Past Community Anchor Program (CAP) Programs
Overview and History of CAP Programmatic Activities
Programmatic activities of the Community Anchor Program were sunset on April 1, 2025. Information on CAP’s past programmatic activities and content can be found below. For more information, please reach out to cap@internet2.edu. Previously, CAP developed and ran educational and technical programmatic activities for community anchor institutions like K-12 schools and libraries nationwide to promote expanded access to advanced broadband services and enhanced educational opportunities.
Summary of previous CAP programmatic activities:
Presidential Primary Sources Project (PPSP): This project allowed participants to learn about U.S. presidents directly from National Park Service rangers and presidential library historians through this live, interactive web series. At its peak, over 14,000 students a year virtually visited historic sites and analyzed primary source documents to understand the lives and legacies of presidents like Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington.
Toward Gigabit Libraries Toolkit: The TGL toolkit is a free toolkit designed to help library staff members (particularly from small, rural, tribal, Native Hawaiian, and Native Alaskan libraries) understand, assess, and fund improvements to their IT and broadband infrastructure. The toolkit is still available* for free download at https://internet2.edu/tgl, and includes resources for improving broadband infrastructure and internal IT environments, helped libraries understand their IT and broadband needs and provided opportunities for libraries and RENs to work with CAP on grant projects. *The toolkit was last updated prior to its publication date of January 2024, but remains available “as-is” for free download.
Distance Learning Scholarship Program: CAP partnered with the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) to provide scholarships to teachers from REN-connected K-12 schools to support distance learning initiatives and help educators and students access advanced educational institutions and resources.
K-12 Curriculum and Library Resources: CAP offered various resources to educators to enhance their curriculum and provide students with enriched learning experiences, including interactive activities, lesson plans, remote instrumentation resources, and access to advanced educational technologies.
Rose-Werle Award: The Rose-Werle Award recognized outstanding individuals who extended the reach of advanced networking to educational and cultural institutions. Named after Richard Rose and James Werle, the annual award honored their inspirational contributions to the research and education network community. Rose advocated for extending the Internet2 Network to all US students, while Werle helped schools and libraries use advanced technologies to enhance education and connectivity.
Lola4All Working Group: The “LoLa for All” working group promoted best practices and provided resources for hands-on virtual performance learning experiences that replicated in-person interactions. LoLa (low latency) initiative enables real-time online musical collaboration with an undetectable audio and visual delay, opening new opportunities for distance learning in music and performing arts. Internet2 remains involved with LoLa via the annual Network Performing Arts Production Workshop (NPAPW). For additional information, please visit https://internet2.edu/lola.