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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER: APRIL 2007 ISSUE
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IP VIDEO SOLUTIONS FOR EDUCATION
BY PAT CASSELLA, VBRICK SYSTEMS
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Many of us can remember what a video presentation was like during our earliest days of school: struggling with the projector, poor quality, projector jamming, etc.
We then experienced a huge move forward with the introduction of the VCR and VHS tapes. Suddenly equipment malfunctions were a thing of the past and available subject matter greatly increased. There was still one challenge though, having the video available when you needed it, and not in someone else’s class.
As technology matured, video was deployed to the classroom from a central computer room using a dedicated “coax based” network with a special video drop in every classroom. While this was a huge step forward, the video network was separate from the computer network. Think about it – how do you reach that homebound student? How do you integrate other rich media such as PowerPoint presentations and still images into the experience? How can a teacher in one school give a lecture to a class in another school located 75 miles away?
Let’s “fast-forward” to the present and take a look at how streaming video technology has changed the learning environment.
Digital distribution systems--that deliver live and stored video to the classroom using the school’s existing computer network--have emerged. Stored video assets are delivered over the computer network “on-demand” from a video-on-demand (VOD) server, much like the one your cable company uses to deliver VOD to the home. Teachers now have access to a limitless number of videos that can be used with a classroom lecture or homework assignment. Equally important is the fact that media departments no longer have to keep track of the VHS tapes nor worry about delivering them to classrooms or even satellite schools. And, the costs associated with tape distribution add up day after day while the quality of the tape degrades with each playback. Assets stored on a VOD system will never degrade as each asset is in a digital format that resides as a file on the hard drive of the VOD server. You can also get rid of all the redundant assets such as TVs and VCRs.
Streaming technology has also opened the door for live video distribution such as morning video announcements, live TV distribution and campus surveillance. Once again, using the existing computer network, live video can be used for interactive communication such as a classroom debate between geographically distanced schools or for distance learning applications such as an expert teacher on one campus giving a lecture to a class in another. Consider teaching salaries; you can now have a specialized teacher that can reach several schools at once rather than traveling between schools wasting valuable teaching time as travel hours.
Student and campus security is more important than ever and streaming video can be used for surveillance of parking lots, campuses and classrooms sending high quality video to computers, TV monitors and even PDAs such as cell phones. The value of increased student safety is hard to measure but certainly easy to justify.
It is safe to say that we can all agree that in the classroom (and throughout our adult lives as well) repetition leads to retention. Reading a book more than once, practicing with mathematics flash cards and sporting practices are a sure way to improve your student’s skills across the board. But what about replaying the video of an entire classroom session right before test time? With digital streaming
technology an entire lesson can be recorded and made available through video-on-demand so that students can actually experience “classroom replay” at any time to assist with study practices. It is one thing to look at your notes and re-read highlights in your text books, but combine this with classroom replay and you open a new door in the time tested practice of “repetition, retention”. Streaming video has certainly become the catalyst for many of today’s E-learning solutions. VBrick’s EtherneTV learning system can provide the transition from basic information dissemination to an environment where rich media lectures are common place, distance learning minimizes a campus footprint and information retention surges, all leading to a more effective teaching and learning environment.
Pat Cassella is Sr. Director of Marketing - Education, VBrick Systems
For information contact a VBrick representative or visit http://www.VBrick.com.
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