Videoconferencing in a Rural School Division

1. Videoconferencing in a Rural School Division Lyle Roberts and Eli Merrick Supernet 4996253182@204.209.109.89 Supernet 4996253182@3v.prrd.ab.ca Internet 66.244.203.150##4996253182 66.244.203.149

2. History • Early Experience 1996-1997 • Foremost to Manyberries • Results – Teacher and students did well despite limited capabilities • 2002-2003 A New Challenge • School closures • Challenge to the school board from Minister of Learning • Video conferencing research and proposal • Proposal submitted in December • 2004 The Solution • Proposal accepted by Alberta Learning – February • Acquired equipment March - August • Installation August – February 2005

3. Planning Committee • What did we need? • We didn’t know!! • What did we want? • We didn’t know!! • As a videoconferencing committee, we researched and visited sites that were doing video conferencing to get ideas

4. eLinc(eLearn … Innovatively Networking Communities) Prairie Rose School Division No. 8

5. Goals for eLinc • Enhance programming in PRSD Schools • Enable small schools to remain open in their communities • Retain and attract our urban fringe students • Provide video conferencing equipment at each school to be accessed by community members • Develop a video conferencing project that can be replicated in other remote rural jurisdictions • Develop working partnerships with outside agencies to enhance educational opportunities for students

6. Scenarios of Use • Distance education delivery • Core Curriculum • Curriculum enhancement • Professional growth • Professional Learning Communities • Administrative/committee meetings • Special Needs – IPP meetings, speech pathologists, medical consultations.

7. Design Considerations Infrastructure • Network is crucial - QOS enabled network end to end using carrier grade equipment connected to the supernet • Gold supernet bandwidth provisioned for all sites • Centralized management of endpoints • Able to Connect to external networks ie internet, 3V VPN, Netera, etc. • Adequate power for all equipment • Adequate network drops Classroom Equipment • Smallest footprint possible • Ease of use for all users • Instantaneous • Always available • Reliable • Must closely approximate what a teacher would expect to do in a class • Minimal technical support • Lighting • Sound (Microphone placement)

8. Equipment • Each Learning Site Video Conferencing Suite • Polycom Viewstation FX or VSX 7000 • Polycom PVX with Logitech Quickcam Pro 5000 with a computer workstation • Elmo Document Camera • Smart Board and computer • 32 inch Sony TV • 2 Desktop projectors – ceiling mounted • Sony VPL CX6 • Nec VT670K • Projection screen • DVD/VCR combo • Double wide TV cart • Division Office • Polycom Global Management System server • Brigit Server • Polycom Accord MGC 50+ • Edgemarc 5300 • V2IU

9. Lesson Learned Lighting A Bad Example A Better Example In general – lighting is unique to every room. You have to find out what works the best in each room because there is no cookie cutter approach that can be applied.

10. Lesson Learned Microphone Placement ceiling mounted microphone system Desktop microphone system Use what’s best for the situation to get the best audio

11. Lesson Learned Camera Placement – ideal is between 5 and 6 feet high

12. Present and Future Directions • Grade 9 Social Studies – September 2005 to present • Math 31 – February to June 2006 • Junior High Outdoor Education – February to June 2006 • Administrator’s meetings • Superintendent meetings for zone 6 • Music Instruction – Fall 2006 • Second Language Instruction – September 2006 • Professional Development opportunities • Guest Lecturers, Authors, Scientists, Doctors, etc. • Therapy services ie. Speech therapy, behavioral obervations • Other curriculum areas with low enrollment ie. Physics 30 • Professional learning communities • Research for rural education methodology • Observation and evaluation of student teachers and new teachers • Invite community members to utilize the equipment for education and inservice • Common timetable for schools in the jurisdiction

13. Prairie Rose School Division Profile • K-12 students = 3700 • Public Schools = 22; Colony Schools = 15 • Area covered = approx. 11,500 square miles • Endpoints = 23 suites, 48 desktops • MCU = 48 ports; Bridgit Server, 23 SW bridges • Smart Board = 21 for VC suites, 80 in classrooms • SuperNet Schools = 100/20 Mbps (all) • SuperNet Headend = 100/40 Mbps • Internet Gateway = 20 Mbps full duplex Big Pipe