Blog
Forging computational superstars: the Fort McMurray success story
Something interesting is happening in Fort McMurray’s Westwood Community High School. If you scan the news section on the school’s website, you’ll see references to: A grade 12 student winning a medal at the 2018 Canada Wide Science Fair for his project using AI and RFID for medical smart technologies. Students creating a group called […]
Scaling the roofs of Maskwacis to build a mesh network
By Alyssa Moore, Former Policy Advisor, Cybera Last month, an acquaintance of mine posted this in a Facebook group: Who wants to come install networking equipment under the supervision of Bruce Buffalo the weekend of May 12? We will be camping on the Saturday night near Maskwacis (about 2.5 h drive north). No experience required […]
Investments in Canada’s National Research and Education Network (NREN) extend and strengthen essential infrastructure for research
NREN partners’ investments extend network reach, increase capacity, and strengthen resiliency of network infrastructure supporting data-rich, collaborative innovation Cybera and its partners in Canada’s National Research and Education Network (NREN), an essential collective of infrastructure, tools, and people that bolsters Canadian leadership in research, education and innovation, today announced the completion of a range […]
Testing the Gaps in First Nations’ Internet Access
In July 2004, the Assembly of First Nations passed a resolution directing “the government of Canada to honour its commitment to connect every community to broadband services by 2005.” But nearly a decade and a half later, many First Nations communities remain without any internet connectivity. This issue was highlighted in 2016 by the CRTC […]
Grade 6 Students Learning to Analyze Climate Data and Government Spending Using Callysto
A class of grade six students from Sherwood Park’s Westboro Elementary are among the first to test Callysto, a new and unique online learning tool from Cybera and The Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). The Callysto platform was created to give Canadian students in grades 5-12 access to specialized, curriculum-based learning modules that utilize […]
Securing Alberta Students’ Online Identities
An online platform that helps staff and students at K-12 schools to safely and easily access third-party learning services is now available to Alberta education authorities. Pika is the first Alberta-based “federated identity management” solution to be dedicated to educators, and the only one in Canada that is offered to K-12 school districts. As well […]
Cyber Summit 2018: Why Attend?
Hands-on learning. Big level thinking. Strategies to apply to your organization. This stimulating western Canadian technology event will feature: 20+ Unique Breakout Sessions and Panel Discussions 20+ Expert Speakers 180+ Industry Peers 2 Days of concentrated thought leadership 1 Day of hands-on learning Exhibitors and booths from industry leaders Business and IT professionals come to […]
Cybera’s Virtual Firewall Service: An Introduction and History
Earlier this month, Cybera launched a Virtual Firewall Service (VFS) for Alberta’s public sector institutions. In this first of a two-part blog series, I will describe the history of Cybera’s VFS and what the future holds. Part Two will then provide a deep-dive into the technologies that the VFS uses, and how Cybera members can […]
Alberta educators reduce IT costs and improve bandwidth capacity with Cybera’s shared Virtual Firewall Service
A virtual solution to the cybersecurity resource constraints faced by Alberta’s public sector has been developed by Cybera. The first of its kind in Alberta, the Virtual Firewall Service removes the need for schools to host their own physical firewall appliances. This saves them both time and money, as they no longer need to buy […]
Research networks avoid the pitfalls of US net neutrality changes – for now
Author: Cathy Bogaart, Director, Marketing and Communications, Orion. Undoubtedly, you have seen the recent news coverage about the US Federal Communications Commission repealing Obama-era net neutrality regulations. Many fear that US-based Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will change the way people access applications and services over the internet, no matter if they are living in the US […]
Why rural connectivity is an issue for EVERY Canadian
As part of our core mandate, Cybera continually pushes for the democratization of technology access in Canada. We’ve seen some major policy successes over the years — particularly with the CRTC decision to mandate bandwidth as a basic communications service needed by everyone. We’re also pleased to see increasing investments by governments (from the municipal […]
New Canadian data mining tool analyzes how public submissions affect regulatory decisions
When the CRTC sought submissions to its 2015 consultation on “Basic Telecommunications Services,” thousands of people offered their opinions on what the future of Canada’s internet should look like. For the first time ever, these submissions have been made searchable via a single, simple-to-use platform, and a surprisingly varied narrative of struggles and concerns has […]
A behind-the-scenes look at Cybera’s network security activities
In early 2016, we got wind of a potential (distributed denial-of-service) attack on one of our school members. We contacted the network administrator there to investigate what was going on (sometimes it’s simply a case of the school doing a lot of downloading at one time, which means we don’t need to do anything on […]
Cybera boosts internet infrastructure, lowers bulk buying rate
The price of internet for Alberta’s public sector continued to drop this month, creating even more opportunities for digitally intensive learning and content creation. Members of Alberta’s Internet Buying Group saw their set rate for bandwidth go down by another 18%, moving from $2.75 to $2.25 per Mbps. This is the 10th price decrease for […]
Building Canada’s Digital Generation
(PIMS) are proud to be participating in the new national CanCode program, announced today. This two-year program supports initiatives that aid coding and digital skills development among Canadian youth, from kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12). Over the next two years, Cybera and PIMS will trial new tools and frameworks that help teachers bring computational thinking into their […]