<-- Back to Good Stuff from TxDLA 2003
University of Texas System Conference on Information Technology and Distance
Education. This year's host will be The University of Texas of the Permian
Basin, May 14 - 16, 2003. Keynote Speaker is Chris Dede from Harvard!
http://www.utpb.edu/reach/iTDE/
Listserv for TxDLA West Texas is being set up by Randy Hager at ESC16
randy.hager@esc16.net
806.677.5267
Trina is going to update the TxDLA website for West Texas
There is interest in ESC17 (5 Area) for an iTV class about taking an online class
Met with Scott and Carl of MINDS
Need to get with Holly Lee, Scott, and some of our C and I faculty to discuss
our college's participation in the oral history project
http://oralhistory.minds.tv/
Possible roles in this project for our college:
MINDS has a "Knowledge Center" section of their website to share video announcements
/ programs/ etc
Set this up for others. Example: http://mcoecn.minds.tv/
Goal is to create a "rich media streaming environment"
Use Sonic Foundry Media Site Live software to create combination talking head
/ online PowerPoint web presentations: http://www.sonicfoundry.com/systems/mslive.asp
I need to attend Carl Mahan's iTV Training (4 day) at ESC17 and create a similar model for our faculty
Wireone Vidnet Migration to H.323
www.wireone.com/vidnet/index.htm
Robin Nunley
In contract have 99.5% uptime guarantee, refund monthly payment if QOS is not
provided
Vidnet can offer big benefits for international calling (cost benefits)
Can provide streaming on demand, multicast streaming, with a partner (Realstream?)
- can record sessions and archive them for us, or send the stream to use so
we can send it out.
Could provide cost effective way to test our needs for streaming
TXDla Website new rollout
- live by mid-April
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Email feedback to rrobinson@utsystem.edu
- are going to embrace this as an iterative process, and make this better over
time
Polycom Update
Polycom Conference Suite
- schedule conferences through Outlook
- control endpoints, MCU, Routers, Switches
- will manage non-polycom endpoints
- control room functions
- can use X-10 functionality to remote control devices
www.empowerpeace.com (Website
and project to have Muslim students in other countries and in the US visit
with US students about issues relating to world peace, currently under construction)
Free resources on iTV training and other training issues are available from St Phillips College
VBrick is encoding solution / streaming solution: http://www.vbrick.com/
Good interface and PC based solution for touch screen control of both Polycom and VTEL videoconferencing equipment, includes streaming solution, about $5000 per room- http://www.frontandcentertech.com/
Tegrity Web Learner - superb stand and deliver solution for talking head and
PowerPoint delivery via web, can be burned to CD, can be live or asychronus,
very clear user interface, can be cart based, instructor can annotate directly
on PPT using special laser pen, does not require postproduction work, can post
directly on IIS streaming server, students just need URL to see, provides both
low and high bandwidth versions, low version quality is still very good, purchase
software and hardware, also buy CALs (client access licenses) limiting the
number of students who can simultaneously view content online at the same time.
http://www.tegrity.com/
MINDS also has an alternative solution to Tegrity but it does not include the same annotation capability, it is much cheaper
Gloria Meraz, Director of Communications for the Texas Library Association
Still fighting to continue TIF in the legislature
Reason there is momentum to continue TIF is because of the efforts of people
like us
Our letters, talking to our leaders about the value of TIF, are critically important,
bring the word out
Legislators are getting many letters about TIF
She expects this issue to be played out at the bitter end of the session, late
May or maybe later in an extended summer session?
$1.5 billion cap for funds raised by TIF will be reached in 2004
Understood TIF issue needed to be raised now not in 2005 because of this, and
because the TIF agency would need to be around through 2005
Doesn't want to be reactionary: but we (the state) may have not received the
worst of the budget news
- we know about the $2 billion shortfall
- trying to make up $8 billion shortfall for 2004-2005
- these are estimates, some say the shortfall could be much worse (like $15 billion
shortfall)
- bottom line is we just don't know right now
History and criticisms of TIF continue to plague it
Problem is that there are NO state dollars, Governor's state of the state address
made plan to rededicate TIF dollars to technology allotment (last 460 million
in TIF pot, about 240 million to replace current tech allotment at TEA, another
40 million would increase allotment per student from $30 to $35 per student)
TEA has presented a formal request for these dedicated funds
We don't necessarily think this is the best solution, but this proposal has gone
forward
This could potentially lock off most of the consitutuent groups off from TIF
funding (all to K-12)
Are more requests for dedicated funds than dollars in the TIF fund
Freeze of 2003 TIF funds is causing some of this, is a separate issue but also
tied in
Don't have sense now of what the legislative will is, we know there is interest
by legislators to continue TIF, but don't know where it is on balance
Legislators are simply struggling to find a way to pay the bills, they must shore
up a budget
At some point we need to be sure that TIF funds are available for current constituents
Worst case is that millions got spent on technology infrastructure, and then
the money is not available to maintain it or keep access up to it
Decisions have not been made, but some bills have been introduced that would
lead us down a bad path as far as TIF goes
Page last updated: Wednesday, March 5, 2003 12:31 PM