Tag Archives: Vendors

A New LifeSize Express Arrived Yesterday Afternoon!

Yesterday afternoon we were privileged to receive a grant through Views On Learning to receive a new LifeSize Express system, plus a really cool Ergotron cart and 50 inch display.

Views on Learning, Inc. (VOL) is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established to provide our Educational Broadband Service (EBS) schools with distance education opportunities that meet the requirements of NCLB and improve student learning.

Thank you to Jeff Gangloff and Les Turner of Views On Learning for coming to install our new HD videoconferencing system! We’re excited to partner with Views on Learning to bring engaging learning opportunities to more students via videoconferencing. I’m looking forward to facilitating the Jazz workshop this summer from this system too.

One of our elementary schools was also able to receive a grant through Views on Learning. You can read more about that here.

Results from Australia Desktop Videoconferencing Project Group

I learned from a post on the Megaconference listserv about this work that was just completed in Australia. Quoting their website:

The Desktop Video Project Group (DVPG) was formed to evaluate desktop based video conferencing solutions to be used in Australian Universities and Research institutions. This group believes that there is no “one‐size fits all” when it comes to desktop video conferencing. … This group has completed a review of a broader range of “off‐the‐shelf” applications that are grouped into particular “types” that have been evaluated to offer a broader and greater relevance for institutional users and support teams.

Tools
Their project evaluated the following tools:

  • Mirial Softphone
  • Polycom PVX
  • Xmeeting 0.4P2
  • Emblaze-VCON’s vPoint HD
  • Kedacom PCMT
  • EVO
  • Vidyo
  • Tandberg Movi 2.0
  • Microsoft Office Communicator
  • Polycom Converged Management Application

Definitions
The project also includes some very helpful definitions of different types of conferencing. Given the blurring of lines between room, desktop, H323, nonH323, etc. and the growing casual undefined use of the term telepresence, these definitions are very helpful.

The project includes lists of different scenarios of use for desktop videoconferencing -the scope and range of the list is very comprehensive!

Checklist

  • The checklist used to evaluate each product is very helpful and can be used adapted by any organization.

The full report is online here in PDF.

A picture of the workgroup testing is posted on twitpic:

Polycom HDX at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share the experience from the Polycom HDX island.

Polycom HDX Setup

Polycom provided the HDX equipment that was used in the playground and in the SIG IVC room throughout the rest of the conference.

In this picture, Danny Maas from Edmonton, Alberta is the pirate guide.

We used the Promethean board display and projector (supplied with the playground) as a screen and method to show the video from the HD system. These systems are more often set up with carts in schools as shown in pictures here.

In the picture above, note the equipment. The microphone (designed for room systems) is sitting on the stool. The remote control for the system is in the participant’s hand. The camera is to the right of the Promethean board on a small table. The videoconference system itself (sometimes called the codec) is also on the table to the right of the Promethean board. These are typical basic components of all videoconference hardware solutions.

In this picture (by Lori Colwill), you can see the microphone on the stool if you look carefully. Note also how well this island handled groups of people.

In this picture you can see how good the quality is and also how the picture in picture (or self-view) shows up in the top corner (can be moved around).

At this island, participants dialed out to:

  1. National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
  2. CET Challenger Learning Center
  3. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
  4. Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

I Learned

I have the same comments as on the Tandberg Edge:

  • Since my daily job is connecting my schools (with Polycom VSX 7000s and Viewstations) to lots of similar systems around the country, including all different kinds of Polycom systems, I didn’t really learn anything new. This island worked successfully and steadily just as I would have expected!
  • Also, as expected, this island handled groups of people much better than the desktop videoconferencing islands.
  • One thing I wanted to learn though, is how to use the far end camera control to change the layout of the conference when dialed into a Codian bridge. We did have a Codian from REMC 1 on the list of places to dial, but I never got a chance to play with it and figure it out. Too busy solving other problems and issues with the playground. Do you know? Please comment!

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Polycom HDX before? What would you add?

TANDBERG Edge HD at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share the experience at the TANDBERG HD Edge island.

Tandberg Edge Setup

Tandberg/Cisco provided the HD equipment that was used in the playground and in the SIG IVC room throughout the rest of the conference. Several Tandberg staff from the booth came by to help out at this island during the playground as well.

In this picture, Amy Spath from NY is the pirate guide. She is behind the attendee and has a parrot on her pirate hat.

We used the Promethean board display and projector (supplied with the playground) as a screen and method to show the video from the HD system. These systems are more often set up with carts in schools as shown in pictures here.

In the picture above, note the equipment. The microphone (designed for room systems) is sitting on the stool. The remote control for the system is in the participant’s hand. The camera is to the right of the Promethean board on a small table. The videoconference system itself (sometimes called the codec) is on the floor to the left of the Promethean board. These are typical basic components of all videoconference hardware solutions.

This picture gives a better view of the codec on the floor to the right and the camera on the table to the left. The participants at this island just got a special prize because they found the pirate at The Mariners’ Museum!

At this island, participants dialed out to:

  1. Center for Puppetry Arts
  2. The Mariners’ Museum
  3. Royal Botanical Gardens
  4. Baseball Hall of Fame

I Learned

  • Since my daily job is connecting my schools (with Polycom VSX 7000s and Viewstations) to lots of similar systems around the country, including all different kinds of Tandberg systems, I didn’t really learn anything new. This island worked successfully and steadily just as I would have expected!
  • Also, as expected, this island handled groups of people much better than the desktop videoconferencing islands.
  • One thing I wanted to learn though, is how to use the far end camera control to change the layout of the conference when dialed into a Codian bridge. We did have a Codian from REMC 1 on the list of places to dial, but I never got a chance to play with it and figure it out. Too busy solving other problems and issues with the playground. Do you know? Please comment!

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Tandberg Edge HD before? What would you add?

Vidyo at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share what we learned at the Vidyo station.

Vidyo Setup

GCI Alaska assisted us with the Vidyo island setup and provided pirate guides for that island.


In this picture, Craig Moellerstuen explains Vidyo to an attendee.

At this station, the web cam used is a Logitech Quickcam. The audio/speakers used were the Phoenix Duet Executive.

At this island, participants dialed out to:

  1. Amon Carter Museum
  2. Kennedy Space Center
  3. REMC 1 (not a content provider – an educational service agency in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan)
  4. The Sixth Floor Museum

I Learned / Questions I Have

  • I have played with Vidyo several times before (here, here, here, here), and from what I noticed at the playground, it worked very well as expected. Quality was awesome!
  • Vidyo is a great solution for bringing in remote sites to H323 calls – i.e. Craig uses it to bring in guest speakers to talk to students, to connect students who are at remote locations in Alaska to their VC classes, etc. The beauty of it is that you just send a link to the participant – and they just download a little tiny app to get started. Very easy and no messing with the firewall to make it work for the end user.
  • One thing we ran into is dialing aliases. We had planned to put only straight IP address dialing on the Vidyo island; but I messed up and assigned an alias@IP format to it. We weren’t able to get it to connect directly. How does Vidyo handle the Codian menu structure, the Tandberg MPS / endpoint behind a firewall format of alias@IP, and the Polycom IP##alias format. How do we make it do that? I would like to learn. Please comment if you know!

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Vidyo before? What features should be mentioned? Please comment and be sure to read the comments!

Elluminate LIVE! at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share what we learned at the Elluminate Live station.

Elluminate Live Setup and Connections

In this picture, you can see that James Yasko, of The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson. This station did not feature H323 videoconferencing. Instead we were featuring web conferencing. The Hermitage is one of several content providers who are exploring offering their programs to schools in the web conference format so as to reach a wider audience. We stayed connected with The Hermitage for the whole playground time.

This island was set up with a headset and a Logitech QuickCam Orbit. The laptop, headset and webcam were provided by Whirlidurb.

In this picture, you can see that one of the participants was talking with James, while the others are making notes about this island on their “letter of marque“.

At times the Elluminate island was jam packed and crowded!

What I Learned

  • The content is the main feature of webconferencing; video is “on the side”. This format works well for PowerPoint-like presentations.
  • Elluminate has another product – Elluminate VCS – which connects to H323 systems. I would like to know more about Elluminate VCS. Maybe next year!

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Elluminate Live or VCS before? What features did I miss?

Tandberg MOVI at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share what we learned at the CISCO-TANDBERG MOVI station.

Tandberg MOVI Setup

In this picture, Lori Colwill assists an attendee with dialing out to a mystery location.

Dallas ISD provided the Tandberg PrecisionHD USB camera (see the picture above), as well as a headset and laptop. The headset made it easier for the attendees and the far site to hear because it was so noisy in the playground. In this picture, you can see an attendee talking to John at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Note the great quality! (The screen could be expanded full size, but hadn’t been.)

At this island, participants dialed out to:

  1. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  2. The Mariners’ Museum
  3. Buffalo Zoo
  4. CET Challenger Learning Center

I Learned

I wanted to spend more time with MOVI, but the playground was so busy I didn’t get to. Here are a few notes from talking to Lori:

  • Tandberg MOVI needs to be installed with the VCS (firewall traversal box).
  • If you already have TMS, you can get MOVI as an option key with Tandberg Management Suite.
  • We were not able to get the far end camera control to work to navigate a Codian bridge menu. But it worked with DTMF tones. Not sure if that’s just because we don’t know. If you know, please comment on this post!
  • Just like all Tandberg equipment, it can’t dial the IP##alias format; but this blog post has tips on getting around that which sometimes works depending on the other site’s setup.

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Tandberg MOVI before? What features did I miss?

Polycom CMA Desktop at the ISTE 2010 SIG IVC Playground

Background: The SIG IVC Playground at ISTE 2010 featured six videoconferencing islands. Participants tried out two HD units and four desktop videoconferencing solutions. We used a pirate theme to make the learning and exploration fun. At each island, attendees had to talk to people in mystery locations to figure out where they were and which content provider they were.

In this blog post, I share what we learned at the Polycom CMA Desktop island.

Polycom CMA Desktop Setup

In this picture Marci Powell of Polycom answers questions, while Sue Porter assists another attendee.

Polycom supplied the laptop and webcam for the playground. I didn’t catch which webcam they used, but it looks like it might be the Logitech 9000. The speaker / microphone is the Polycom Communicator. You can see a better view here:

At this island, participants dialed out to:

  1. Kigluait Adventures
  2. The Mariners’ Museum
  3. Columbus Zoo

I Learned

I had played with CMA quite a bit before (see previous post). But I did learn two new things.

  • Zoom Sharing. When you’re sharing your computer (H.239), you don’t have to share your whole screen. You can use the zoom feature to choose just a small part of your screen to share. (It reminds me of the Jing recording screen selections.) Pretty sweet. This allows you to have your slideshow smaller, a chat window, and the far site in different areas of your desktop.
  • Multiple USB Cameras. Version 5 of CMA allows you to change cameras on the fly during the connection. So this way you can switch to, say, a USB document camera during your call. I am very interested this option because my schools interested in desktop VC have been asking me about using a document camera with it. However, I was so busy at the playground I didn’t get to see it in action yet. Have any of you? Please comment!

What about you?

Did you make it to the ISTE IVC Playground? Or have you played with Polycom CMA Desktop before? What features did I miss? Please comment!

Avermedia is making VC equipment now!

One of the most interesting pieces of information I learned at ISTE today was through @kusdiva who visited the Avermedia booth. She found out and shared via Twitter that they will offer this fall a new HD videoconference system – small and low cost – but cost not set yet as you can’t buy it yet!

Check out the picture from their website. You can sign up to learn more about it when it comes out. I’m hoping to get a chance to stop by their booth.

(Who says H323 is dead? Certainly not with new players entering the market!!)

Blended Learning for the 21st-Century Classroom

SIG IVC Showcase: Elaine Shuck, Polycom, Inc.

Elaine started with a cute video clip about a student waking up in the morning to get engaged.

Polycom Special Events

She described the Polycom Special Event with blind author Jim Stovall, as well as other events: Dr. Ben Carson, Evelyn Coleman, Laurie Keller, Sarah Miller, Elizabeth Raum, Sue Stauffacher, Susan Thoms, Margaret Willey, Amy Young, Janie Panagopoulos; and other events for Black History Month, Women’s History Month.

Registration opens on September 1st inside CAPspace: Collaborations Around the Planet, where also registration happens for Read Around the Planet and teachers can post their own collaborations as well.

The programs are popular and fill up in a few hours, so get ready to register!

They also described a partnership with Global Nomads Group and showed how the lesson plans etc. are posted on the Polycom Special Events wiki.

The Polycom Special Events are free for Polycom customers, and there are only 5 slots for each session. They ask that only one school per district register for each event to make room for everyone.

The ASK Process

Sue Porter explained the ASK process: Ask, Specialist, Knowledge, where the students read a book, journal, write good questions, and then interview an author or a specialist. The video shown during the session is linked here at the top of the page.

Sessions in the Polycom Booth

Also FYI, there are a whole bunch of 30 min sessions throughout the conference at the Polycom booth – on CAPspace, with Global Nomads, with Andy Campbell at LearnNCO, and CMA Desktop, the new desktop videoconferencing tool; among other things.

Attendance: This session was JAM PACKED – it was great to see the large number of people interested in videoconferencing!