Video & Computer Guide for Educators
FTTC Video & Computer Capabilities: An Overview
Video at the EDS Financial Trading & Technology Center is integrated with
a wide range of other technologies, facilitating both new and familiar
applications. The Classroom houses a high-resolution video projector able
to project images in low ambient light onto a large screen located at the
front of the classroom. Faculty are able to display educational materials,
ranging from documents and videotape to computer data. In addition,
faculty are able to communicate with off-site locations for video
teleconferencing and distance-learning classes via ISDN or satellite
transmission. As a broadcast studio, the Center has permanently mounted
cameras in the classroom that will simplify the processes of both video
teleconferencing and video recording.
Much of the Center technology is controlled by an AMX control system. The
Center has been set up so that technology may be controlled by the
lecturer, by a trained technician, or by a combination of the two. The AMX
control system is a touch screen that operates the electronic equipment to
which it is connected. Icons will lead users to particular functions, such
as setting volume, playing videotape, or presenting material on the
document camera or the computerized Smart Board, an electronic touchscreen
whiteboard.
On-Site Video and Computer Applications
Local use of technology at the facility will take a variety of forms,
including document presentation, recording and playing back of videotape,
and computer presentations , video monitoring, and large screen projection
of source materials.
Faculty who are new to the technology of the Center are required to take a
15-minute training session on use of the equipment. Please contact the
Center to schedule a session, (512) 475-7973.
Document Presentation
The Center's Classroom houses a WolfVision digital video document camera,
a more powerful modern-day analog of the overhead projector. The document
camera utilizes a video camera, rather than a still-camera lens, to
convert the document image into a video signal. The document camera can be
used to present a wide range of original materials ranging from 3-D
objects and paper documents to transparencies and slides. The variable
focus, zoom and iris on the camera can be set to adjust automatically or
manually. The document camera will allow faculty to zoom in and focus on
very small objects for classroom presentation, as well as to present the
same materials formerly brought to an overhead projector.
Note: For accurate presentation, a document printed on an 81/2x11 inch sheet of
paper or overhead will have to be turned sideways ("landscape") if the
full image is to be captured. If given a vertical sheet of 81/2x11 inch
paper, the document camera will not present the top and bottom of the
image, which will be cut off by the 3:4 aspect ratio of video cameras. If
the document is small enough to fit on the lit portion of the base, the
entire document will be accurately projected.
When making 81/2x11 overheads for projection, character font size should
be 18 point or larger. If the document being projected is small, however,
this rule may not apply. For instance, a paragraph from the Wall Street
Journal can be projected large by zooming in and focusing on the image.
Both paper sheets and transparencies can be used to present materials on
the document camera. Documents must be designed to be positioned
horizontally rather than vertically to match the 3:4 aspect ratio of video
projectors and monitors.
The base of the document camera is backlit to accommodate the presentation
of photographic slides.
Computer Presentation
Computer presentations developed with applications such as MS Powerpoint
can be displayed in the Classroom via the Smart Board. The Smart Board
acts as the instructor's computer console. It is an electronic touchscreen
whiteboard that is connected to a Dell 400MHz Pentium pc and loaded with a
variety of Microsoft applications, internet browsers, and other special
software. Faculty can load their presentation onto the Smart Board,
project their presentation onto the Classroom's large screen, and use the
Smart Board color pens to write on the screen for a very dynamic
presentation.
Videotape Presentation
The Center houses two video cassette recorder/players: a VHS VCR on a rack
in the classroom and a professional SVHS VCR in the Network Control Room.
These VCRs will allow faculty to play back standard VHS tapes or Super
VHS.
Tapes that have been recorded at the standard play (SP) speed will yield
the best picture quality. When ready to play the tape, use the AMX
controller to start, stop, rewind, fast forward and pause the tape.
Videotapes can also be controlled using the controls on the VCR.
Recording Classroom Lectures and Events
The Center has been designed to make classroom taping as simple as
possible. With the help of the Center's Audio/Video Technician, faculty
can choose to have classroom lectures and events recorded on VHS or SVHS
video tapes for personal, educational, and archival uses. This section of
the guide will give faculty a basic understanding of how video recordings
can be made in the classroom. There is a special FTTC service charge for
video tapings. Please contact the Center's business manager for more info,
512-475-7973.
Four video cameras will be permanently stationed in the Center classroom
for the recording of lectures and events. The cameras will be placed in
order to cover the entire room and to record the best possible shots. Two
cameras will cover the front of the room, capturing the lecturer and
lecture presentation from two separate angles. Two cameras will be
stationed in front of the room to provide shot coverage of the student
audience from two different angles. All of the cameras are connected to a
switching system located in the Network Control Room and controlled by the
Center's technician.
Projecting Images in the Classroom
A video projector stationed in the classroom will be able to project
images from a number of sources. These sources will include video
teleconferencing images, the Smart Board image, the Elmo document camera,
a video cassette recorder; and other video and computer feeds within the
Center. Sources can be selected and sent to the video projectors using the
AMX control touchscreen.
With the help of two floor monitors located in the front presentation area
of the Classroom, lecturers will be able to face the class and
simultaneously view the images being projected behind him or her on the
large screen without having to constantly turn around.
Off-Site Applications
In addition to the above-mentioned on-site applications, faculty should be
able to communicate with off-site locations for various types of video
teleconferencing.
Video Teleconferencing
Video teleconferencing allows visual, audio, and textual information to be
transmitted in real-time from one site to another. Students and faculty
can transmit information to a variety of off-site locations, including
EDS, other corporations, other UT components, outside universities and
schools, professional organizations, and academic conferences. Video
teleconferencing offers a range of academic and professional applications.
Four video cameras have been stationed in the FTTC Classroom for optimal
shot coverage of classroom events . In addition, audio speakers and
microphones have been placed in the Classroom for smooth audio converage
and sound. These cameras and audio components are controlled by the FTTC's
Audio/Video technician in the FTTC's Network Control Room.
Teleconferencing can be utilized to attend special events, such as a CEO
talk at a remote site or a speaker presentation at a distant conference.
For example, students could take an electronic "field trip" to the New
York Stock Exchange to hear traders talk about how Exchange members
communicate with the floor. Through two-way teleconferencing, students and
faculty can attend this event, ask questions, and receive responses even
though they are physically hundreds of miles away from Wall Street.
To plan a video teleconference in the FTTC, please visit our Reservations
and Tours web page to submit a teleconference request form, or contact the
Center's Teleconferencing Coordinator at (512) 475-8790 for additional
teleconferencing information. FTTC video conferencing service fees may be
applicable.
Long-Distance Learning
In the EDS Financial Trading and Technology Center (FTTC), instructors are
able to engage in distance learning projects with other UT campuses and
with outside colleges and schools. Two-way video teleconferencing allows
the UT Business School to engage in truly interactive distance learning.
While lectures can still be sent to remote sites in a one-way
transmission, this older form of distance learning is being superseded by
the two-way communication made possible by new technologies. Although it
is the content, not the technology, which ultimately determines the
success of all distance learning projects, two-way distance learning has
obvious advantages over the one-way model. Two-way distance learning will
allow faculty to lecture to remote sites, to respond to questions posed by
students at remote locations, to view student assignments, and to share
slides, overheads and handouts.
Faculty also are able to collaborate across universities. For example,
classes can be team-taught at two different campuses through the
teleconferencing process. In the Spring of 1996, the FTTC hosted it's
first full-semester distance learning course: Perspectives on Public
Policy. In this course, faculty from The University of Texas at Austin and
Georgetown University in Washington D.C. co-taught this course, each from
their own site location, and supplemented course lectures eack week with
politically-oriented guest speakers from the D.C. area. Students at both
UT Austin and Georgetown University interacted with each other as well as
with the speakers via live two-way video teleconferencing. Since 1996, we
have now expanded this course to include three additional university
sites. This semester, this course at UT Austin is currently
teleconferencing with Northeastern University, Washington University,
Texas A&M, and Emory.
To plan a distance learning class via video teleconferencing in the FTTC,
please visit our Reservations and Tours web page to submit a
teleconference request form, or contact the Center's Business Manager at
(512) 475-7973 for additional information. FTTC video conferencing service
fees may be applicable.
Broadcast Studio
The Classroom is equipped to function as a broadcast studio to allow
lecturers to reach beyond the confines of its walls via video
teleconferencing. Four Sony high-quality video cameras, two 35" video
monitors, microphones strategically placed throughout the classroom,
codecs from VTEL and PictureTel, and video switching from Extron and
Autopatch all combine to give the Center the potential for both two-way
long distance learning and outbound educational broadcasts. Faculty are
able to record and transmit video material using the video cameras and
microphones permanently installed in the classroom. The Center's video
connects to the outside world via ISDN, broadband cable, and fiber optics.
Another special feature of the classroom is the ability to send data from
the Smart Board or Elmo document camera through the ISDN lines to the far
teleconference site.
To plan a broadcast transmission via video teleconferencing in the FTTC,
please visit our Reservations and Tours web page to submit a
teleconference request form, or contact the Center's Business Manager at
(512) 475-7973 for additional information. FTTC video conferencing service
fees may be applicable.
Satellite Transmission
The EDS Financial Trading and Technology Center has a direct link to the
UT satellite farm via the UT Network Operations Center (NOC). The FTTC can
receive downlinks (one-way video and audio, received only) or transmit
uplinks (two-way video and audio, received and sent) to virtually anywhere
in the world.
To set up a satellite uplink or downlink, contact the Center's
Teleconferencing Coordinator at (512) 475-8790. Satellite transmissions
can be quite expensive and complex, and will require a significant amount
of prior planning, so please begin coordinating your conference with us
several months in advance. FTTC video conferencing service fees and
satellite fees will be applicable.
List Of Technology In The Center's Classroom
Smart Board : electronic whiteboard connected to a Dell 400MHz pc (projectable)
WolfVision document camera (projectable)
PC laptop connection (projectable)
38 Pentium 4 Class PC workstations loaded with Microsoft Windows XP, MS
Office applications, Internet Explorer, other special software and
applications, including Reuters and StockVal real-time data feeds.
Open Bloomberg pc terminal (projectable)
Standard 1/2" VHS/SVHS VCR player/recorder (projectable)
AMX control panel
Table microphones
2 wireless lavalier microphones
HP Laserprinter, b/w