If you can't find the information you require here, please contact the Division of Teaching & Learning Services
Email: dtls-enquiries@cqu.edu.au
Phone:
07-49306739 (extension 6739 within the University)
or
07-49309004 (extension 9004 within the University)
What is streaming?
What do you mean by "presentation"?
Why are we looking at streaming?
Where did the money come from?
Where has the money gone?
What is iBrainz?
Why did the project team select the solution they did?
What about quality?
Can we still record ISL?
Will all courses need to use this technology?
Can I still send VHS tapes out in 2005?
Can I record the video or audio elsewhere and use that?
Can I have audio only?
How will this affect the way I prepare and teach courses?
Will students on slow dialup links be able to use it?
Will students be able to view presentations on campus?
Who is managing this project?
I want to use this technology for my course - who do I talk to?
Do I need special software installed on my PC?
Do students need special software?
Are you catering for Mac users?
What about regional campuses?
What about other campuses and the AICs?
When is it all happening?
How does the system integrate with Blackboard and existing course web sites?
What kind of slides can I use in an iBrainz streaming presentation?
Can I still provide a hard-copy of iBrainz and other streaming content?
What about live versus on-demand streaming?
How do I listen to multimedia streams in student computer labs?
What is streaming?
Streaming is a process of delivering video and/or audio to a computer (e.g. to a lab PC in a student computing lab, or to a student's home computer). When video is streamed, the computer can start playing the video before the whole file is downloaded. The file continues to download in the background while the computer user is already viewing the first part. This means that users do not have to put up with lengthy waits while large video files are downloaded.
What do you mean by "presentation"?
"Presentation" is the term used to describe the final product. It includes the streamed video, plus slides and other content, all presented in a window (click here for an example).
Why are we looking at streaming?
There are a number of reasons why streaming technology has been put on the CQU agenda. Firstly, the existing VAL recording and distribution of tapes is now very old technology that needs to be replaced. Secondly, this technology has just matured and is being taken up by educational institutions around the world as an efficient and effective way to deliver teaching content to students. To ignore it would be to be left behind. With the distributed student body that CQUniversity has, this kind of technology provides an ideal way to give distant students access to lectures in a far more comprehensive way than print material alone. A key aspect of this technology is the potential to deliver a more consistent experience across students enrolled in different study modes.
Where did the money come from?
The purchase and installation of equipment was is beign funded by a Commonwealth CDP (Capital Development Pool) grant.
Where has the money gone?
The project has spent money from the grant with the aim of providing the best available solution, and at the same time, getting maximum value for the university. Care has been taken to provide redundancy and failover wherever possible. Funds have been spent on:
- Streaming Servers
- iBrainz management software and servers
- Database server
- Encoder equipment to allow recording in VAL theatres
- Encoder equipment to allow recording for ISL
- 1000 Gigabytes of on-line Storage
- Backup Storage
- Network enhancements
- Equipment to enable distribution of material to Regional campuses to improve performance at those locations.
- Integration and customisation of components
What is iBrainz?
iBrainz is the presentation management software. It is iBrainz that will enable the presentation to be produced that includes video or audio, plus synchronised slides, table of contents and many other features (click here for a demonstration, or here for more information). Ultimately, it is iBrainz that provides the students with the value added experience you see in the demonstrations on this web site. Streaming only describes the method of delivering the video/audio. iBrainz does the rest. iBrainz is designed to be simple to use such that lecturers and other staff can create mulimedia streaming content with little assistance from support staff.
Why did the project team select the solution they did?
Key considerations for the solution selected included:
- Ability to leverage existing resources such as ISL and VAL theatres.
- Replacement technology for VAL.
- Reliable, experienced vendors.
- Ability to provide, not just streamed video and audio, but a presentation tool to enable extra features such as synchronised slides, web links and email forms.
- Support for Macintosh.
- Ability to provide choices for people with different speed network connections.
- Use of common and freely available client software.
- Ease of integration with existing tools such as Blackboard.
What about quality?
We all know that even the best technology can be used to produce both terrible results and brilliant results, depending on how it is used. As a very public view of the University, it is imperative that the teaching materials made available with this technology are of the highest standards. To this end, standard formatting and quality guidelines will be formulated by the proposed implementation committee (including academic/faculty representatives). These standard formatting and quality guidelines will allow the university to present a cohesive, professional image. DTLS will assist lecturers in getting the best from the technology, providing training and guidance on how courses might best benefit from use of streaming/iBrainz presentations.
Can we still record ISL?
Yes. In order to leverage existing ISL facilites and courses, ITD has expanded the capabilities of ISL to enable the recording of ISL and delivery via video streaming. Optionally, ISL recordings can be combined with the iBrainz presentation interface to create richer multimedia content. For those lecturers who wish to use this technology, it is likely that there will be some changes to the way the lecturer operates and prepares for an ISL session because the presentation tools also include the ability to synchronize slides and otherwise enhance the video aspect with extra information. It is expected that ISL delivery via on-demand video streaming will be phased in during 2005. Anyone who wishes to record iBrainz presentations from ISL should contact DTLS.
Will all courses need to use this technology?
Presentations with streaming will be one option in the teaching and learning toolbox. DTLS will be on hand to help lecturers decide if their courses could make good use of this tool.
Can I still send VHS tapes out in 2005?
Yes. There will be a phased changeover from the old VAL recordings with VHS to the new streaming style recording.
Can I record the video or audio elsewhere and use that?
The best results for recordings will obviously come from those made in the DTLS professional studio and from other assisted locations such as VAL, however, provision will be made to allow for recordings made elsewhere to converted to streaming formats for use with the iBrainz presentation tool.
Can I have audio only?
Yes.
How will this affect the way I prepare and teach courses?
Obviously there are new tools to learn and use. As with any new media, the way it is used is likely to have different rules to existing presentation methods, and there may be some impact on how classes and tutorials are run. For more information on using these new tools, contact DTLS. They will be able help you work through any potential issues and advise if this technology is going to be of benefit to your students.
Will students on slow dialup links be able to use it?
Yes, albeit at a lower quality video (you would need to take your potential audience into account when planning your video material). Wherever possible, all presentations will be available in 2 speed formats, one suitable for people on slow dialup links, and one suitable for people on campus or for those with broadband connections. iBrainz especially increases the potential for dialup-modem delivery since the author can use iBrainz to deliver key visual information via the attached PowerPoint slides (and therefore rely less on the video information).
Will students be able to view presentations on campus?
Yes, a number of PCs in the library and other PC labs will be equipped with headphone sockets to allow students to view/listen to presentations without disturbing others. At this stage, we are working with Campus bookshops to enable students to purchase low-cost headphones on-campus.
Who is managing this project?
There is a high level steering committee which delegated the selection process and technical installation to a multi-discipline project team with members from ITD, DTLS and academic staff from Faculities. As the installation phase of the project draws to a close, ownership and responsibility for the project is being handed over to DTLS, who will handle implementation, training and further development of the system. For more information, contact Shaune Sinclair (ITD ext 6802 s.sinclair@cqu.edu.au) or Leone Hinton (DTLS ext 9854 l.hinton@cqu.edu.au)
I want to use this technology for my course – who do I talk to?
DTLS: Leone Hinton (ext 9854 l.hinton@cqu.edu.au)
Do I need special software installed on my computer?
The iBrainz software is web based. Therefore you can use your existing web browser (click here for a list of compatible operating systems and web browsers). If you don not already have it, you may need to download a Windows Media Player or Quicktime Player plugin in order to view the video (click here to download the player software). Installation is very simple. iBrainz slides need to be in Microsoft PowerPoint format.
Do students need special software?
If they do not already have it, students may need to download the Windows Media Player or Quicktime Player plugin in order to view the video (click here to download the player software). Otherwise, all you need is a web browser (click here for a list of compatible operating systems and web browsers).
Does the system cater for Macintosh users?
Yes. The ability of the solution to work for Mac users was one of the selection criteria. Mac users need to be using OS X and one of the compatible web browsers (click here for a list of compatible operating systems and web browsers).
What about non-Rockhampton campuses?
Significant effort has been put in to ensure that Mackay, Bundaberg and Gladstone campuses will get comparable performances to Rockhampton. Mackay, Bundaberg and Gladstone will have special network devices installed to allow the distribution of copies of current content to the campuses. These local copies will ensure downloads are as fast as they would be in Rockhampton. Other campuses are not within the scope of this initial project phase. Other campuses wil be able to receive multimedia streams from Rockhampton campus, but network traffic may affect performance during times of peak usage. Consideration will be given to the extension of high-performance streaming servers to other campuses as demand and funding allow.
What about other campuses and the AICs?
The scope of the project did not include distribution of local copies of current material to AICs or small campuses such as Emerald and Pomona, however material will be available to everyone from the Rockhampton servers and performance should be acceptable for low-demand utilisation. Network traffic may affect performance during times of peak usage. Consideration will be given to the extension of high-performance streaming servers to other campuses as demand and funding allow.
When is it all happening?
Installation and trials are being conducted in late 2004. It is expected that limited pilots will be undertaken in Autumn term 2005, with more extensive access to follow in subsequent terms. If you would like to take part in the pilot, please contact DTLS (Leone Hinton ext 9854 l.hinton@cqu.edu.au). Places will be limited.
How does the system integrate with Blackboard and existing course web sites?
The strength of multimedia streaming lies is its capacity to be delivered via the web. The iBrainz system is a web-based system. Therefore, multimedia streaming resources can be created and accessed from Blackboard and existing course web sites by using web links.
What kind of slides can I use in an iBrainz streaming presentation?
Slides must be Microsoft PowerPoint. The iBrainz system converts the slides to static JPEG (.jpg) images. As such, the slides must have no transitions or animations as these will be lost in the upload process.
Can I still provide a hard-copy of iBrainz and other streaming content?
Yes. It is likely that hard-format delivery will be required for some multimedia streaming content. For example, the material may require high-quality video that will not be delivered effectively across a modem connection to distance students. An example solution is to provide this material on the web for campus-based students, and to distribute the content to distance students on CD-ROM. The system that CQUniversity is implementing will provide the capacity to do this (this was one of the system selection criteria).
What about live versus on-demand streaming?
"Live" streaming refers to a live broadcast of a video and sound via the web. When delivering via live streaming all viewers see the same thing at the same time. An example of live streaming might be a Vice Chancellor's address to staff, that can be accessed from staff PCs (unlike ISL, the viewer cannot interact with the presenter). "On-demand" streaming refers to recording material for access by the veiwer at any time after the recording. On-demand streaming is how the vast majority of streamed content is presented. CQUniversity will initially be focusing on on-demand streaming with the occassional use of live streaming when required and feasible.
How do I listen to multimedia streams in student computer labs?
Students will be able to use standard headphones with 3.5mm plugs to listen to multimedia streams. You'll simply need to plug the headphones into the computer headphone socket. It is envisaged that CQ campus bookshops will stock and sell budget headphones for student purchase.