Bringing Your Distance Class to Your Students Desktop

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Bringing Your Distance Class to Your Students
Desktop

• Tom Farrell
• Wayne Pauli
• Dakota State University
• Madison, SD

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Tom Farrell

• Associate Professor Business and Information
  Systems
• Been teaching distance education classes at
  Dakota State University since 1996
• Started web based only
• Pioneered encoded video at DSU
• First to teach live internet at DSU

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Wayne Pauli

• Director of the Center of Excellence
• Dakota State University
• Teaches classes statewide using the South Dakota
  Digital Dakota Network and encoded video

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In The Beginning

• Dakota State University began distance delivered
  courses using e-mail and web site based content
  delivery.
• Depended heavily upon student reading of
  textbooks and asking the proper questions via
  e-mail or phone.
• Assignments were presented only in a written
  format and not able to be discussed.

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A Concept is Born

• A non traditional student working for South
  Dakota Public Broadcasting was taking one of the
  web based courses.
• Wanted to come to campus to sit in on one of our
  on campus classes.
• Was totally intrigued with the interchange that
  was going on in the traditional classroom vs what
  he saw as a distance student.

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Sharing of Technologies

• What if a video tape of the class sessions
  complete with students and questions could be
  encoded and placed on the Internet?
• This would be done using existing studio
  technology on the DSU campus.
• SDBP was in the infancy of using the Real
  products and was willing to share their expertise
  with Dakota State.

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Sharing Technologies (contd)

• A plan was developed where a courier service was
  used between the libraries on the campuses to
  shuttle tapes from the DSU campus to the
  University of South Dakota campus where SDBP is
  located.

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The Beginning (contd)

• Once the video tapes arrived at SDBP they would
  encode them and place them on their website where
  link was established from the class website.
• This entire process took approximately three days
  from the time of the lecture until the time the
  encoded version was ready.

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The Next Step

• After two semesters of doing the class this way a
  decision was made on the DSU campus to get
  involved in the encoding process.
• A video capture card was purchased and with the
  use of a VCR the tapes were able to be encoded
  and placed on a website on the DSU campus.
• Reduced total time from days to hours.

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The Next Natural Step

• The next logical step was to go from the encoded
  video concept to the live video presentations.
• The software being used for encoding allowed for
  this option.
• First tried across campus, then expanded to off
  campus.
• Currently used in many MSIS classes on some
  undergraduate classes.

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An Instructor in the Studio
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Students in the classroom
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The Control Center
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The V-Tel Cabinet
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Our On Campus Studio Costs

• Listed in the following slides is the studio
  equipment and its cost.
• Keep in mind not all of this equipment is
  required for live Internet, but is used as a part
  of our live two way video and two way audio
  broadcasts.

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Please note all of this equipment is not required
to do live Internet, but rather further supports
studio broadcast capabilities.
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More on the Encoding Machine

• The system is a Pentium III 1000 and has 256 mb
  of RAM and an 18 gig hard drive.
• The computer uses an Osprey 101 Capture card that
  is connected directly to a VCR which becomes the
  mechanism for recording to tape, digitizing the
  signal for live broadcasting, and storage on a
  hard drive on the video server.

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Real Producer Software

• Real Producer Plus7.
• The cost of the Real Producer Plus is 1,999.95.
   
• The Real Producer Plus handles the live Internet
  broadcast, the Digitized files that are stored
  and linked for later viewing.
• The same software can be used to edit the
  digitized files.

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The minimum systems requirements

• 233MHz Intel Pentium II processor / 64MB of RAM
• 28.8Kpbs modem (audio only)
• 16-bit sound card and speakers
• 65,000-color video display card set to display at
  800x600 (video)
• Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows NT
  4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later, Windows XP
• IE 5.0 or later

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The recommended system requirements

• 300 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or greater
• 128MB of RAM
• 56Kpbs modem
• Full Duplex sound card and speakers
• 65,000-color video display card set to display at
  800x600 (video)

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Recommended (contd)

• Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows NT
  4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later, Windows XP
• IE 5.0 or later
• Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 (Workstation or
  Server), Windows XP Workstation are the operating
  systems recommended on the Intel Pentium
  Platform.7 In addition the Sun Sparc, the IBM
  RS/6000 Power PC, the HP PA RISC 2.o and the
  Alpha at all supported.

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The Video Server

• Gateway 8400 Windows 2000 Server
• 2 Intel Pentium III Xeon Processors
• 1024 MB using 4 256 MD modules
• 5 36GB Ultra 160 SCSI SCA 10K RPM Hard Drives
• RAID Level5 Striping with Parity
• Cost July of 2000 was about 16,0000

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Student Requirements

• Optimal viewing is possible using some type of a
  broadband connection such as a cable modem.
• Students have been able to view either the
  digitized lectures or the live lectures using a
  minimal 56 K modem for a dial up connection.
• The power of the computer is less important than
  the speed of the connection.
• At a minimum students have reported having
  success with a lower end Pentium II computer.

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Student Requirements for Live Participation

• In addition students who want to participate
  while the class is being live broadcast will need
  to have some type of other phone connection which
  may well be in the form of an additional land
  line based phone or even a cell phone if they are
  using their phone line for connection to their
  Internet Service Provider.

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The Concept Goes Mobile

• With the successes of working from within a
  studio an idea emerged of making the concept
  mobile.
• That is to not tie the live Internet capability
  to a particular building and room.
• The mobile configuration was developed.
• Total cost about 20,000

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Cabinet 1 The Production Cabinet

• A drawer that is used to store the wireless
  microphones
• A drawer that contains a 7 port switcher that is
  used to control video inputs
• Four 8 inch monitors that are used to display the
  final output, the input from camera 1, the input
  from camera 2, and a fourth monitor that is used
  to check input from a play VCR
• A video mixer board that is used to control what
  signal is being sent out

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Cabinet TwoThe Record Cabinet

• A 1 X 10 Distribution Amp for output
• A Gateway 9500 1.066 GHZ laptop system with 512
  mb of RAM a 40 GB hard drive
• 3 VCRs
• Drawer space for cables

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Cabinet ThreeThe Audio Cabinet

• A play VCR for the addition of input from tape
• Audio Mixer that will accommodate 6 microphones
  and has 6 additional line inputs
• A radio for monitoring purposes when doing a dual
  broadcast with the local radio station
• Drawer space for the cameras

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The Smartboard

• The SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that
  turns your computer and projector into a powerful
  tool for teaching, collaborating and presenting.
• With a computer image projected onto the board,
  you can simply press on its large,
  touch-sensitive surface to access and control any
  application.
• Using a pen from the SMART Pen Tray, you can
  work naturally at the board to take notes and
  highlight important information.  

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The Smartboard
http//www.smarttech.com/
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Conclusions

• Students who have been enrolled in the classes
  have been most appreciative of the added
  dimension that both the digitized lectures and
  live Internet broadcasts have provided.
• They find that not having to travel to a site is
  where they can receive the class using the more
  traditional two way video and two way audio far
  outweighs the disadvantages of the broadcast or
  digitized lectures..

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Conclusions

• Historically students who have participated in
  the live Internet option will phone in at least
  twice during a class session to ask a question or
  to provide input into the class.
• They certainly are able to feel more a part of
  the class environment.

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Sample Video

• ddn.wmv

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