) can use the framework of a Community Area Network (CAN) to build a consortium that focuses on the social, economic, and technological values of their constituents. Smart(er) communities, rural and urban, collaborate and use collective resources to create a place for people of all ages to live, work, and thrive in 21st-century environments that require robust data and broadband connections. Topics such as “Smart” communities, collaborative leadership, growing rural/urban economies, making the most of limited budgets, and accelerating the implementation of new digital solutions will be a focus of this forum. Listen, learn and share during this one-day event to connect agency and state-wide leaders and make a difference for your community today and in the future.
WiscNet User Groups for Advanced Networking is a spin-off concept from topics over the last two years in the WiscNet Advisories to the Membership. Come connect with other WiscNet members to share ideas, stories, strategies, questions, and concerns.
WiscNet User Groups for Advanced Networking is a spin-off concept from topics over the last two years in the WiscNet Advisories to the Membership. Come connect with other WiscNet members to share ideas, stories, strategies, questions, and concerns.
