Video Over IP

Media Leadership Group Task Force:

Introduction:

The Media Leadership Group (MLG) is a subcommittee of the Technology Leadership Council (TLC). The MLG charter is to review and make recommendations regarding videoconferencing, digital video, access, storage and distribution, and audio and video usage throughout the district’s infrastructure. The membership of the MLG includesmedia leaders from the 10 MCCD colleges and from the District Office.

(DISTRICT MISSION- BEYOND BOUNDARIES-GLASPER)

(THE WORLD IS FLAT)

EMERGING LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES – OCOTILLO

D E L E T E

Background:

The Maricopa Community College District (MCCD) has a reputation throughout higher education as a leader in the use of technology. The MCCD Videoconferencing Network (VCN)was developed in the 1980’s to deliver videoconferencing services to the 10 Maricopa campuses. An ATM switched, Wide Area Network (WAN), was used to deliver interactive audio and video, and its use was successful in its original form and continued to be used until a few years ago. This network was relatively reliable and was used for instructional purposes as well as administrative purposes.

Issues:

Thetechnology has become obsolete and support from the District Office is no longer available. The use and support of the network was transferred to RioSaladoCollege. Testing determined it to be useful for conferencing purposes, however many of the connections to campuses were dropped for lack of use, and replacing the conferencing technology was problematic because of funding issues for the individual campuses.

This ATM network has limitations in that the delivery of data was internal to MCCD. The colleges connected to the network could communicate, but were unable to deliver signals to users outside of the WAN. (The current standard for video conferencing is delivered via ISDN connectivity. It is possible to bridge through RIO to an ISDN line which connects with outside entities. The system however, relies on RIO to support and switch the signals.) The ATM switched WAN network is being considered for other the new student system backup mechanism.

Needs Assessment:

Two surveys of MCCD employees were developed by the Media Leadership Group to gauge interest and determine if the need existed for a new conferencing system. The surveys included Full time and Part time Faculty as well as MAT/PSA in regard to their experience with, and their desire to, participate in the use of this type of technology. Of a significant sample, approximately 87% suggested they would consider using videoconferencing technology for district wide meetings. 80% of the respondents replied positively regarding the usage of a videoconferencing system for instructional use. (The caveat is that technical support will be provided).

Survey:

Future Trends

  • Convergence:
  • Data and Video networks have traditionally been independent forms of distribution. Video has been an analog format while Data networks live in the digital realm. Digital video and video over IP, have brought the two worlds closer to utilizing the same infrastructure, however, traditional data networks have not been designed for large bandwidth distribution. CODEC systems have translated video for distribution over telephony technology, (ATM, ISDN,) such as the VCN network. The future will continue to merge the forms, and provide the ability to deliver content over consistent network infrastructure.
  • Travel Reduction:
  • Video conferencing systems can reduce intra-district travel that is now necessary for administrative and academic instructional councils. Cost effectiveness can be realized by reducing the amount of time spent traveling to district locations. It will also greatly support the state and federal requirements for air pollution control and travel reduction.
  • Safety:
  • Given the current world environment and the potential impacts to security in the college district, conferencing systems could allow the District Office to communicate district wide security messages and conduct interactive training programs.
  • Storage:
  • The ability to store and retrieve large bandwidth files from a central location will make the use of such a system much more valuable. Instructors can send students to an address and they (given access and bandwidth) can download, or stream elaborate lessons or ancillary content related to their classes. Staff and faculty could view meetings or other archived materials. This is similar to Cisco’s IPTV model: however, the bandwidth necessary to support district wide activity would necessitate large servers and a network architecture that would not impact the typical data traffic.
  • Infrastructure:
  • Networks with the ability to deliver and receive large bandwidth, content rich information, interactively: including multicast (one to many) and point-to-point (one location to another) and multipoint (many to many.) .Connectivity to the Cox fiber backbone, with access to scaleable bandwidth, would be an example.
  • Standards:
  • It is important that the system(s) chosen for this purpose be standards based, and that platforms are consistent from campus to campus. The systems should be relatively labor free in terms of their use.
  • Distribution and Access solutions:
  • Digital cable backbone system for voice, data and video distribution for high bandwidth networks.
  • Video streaming over traditional data networks.
  • Voice/Video over IP.
  • Hosted Videoconferencing solutions. (i.e. WireOne’s Glowpoint service)
  • Internet 2
  • Potential Uses - ---TESTIMONIALS---
  • Instructional Delivery: As an example: a recent videoconference was done at Paradise Valley CC, conferencing to Australia, allowing local biology classes to communicate with SCUBA divers, diving the Great Barrier Reef. ISDN connectivity was used to connect to Australia.
  • Distance Learning: An example: MCTV delivers supplemental content via the Coxnetwork.Theyhave plans to develop more supplemental materials and distribute them via the channel butnone of the colleges can receive this delivery.
  • Administrative meetings: both internal and external.
  • Conferencing Facilities: The rental to outside agencies and use by other public agencies can provide either rental income, or provide community service.

Recommendations:

  • Provide connectivity and standardized technology to each MCCD site.
  • Research an Associate membership to the Internet 2 project.
  • Require standards based systems, which provide capability for all modes of delivery.
  • Network infrastructuremust have the ability to reach students at home.
  • The infrastructure must have the ability to connect with internal MCCD and external locations in the US and other countries.
  • The operational support of such a system must be considered for both the District Office and for the college sites.
  • Local campus storage for video files, with redundancy for back up.
  • Utilizing desktop conferencing systems for one-to-oneconferencing needs.

9/19/2018