US Ignite: Track 2: Mozilla Hive in Gigabit Cities: Living Laboratories for Next-Generation Learning Applications

Mozilla Foundation, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project demonstrates the value of high-speed networks and, consequently, seeds demand for further network investment. The project is a three-year, five-city program of capacity building activities and collaborative application development focused on tools that leverage high-speed, next-generation networks for education and workforce development. Building on current NSF-funded activities in Kansas City and Chattanooga where Mozilla has fostered and piloted 17 gigabit apps in collaboration with more than 30 local partner institutions, this project directly complements the gigabit ecosystem-building work of the US Ignite organization and its efforts to bring online and link new gigabit innovation test beds. To create a national gigabit innovation community, the project moves the work of gigabit technologists out of the lab and into the communities where high-speed networks are now coming online. It provides gigabit technologists deeper and sustained exchanges with lead users so they can refine their applications based on observations and user testing. It also increases visibility for early-stage applications and facilitates deployment in brick-and-mortar settings in order to test and validate app benefits with representative users. The support provided through the Mozilla Hive project helps new entrants to the gigabit innovation community mature into productive contributors to the ecosystem by promoting the continuous development, iteration, and deployment of gigabit apps and celebrating successful apps on the national stage. To accomplish these goals, the project (1) establishes "Hive Learning Networks" in five gigabit cities, providing sustainable grassroots social organizations that can test and iterate gigabit applications at greater speed; (2) catalyzes local, community-based gigabit application pilots in each city through the "Gigabit Community Fund," which provides grants and project support; and (3) facilitates knowledge transfer between developers, institutions, and cities to speed the spread and impact of gigabit apps.