NetDay

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Former event promoting internet connection

title: "NetDay" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["digital-divide", "educational-environment", "history-of-the-internet", "information-society", "information-technology-education", "non-profit-technology", "recurring-events-established-in-1995"] description: "Former event promoting internet connection" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetDay" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former event promoting internet connection ::

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".{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9964131-54.html |title=Sun's John Gage joins Al Gore in clean-tech investing |accessdate= 2008-06-12 |last= Olsen |first= Stephanie |author-link= |date= June 9, 2008 |publisher=

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/speakup_congress.html |title= Project Tomorrow: NetDay |accessdate= 2008-06-12 |author= |last= |first= |author-link= |vauthors= |date= |publisher=

Overview

NetDay was established to take place over the course of one Saturday, whereby designated schools would receive full connection to the Internet. Activities were coordinated at the website netday.org. The HTML Writers Guild (quoting the NetDay FAQ) defined the day as an:

|url=http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/events/netday.html |title= NetDay and the HWG |accessdate= 2008-06-12 |author= |last= |first= |author-link= |vauthors= |date=September 12, 1998 |publisher=

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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Phoc96v1.jpg" caption="US president [[Bill Clinton]] installing computer cables with Vice President [[Al Gore]] on NetDay 1996 at [[Ygnacio Valley High School]] in Concord, CA."] ::

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, 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."{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1996/03/09/MN59762.DTL |title=Clinton, Gore in Concord Today for NetDay: 20,000 volunteers wire computers at California schools |accessdate= 2008-06-12 |last=Rubenstein |first=Steve |date=March 9, 1996 |newspaper= San Francisco Chronicle

President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore 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. |url=https://archive.iww.org/history/library/Justice/classroomsfirst/ |title=Classrooms First! - A History of the 1996 Oakland Teacher's Strike |accessdate=2024-12-28 |last=Justice |first=Jason |author-link= |year=1996 |publisher=Industrial Workers of the World

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 and Representative George Miller.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCThAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA403 |chapter=Remarks on NetDay in Concord, California, March 9, 1996 |last=Clinton |first=William J. |author-link= |year=1996 |title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton |publisher= Best Books on |isbn=9781623768010

In a prepared statement, Gore added that NetDay was part of one of the major goals of the Clinton administration, 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".{{cite web |url=http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/NetDay/Video/statement.html |title=Statement by the Vice President about Netday |accessdate=2008-06-12 |last=Gore |first=Al |author-link= |year=1997 |publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609140821/http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/New/NetDay/Video/statement.html |archive-date=2011-06-09 |url-status=dead

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."{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_puca/is_199804/ai_1702147294 |title=GORE, RILEY AND KENNARD HONOR NETDAY VOLUNTEERS ANNOUNCE GUIDE TO ONLINE MENTORING, COMPUTER DONATIONS |accessdate= 2008-06-12 |author= Press Release |last= |first= |author-link= |date=April 28, 1998 |work= US Education Department Press Releases |publisher=

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.

References

References

  1. Clinton, Bill. "Remarks by the President to the Concord Community on NetDay: Ygnacio Valley High School, Concord, California". Clinton Foundation.
  2. Laura Lindhe. (March 12, 1996). "SF State plugs into NetDay". [[San Francisco State University]] Department of Journalism.
  3. "Net Day".
  4. SmartSchools NetDay, www.svi.org/netday/, version November 27, 1996, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/19961127052934/http://svi.org/netday/ archive.org], accessed June 5, 2018
  5. About NetDay, netday.org/about.htm, version October 20, 2001, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20011020210501/http://www.netday.org/about.htm archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  6. NetDay Home page, netday.org, version Feb 24 1999, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/19990224124742/http://www.netday.org/ archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  7. NetDay Home page, netday.org, version Apr 18, 2000, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20000418091053/http://netday.org/ archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  8. National School Wiring Day, netday.org/wiring.htm, version December 4, 2000, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20001204163200/http://netday.org/wiring.htm archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  9. National School Wiring Day, netday.org/wiring.htm, version February 2, 2001, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20010202150000/http://netday.org/wiring.htm archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  10. National School Wiring Day, netday.org/wiring.htm, version August 14, 2001, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20010814081044/http://www.netday.org/wiring.htm archive.org], accessed November 11, 2016
  11. Community Connection - Seasons of Service, netday.org/service_joinhands.htm, version December 2, 2002, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20021208103648/http://www.netday.org/service_joinhands.htm archive.org] on November 11, 2016
  12. First Netday Techday Held In Mississippi Delta, netday.org/news_first_techday.htm, version October 3, 2003, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20031003190930/http://netday.org/news_first_techday.htm archive.org] on November 11, 2016
  13. NetDay Speak Up Day, netday.org/speakupday.htm archive.org, version October 3, 2003, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20031003201144/http://netday.org/speakupday.htm archive.org] on November 11, 2016
  14. TESS - Technology Enhancing Student Success, netday.org/comm_tess.htm, version October 3, 2003, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20031013212306/http://netday.org/comm_tess.htm archive.org] on November 11, 2016
  15. NetDay Home page, netday.org, version February 10, 2006, accessed at [https://web.archive.org/web/20060210062354/http://www.netday.org/ archive.org] on November 11, 2016
  16. About Project Tomorrow [http://www.tomorrow.org/about/about_PT.html www.tomorrow.org/about/about_PT.html] accessed on November 11, 2016

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digital-divideeducational-environmenthistory-of-the-internetinformation-societyinformation-technology-educationnon-profit-technologyrecurring-events-established-in-1995