Thailand will never achieve a sustainable economic growth if the quality of education to our children continues to be ignored.  The issue of educational reform needs to be tackled by various means.  SchoolNet Thailand represents one such effort to give a much-needed boost to our educational system.  SchoolNet will be a fundamental element for student-centric learning concept.  Network service of SchoolNet nation-wide has been one of the most challenging problems for Thailand.

First launched in 1995, SchoolNet initially provided a free web-hosting service and Internet accounts for pilot schools in the project.  An important breakthrough was achieved in 1998 when TOT and CAT agreed to sponsor the telecommunication costs of SchoolNet.  The project is now providing local-call Internet access to secondary schools nation-wide.  (Please see also Kanchanapisek Network)  The support activities include Internet training for teachers and students, development of low-cost, Linux-based School Internet Server (Linux-SIS) and "Classroom 2000", an experimental web site to demonstrate the future of on-line learning.
 
 

Deliverables and Milestones September 7, 2001: SchoolNet already have 3000 membership. Congreatulations !!!! July, 2001: The United Nations Development Programme heaped praise on SchoolNet@1509, the project that has put more than 2,500 schools on the Net in six years; the UNDP's Human Develpoment Report 2001 said Thailand was an outstanding example of a nation using technology for the advantage of all citizens. More detail ::Human Delvelopment Report 2001 More About News :: May 15, 2001: The expansion of the SchoolNet Thailand project extend the programme to 5000 schools, focused on vocational, secondary school and primary school. Each school was given five Net accounts and access time for each Net account is 80 hours. May 15, 2001: The number of telephone lines, supported by the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), was increased from 420 lines to 1,650 lines. March 16-18, 2001: The first Seminar, SchoolNet Day, was held at Rajabhat Institute Pranakhon with the aim of encourging teachers, educational experts and student to get the most use out of the Internet and to know how to use it as an educational tool. The two contests called SchoolNet@1509 Awards and Photo contest was also organized. More infomation at http://www.school.net.th/SchoolNetDay2544/ http://www.school.net.th/SchoolNetDay2544/awards-guidelines/ http://www.school.net.th/archive/ March 15, 2001: Internet Gateway, supported by the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), upspeed from 1 Mbps to 1.5 Mbps. January 15, 2001: All the 64K leased circuits from the provincial POPs to the NOC in Bangkok were upgraded to 512K (10 POPs) and 2M (10 POPs). July, 2000: Resource Center project of the MOE complements SchoolNet@1509 by aiming at providing computer and communication systems for 420 schools nationwide. The project select 76 most promising schools (one school per province) out of the 420 to become school nodes of SchoolNet@1509. These school nodes will be linked to SchoolNet@1509 via high-speed, permanent connections (leased circuits in contrast with the dial-up modem access that most schools normally get). However, with this privilege comes greater responsibilities: these selected schools will have to become local training centers and provide support to other schools in their respective provinces. May 4,2000: SchoolNet now has 1,500 school members in Thailand. March 30,2000:Internet Gateway upspeed from 512 kbps to 1Mbps. February, 2000: NECTEC announced the Digital Library, http://school.net.th/library/ , which is a website that contains more than 1,000 educational titles in seven subjects, and allows students from all over the nation to access and learn by themselves across the network. Digital Educational content is a key element for students in getting the maximum benefit from the Internet for educational purposes. September 1998:Five local vendors were registered as Linux-SIS version 2.0 CD-ROM resellers.  Two local vendors started to include Linux-SIS version 2.0 in their Internet Server Solution product offerings. 30 March 1998: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn graciously declared the new SchoolNet@1509 open.  With this new access network, secondary schools all over Thailand are able to use a local telephone number (1509) to access the Internet free of charge.  The initial capacity of this service covers 1,500 schools nation-wide. More infomation at ( http://www.school.net.th/schoolnet1509/open.html ) About News :: All secondary schools nationwide get free access to the Internet Long-awaited free Internet access now a reality Free Internet access for Thailand's secondary schools a welcome move 28 February 1998: Linux-SIS Version 2.0 was launched.  Linux-SIS is a complete Internet server software suite that enables a PC to connect to the Internet as a node for schools, universities, small businesses and other organizations.  Based on Linux, a web administration tool (a web interface of system and user administration tasks) and many improvements from Version 1.0.  Linux-SIS is available from NECTEC's FTP site (ftp.nectec.or.th) and as a CD-ROM. 1 February 1998: An experimental nation-wide access service for SchoolNet Thailand, using the special telephone number (1509), was started.  This was a major breakthrough for Thailand's National Information Infrastructure. June 1997: Seminars were held by NECTEC and five regional academic institutes for executives from 1,000 schools nationwide on how to take advantage of the Internet for education.  Several introduction and intermediate training courses were also held for schools participating in the project. 1 April 1997: Linux-SIS Version 1.0 was made available to schools and universities participating in the SchoolNet Thailand and ThaiSarn Projects. May 1996: “Internet access and home page creation” was hosted by NECTEC.  This was a training course for 50 schools from all over the country.  Attending schools also received fully-installed servers donated by local vendors. March 1996: The Second Thailand Internet Symposium, NetInfo'96, was held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, with a special session for SchoolNet.  Approximately 800 people registered for the symposium and many more visited the free exhibition, hosted by 40 vendors and Internet Service Providers. March 1996: SchoolNet Thailand was launched.  The initial plan was to bring 30 secondary schools online.

Publications Secretariat Office of the NationalInformation Technology Committee, “Frequently Asked Questions about SchoolNet Thailand”, June 1997. Secretariat Office of the National Information Technology Committee, “SchoolNet Thailand@1509 Brochure”, 1998. Network Technology Laboratory, “SchoolNet@1509 Policy and User Guide”, 1998. Network Technology Laboratory, “SchoolNet Internet Server (Linux-SIS Version 2) CD-ROM”, http://ftp.nectec.or.th/pub/linux.sis/, 1998.

Further Information  SchoolNet Thailand Home Page: http://www.school.net.th/ Linux-SIS: http://www.school.net.th/linux-sis/ Classroom 2000: http://ntl.nectec.or.th/classroom/ The Golden Jubilee Home Page: http://kanchanapisek.or.th/ or http://goldenjubilee.or.th/ Project Information Services: info@school.net.th SchoolNet Thailand Web Management: webmaster@school.net.th SchoolNet Thailand Technical Support: helpdesk@school.net.th