NetDay (1995–2004) was an event established in 1995 that "called on high-tech companies to commit resources to schools, libraries, and clinics worldwide so that they could connect to the Internet".
It was developed by
John Gage (then-chief science officer at
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
) and activist Michael Kaufman. They approached
Delaine Eastin, California's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to put together the first event in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
The first official NetDay was held in 1996.
In 2005, NetDay merged with'' Project Tomorrow'' (''tomorrow.org''), a California nonprofit involved with math and science education. The organization is continuing to work with schools to improve the use of technology in education.
Overview
NetDay was established to take place over the course of one Saturday, whereby designated schools would receive full connection to the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. Activities were coordinated at the website ''netday.org''. The HTML Writers Guild (quoting the NetDay FAQ) defined the day as an:
Some argued that access to the Internet should not be a priority when schools lack even basic resources like library books (although in many cases the project added needed materials and efforts to computing projects already underway).
NetDay '96
The first NetDay was held on March 9, 1996. NetDay '96 created considerable excitement amongst participating schools. The day was organized via the website ''
netday96.com''. 20,000 volunteers helped to wire 20 percent of California schools to the Internet. 2,500 wiring kits were donated by telephone companies. Of the first event, John Gage commented, "NetDay96 is a demonstration of what can happen when people coalesce around a community project
..In one day, we can begin to reverse California's abysmal record of putting technology into its classrooms."
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
led the NetDay '96 effort in California, spending the day at
Ygnacio Valley High School. The event was augmented by sending Education Secretary Richard Riley, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, and FCC Chairman Reed Hundt to schools in the San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles school districts, and establishing a multicast bridge for live video conferencing. The original plan to host Clinton and Gore in the Oakland Unified School District was changed at the last minute due to a teachers strike.
In his speech at YVH, Clinton stated that he was excited to see that his challenge the previous September to "Californians to connect at least 20 percent of your schools to the
Information Superhighway by the end of this school year" was met. Clinton also described this event as part of a time of "absolutely astonishing transformation; a moment of great possibility. All of you know that the information and technology explosion will offer to you and to the young people of the future more opportunities and challenges than any generation of Americans has ever seen".
[ Clinton acknowledged the support of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis, Senator ]Barbara Boxer
Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...
and Representative George Miller.
In a prepared statement, Gore added that NetDay was part of one of the major goals of the Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...
, which was "to give every child in America access to high quality educational technology by the dawn of the new century." Gore also stated that the administration planned "to connect every classroom to the Internet by the year 2000".
Another NetDay was held that same year in October in Silicon Valley, involving 80 companies and approximately 3,500 volunteers helping to network 172 schools. The campaign was called Smart Schools NetDay II and was coordinated by Smart Valley, Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, part of the initiatives at Joint Venture: Silicon Valley.
NetDay activities
On April 28, 1998, Gore honored numerous volunteers who had been involved with NetDay and "who helped connect students to the Internet in 700 of the poorest schools in the country" via "an interactive online session with children across the country." Volunteers continued to play a central role in NetDay school wiring activities, and by the end of 2001, NetDay events were held in 40 states and engaged more than 500,000 volunteers to wire more than 75,000 classrooms across the USA. Archived versions of the NetDay Web site, netday.org, say that NetDay events were planned for March 20, 1999, April 8, 2000, October 28, 2000, March 31, 2001 and October 27, 2001.
In its last four years of operation, NetDay changed its focus from one or two days a year to wire schools to the Internet. Its new events and activities included collaborating with Join Hands Day in 2002, and three new initiatives: NetDay TechDay, NetDay Speakup Day and TESS ― Technology Enhancing Student Success.
In February 2006, NetDay merged with Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization.[About Project Tomorro]
www.tomorrow.org/about/about_PT.html
accessed on November 11, 2016
See also
* eCorps
* Geekcorps
* Geeks Without Bounds
Geeks Without Bounds (informally known as GWOB) is a humanitarian organization of technologists, first responders, policymakers, and volunteers that work towards improving access to communication and technology. With a focus on working with commun ...
* ICVolunteers
* Inveneo
* NetCorps
* One Laptop per Child
* Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
* Random Hacks of Kindness
* TechSoup
* United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS)
References
External links
*''Business Wire
Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...
''.
Quantum supports Milpitas High School as part of statewide NetDay '96 initiative; volunteer time and hard disk drives donated to bring school on-line
, March 7, 1996.
* Clinton, Bill and Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
.
President Clinton and Vice President Gore Participate in NetDay
. April 19, 1997.
*Clinton Presidential Library,
NetDay '96 Speeches at Ygnacio Valley High School, Concord, California
, March 9, 1996.
*Cronin, Caitlin.
" AARE Conference, Adelaide 1998.
*Dornin, Rusty.
" CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, March 9, 1996.
*Purdum, Todd.
" ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
,'' March 10, 1996.
*
{{Al Gore
Digital divide
Educational environment
History of the Internet
Information society
Charities
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a cha ...
Non-profit technology
Recurring events established in 1995