{"id":48,"date":"2014-02-18T10:27:05","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T18:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/gigabit\/?p=48"},"modified":"2014-02-18T10:27:05","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T18:27:05","slug":"building-gigabit-hive-communities-in-kansas-city-and-chattanooga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/gigabit\/building-gigabit-hive-communities-in-kansas-city-and-chattanooga\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Gigabit Hive Communities in Kansas City and Chattanooga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, we launched the Gigabit Community Fund<\/a> in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Kansas City. \u00a0\u00a0In both cities, the Fund will support a growing Hive community<\/a> of teachers, informal educators, nonprofit leaders, and technologists engaged in building new, connected learning experiences with immediate community impact.<\/strong> \u00a0It will help turn these two communities with some of the fastest connection speeds in the country into “living laboratories” in which to study how advanced networking can support teachers, improve student learning outcomes, and break down barriers between formal and informal educational environments.<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/a>

Chris Lawrence, Senior Director of the Mozilla Webmaker Community, kicks off the Kansas City event.
Photo: Kari Keefe<\/p><\/div>\n

Appropriately, both launch events took place in public libraries \u2013 community institutions that have long connected formal and informal learning spheres. \u00a0Along with the\u00a0National Science Foundation<\/a>,\u00a0US Ignite<\/a>, and the\u00a0Department of Education<\/a>, the\u00a0Chattanooga Public Library\u00a0<\/a>and the\u00a0Kansas City Public Library<\/a>\u00a0were critical event partners, helping draw more than 200 participants in each city.<\/p>\n

The mayors of each metropolitan region also rallied to make these launch events successful. \u00a0In Chattanooga, City Mayor Andy Berke and County Mayor Jim Coppinger spoke to a standing-room-only crowd about realizing the potential of the Gig City\u2019s next-gen network for education and workforce development. In Kansas City, KC Missouri Mayor Sly James and KC Kansas Mayor Mark Holland addressed the public benefit of gigabit applications and emphasized the need for action now to sustain their city’s unique position in helping to lead gigabit development.<\/p>\n

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Chattanooga facilitator DJ Trischler leads the afternoon brainstorming session.
Photo: Mary Barnett \/ Chattanooga Public Library<\/p><\/div>\n

After a morning of speakers and panels focused on the national opportunities created by next-gen networks, the afternoon sessions at both launch events turned to mapping specific community challenges in education and workforce development that the Gigabit Community Fund and a broader Gigabit Hive could begin to tackle. Once divided into six interest-area tracks such as digital inclusion and K-12 education, the 200+ event participants in each city plastered the walls with both specific obstacles (\u201cI don\u2019t know how to integrate coding in my 4th grade classroom\u201d) and broad community hurdles (\u201cnot all schools have gig access\u201d). Connecting across tracks, interests, and professions, community members began to form teams to imagine solutions to shared challenges\u2013solutions that could soon become Gigabit Community Fund projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chattanooga participants at work discussing K-12 education.
Photo: Mary Barnett \/ Chattanooga Public Library<\/p><\/div>\n

Activated and connected through these launch events, teams are now working to build out these projects for when the Gigabit Community Fund application window opens in late February. \u00a0Among many percolating ideas, teams are beginning to explore how to connect schools across the two gigabit cities, how to make museum content available to a broader audience, and how to connect schools with IT support as gig access is expanded.<\/p>\n

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Mike Brown (L), Alex Greenwood (R), and the Lifelong Learning track at work in Kansas City.
Photo: Brainzooming<\/p><\/div>\n

Are you interested in helping make one of these projects a reality, or do you have other ideas to share about how to catalyze change for education and workforce development in Chattanooga or Kansas City? Even if you missed out on the launch events, there are still many ways to get involved<\/strong>:<\/p>\n