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Posts Tagged ‘ video teleconferencing ’
VTC breaks down the walls between cultures and shatters stereotypes
Mar 11 2010
In previous articles on Break Down the Walls, we’ve discussed the educational benefits of video teleconferencing (VTC), from resource sharing between schools and school districts, to the efficient training of teachers. One interesting VTC implementation that we have yet to discuss is currently being used in New Jersey to help do something truly revolutionary in the area of women’s issues and women’s rights.
A Women and Youth Leader Alliance’s project called Spotlight on Girls Productions is using media as a tool to transform society through raising awareness and education. The project creates TV crews of women, all aged 14-29 and from urban areas within New Jersey, including Trenton and Newark. These TV crews are tasked with the creation of educational and entertaining video content that is aired throughout New Jersey, and distributed across the country, and the world, through online wire services.
A large part of the creation of the video content, which focuses on the experiences and culture of women around the world, is research. The TV crews accomplish this research by speaking with women across the globe via video teleconferencing. These conversations are focused on sharing first-hand experiences, opinions and insights. The women involved in the project and the people they are interviewing connect on a personal level via video and learn more about each other’s culture than what is shown through the media.
These video conferences tend to develop in three stages, with the women first exchanging pleasant and polite introductions and being conservative and careful in their interaction. Later, the conversation becomes more personal, and the participants often begin to discuss stereotypes that they’ve encountered about each other. The third stage involves the discussion of social issues and topics, which enables the TV crew to accurately portray topics from multiple perspectives.
This learning process helps to diminish stereotypes the different cultural groups had about each other, while simultaneously helping open a window into another culture and the issues women face in that culture. This window into other cultures helps the participants battle the stereotypes that are perpetuated by the media and that invariably drive the objectification and devaluation of women. The research is then incorporated into the video content produced by the TV crews, which have focused and raised awareness of such important global women’s issues as human trafficking and arranged marriage.
None of the research that empowers the creation of this important video content, and helps bring cultures together, would be possible without VTC. Video allows the participants to have real, natural conversations where facial expression, body language and other unspoken cues can be witnessed and understood. VTC is bringing women from five continents together and breaking down the walls between cultures.
By providing an alternative to the content available in the often stereotype-filled mainstream media, VTC is empowering understanding and increasing knowledge of other cultures. Now that’s a new way of learning.
Grants bring money saving technology to schools
Mar 04 2010
In an effort to continue providing a high-quality education to students in the midst of massive budget cuts, many schools and school districts are turning to new technology and innovative ideas that can save money.
In fact, a recent article in a local paper near the TANDBERG offices in Northern Virginia discusses some of the innovative ways that this region is looking at to help cut costs. One of those ways is something we talk about frequently here at the Public Sector blog: video teleconferencing (VTC).
The use of VTC in schools saves money while facilitating improvements in the quality of education to students because it allows teachers and districts to share resources and access people and places never before possible. Purchasing VTC solutions does have its up front costs, though, that can sometimes be a major hurdle for schools.
Luckily, there are multiple grant programs available for school systems looking to implement VTC. Grants such as the RUS Distance Learning & Telemedicine (DLT) Grant Program can go a long way in making VTC a reality for cash-strapped schools.
A great example of what grant money can do for schools (and a state!) is the Utah Education Network (UEN), which enables rural schools in Utah to join universities and high school classrooms anywhere in the state through VTC. The $13.4 million grant grant will allow UEN to expand service to dozens of elementary schools, public libraries, charter schools and Head Start centers across the state. According to the article, it is expected to benefit 963,900 citizens, create 450 jobs and deliver over 200 classes per day for over 600 participating educational institutions.
By breaking down the walls, VTC enables high-quality education, creates cost savings and brings brighter futures to students, teachers and entire communities.
If you have an interest in pursuing a grant to purchase VTC, the TANDBERG Grant Services Team has an interactive webinar coming which will highlight the 2010 RUS-DLT Grant and others – it is scheduled for March 9, 2010 at 12:00 PM Eastern. Registration is available HERE.
Proposed bill would give tech lift to community colleges
Feb 16 2010
The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund was designed to help schools and libraries in the United States with discounts and funds to help acquire broadband access and telecommunications technology and equipment. The discounts are relative to the poverty level of the area, and are intended to help schools in areas of high poverty level the playing field and offer the same technologies that are available to other students across America.
Now, a new bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives called the “E-Rate 2.0 Act of 2010,” would add a five-year, $750 million broadband pilot program for community colleges and head start programs.
With the Obama Administration’s focus on improving our education systems, and specifically community colleges, this concept can truly go a long way in making an affordable, quality higher education available to students who may find a four-year institution of higher education out of their financial reach.
The fact is, increased broadband availability at community colleges and other educational institutions is the key to many high-bandwidth, but amazingly effective educational tools. One of those tools is video teleconferencing (VTC).
VTC can increase broadband adoption and level the playing field for community college students by bringing them previously unavailable educational opportunities, all while saving money and resources. Community colleges could share professors with larger colleges and universities. Also, additional courses could be offered that previously were unavailable due to a lack of knowledgeable teachers by having them teach from a distance via VTC.
The House bill introduced by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) may be far from being passed, but it definitely seems to have potential for improving America’s community colleges and bringing a high quality, affordable higher education to American students. The increased adoption of broadband and the implementation of advanced technologies like VTC will help break down the walls between students and a bright future and career. Now that’s a new way of teaching…and learning.
Giving a big apple to teachers in the Big Apple
Jan 28 2010
With America’s school systems seeing decreases in gradation rates and the country losing its edge in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subject knowledge to other countries, it’s evident change is needed.
The call to reform education has led to some very drastic measures being taken in cities across America. In New York, the Education Department has begun closing schools that are failing to meet standards. This move is going to cost a significant number of jobs and create hardships for students and parents whose schools are being affected.
Although the shuttering of large, failing schools in favor of smaller educational establishments has proven positive for graduation rates and other standards of evaluating academic performance, it’s not without negatives.
New York State is currently under significant budget constraints and cuts to New York City’s budget are already expected to cost 8,500 teachers and scores of other city employees their jobs. With the closing and reorganization of 19 schools, in conjunction with the other cuts being made to city personnel, the increase in unemployed citizens will invariably cause considerable strain on New York’s social services.
Video teleconferencing (VTC) solutions help improve underperforming schools VTC delivers not only experts, professionals and educational content, but allows high performing teachers and administrators to extend their reach to students across campus, across the state or around the world. With VTC, students access classes on other campuses, talk to experts about how everyday lessons relate to real life professions and occurrences, tour places they could previously not visit and see their lessons come to life.
With the ability to share resources through VTC, schools are able to offer the highest quality staff and a wide array of lessons and subjects to students in multiple locations. This allows schools to share the best teachers and even offer subjects that may have been cut for budget purposes such as the arts and foreign languages.
Closing schools may help to increase graduation rates and improve academic standards when looking at statistics, but there are significant costs to the community. Using VTC to break down the walls between students and a better education is a better way of teaching…and learning.
Interoperability key for meeting federal mandates
Jan 19 2010
The Obama administration is pushing agencies to begin insourcing jobs by bringing them back to government employees and relying less on outside vendors. The OMB is reaching out to agencies to help them appropriately understand and handle a directive that appears at face-value to be a complete about-face from the previous administration.
The administration is pushing for insourcing for many reasons. First, there is a perception, warranted or not, that outsourcing jobs is wasteful and expensive, and that agencies can be handling governmental tasks at a savings to the American taxpayer. Insourcing is also being heralded as a way of increasing collaboration among agencies and creating a tighter-knit and interconnected system where government employees work closely together.
However , there are some issues arising from this new directive for insourcing. One is the misinterpretation among agencies that they’re being asked to stop outsourcing altogether and bring all jobs in house. Another problem is directly tied to human resources and hiring. Insourcing will bring many jobs back to government agencies who are already missing tens of thousands employees in mission-critical positions, according to this year’s Where the Jobs Are report from the Partnership for Public Service.
The other problem lies in the directive for agencies to work closer together and collaborate across the board. Unfortunately, with agencies making their own purchasing decisions, the networks across agencies are disparate and disconnected. The video teleconferencing (VTC) systems that agencies have been turning to as a way to increase communication and collaboration internally could go a long way towards doing the same for interagency collaboration, but the lack of connected systems remain a roadblock.
This is why interoperability of VTC solutions is so important. Interoperability is essential for allowing disparate networks and VTC solutions to work together. Also, with cyber attack and network security on the minds of all agencies, firewalls and other security measures are often put in place with little to no consideration for video networks. This makes the ability to traverse firewalls essential for both network security and interagency collaboration.
VTC solutions are becoming increasingly popular in federal agencies, and with this directive to insource jobs, they will become even more essential. With the government already straining to fill mission-critical jobs at agencies, and with the government workforce graying and near retirement, flexibility and telework are going to continue to be job benefits necessary to keep aging government employees working and attracting the best talent into public service.
TANDBERG equipment has been the choice of many government agencies in large part for its ability to interoperate with other networks and equipment. By breaking down the walls between government agencies and giving them the means to increase flexibility and retain top talent, TANDBERG is providing a new way of working within the federal government.
Video lets students learn from students, who learn from doing
Jan 08 2010
Education is constantly evolving. In fact, the modern classroom and learning environment has changed dramatically from the one that many of us grew up in. New teaching philosophies and techniques are constantly emerging and the days of a teacher standing at the front of a room of half-asleep pupils lecturing from a course book seem to be coming to an end.
What we’re starting to see instead are methods like the Montessori Method which embrace more interactive environments. The key thinking behind these methods is that students are naturally curious and hungry for learning and knowledge, and will seek and learn new things through interaction, self-directed projects and observation. In addition, many of these new methods call for putting students of varying ages together, and allowing older students to act as teachers or mentors to younger ones, creating a social environment where students can pass on what they’ve learned to others.
The adoption of video teleconferencing (VTC) solutions in the classroom has allowed educators to take these concepts of project-based, self-directed learning and students teaching students a step further. By utilizing VTC solutions, students can be tasked with creating presentations on a wide variety of topics and subjects and share. These projects empower students to explore, research and interact with a subject at their own pace and level, and then share what they’ve learned via video with students across the globe. In addition to learning about these topics and teaching others, the students receive an excellent education in using new technologies.
There are a handful of excellent and recent examples of VTC solutions being used in this way to teach students through the creation of their own content. One example was the first ever Project Astronomy Competition in New South Wales, Australia (NSW) by the NSW Department of Education and TANDBERG.
The Project Astronomy Competition corresponded with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope, and challenged students to use their VTC facilities to develop a classroom presentation on Astronomy and share it within the region. The winner, a Year 9 class at Burwood Girls High School in NSW, used their creative skills in science, mathematics and technology to secure a $10,000 TANDBERG high definition video conferencing package for their school.
Another example is the Kids Creating Community Content (KC3) International Contest being conducted by the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) and TANDBERG. The contest challenges students to create a dynamic videoconference program about their community to be offered to classrooms internationally. Not only does this contest help students learn about and look at their community in a new way, but also helps to spread knowledge of different geographies and cultures to students around the world. The completed projects are currently being displayed and judged, and the winners are expected to be announced in March.
By enabling the creation and international sharing of student content, VTC solutions are helping to educate and break down the walls separating students across the globe. Self-directed projects that help students learn and educate others around the world, now that’s a new way of teaching.
Even more incentive to stay home
Dec 31 2009
The average commuter spends eight and a half whole days a year (approximately 2% of the year) on trains, in cars and riding buses. What’s worse, these road and rail warriors are clogging up highways and train stations in the nation’s 439 urban areas to the tune of approximately $87,000,000 in extra time and fuel used.
In an effort to cut costs, relieve congestion and give time back to American commuters, Congressman Rob Wittman of the First District of Virginia recently introduced the Telework Tax Incentive Act. This bill would provide eligible taxpayers with an annual tax credit of up to $1,000 for qualified teleworking expenses paid or incurred that year. The tax credit is available only to those who telework at least 75 days per year and is designed to encourage employers and employees to implement work from home and telework environments in their workplaces.
There are multiple advantages of increasing the adoption of telework for the government, employers and employees. Employers who embrace telework environments are often rewarded with increased productivity and morale in the workplace. In fact, a study by the National Science Foundation found that teleworking increased productivity on average by 87 percent.
The benefits of increased telework adoption for the government are multiple as well. Less congestion on roads and public transportation systems means less capitol investment on transportation infrastructure. Also, with green initiatives and environmental friendliness becoming an important factor in today’s world, the decrease in greenhouse gas spewing automobiles on the roads could go a long way in reducing America’s large carbon footprint.
For employees, the benefits are numerous and rather obvious. Telework spells an end to lengthy commutes and frustrating traffic. With the eight and a half days of travel gone, Americans would have extra time to complete tasks, finish projects, play with their kids and generally do the things they would much rather be doing than sitting in traffic or on a train. Also, expenses such as gas, train fare and a daily cup of premium coffee would no longer haunt the household budget.
Unfortunately, despite the obvious benefits to the environment, employee morale and office productivity, many organizations in both the public and private sector are hesitant to embrace telework. One of the main reasons is a fear that “out-of-sight” employees are unable to be managed and supervised. Luckily, the increased adoption of video teleconferencing (VTC) and the evolution and desktop and mobile VTC solutions have provided a way for managers to see and communicate with their employees as if they were in the same room, regardless of how far away they really are. This ensures that managers can adequately communicate with and supervise their employees even when they are teleworking.
Telework is the future, a new way of working and an answer to helping the environment, lowering the country’s transportation costs and building a happier, more productive workforce. With new and progressive legislation like Congressman Wittman’s Telework Tax Incentive Act and the evolution and rapid adoption of VTC solutions, the future is not only bright, but closer than it may seem.
No couch needed: delivering telemental health treatment via video
Dec 29 2009
Here at the TANDBERG Public Sector blog, we’ve talked at great length about the uses of video teleconferencing (VTC) in healthcare applications. We’ve discussed how VTC solutions can deliver quality healthcare to individuals who are without access to the specialists they need. We’ve even touched upon a handful of revolutionary ways that VTC solutions are helping to save lives, such as telestroke applications, and ways VTC has improved the standard of living for patients managing chronic health conditions.
In addition to these applications, there’s another area of healthcare where VTC is seeing rapid adoption, telemental health and substance abuse services.
Many people find it difficult to seek treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders. Issues around the availability of specialists combined with a social and cultural stigma about seeking psychiatric treatment often result in inadequate care.
VTC solutions help combat many of these issues by making specialists available to a wider audience without a significant investment from the provider or patients. Delivering psychiatric treatment via video, doctors reduce the need for patient travel and allow them to seek treatment privately.
A great example of the telemental health applications of VTC in action is the Lyndon Baynes Johnson (LBJ) Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago, which is utilizing VTC to allow veterans with post traumatic stress disorder to communicate with the US Department of Veterans Affairs clinical psychology providers located on the other side of American Samoa. This enables veterans who are logistically isolated from specialists to still receive imperative treatment for a condition that manifests itself in emotions ranging from fear and sadness, to anxiety, changes in eating habits and nightmares.
VTC is so effective for delivering psychiatric care that the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) recently released guidelines for delivering psychological and substance abuse treatment via video. These guidelines are essentially best practices for developing and practicing coherent, effective, safe and sustainable telemental health practices.
We applaud the ATA for their work and and for creating guidelines that are important best practices for ensuring that VTC solutions bring safe and effective care to those who need it. We’re also proud to be providing the VTC solutions that are empowering a new way of caring at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago and other organizations around the world.
Video helps to overcome a years worth of challenges
Dec 24 2009
With the holidays here, it’s the perfect time to look back and reflect on the previous year that was and think about the one coming up.
2009 was a challenging year for many people, with weather phenomena, H1N1 and the ongoing recession making “business as usual” difficult across the globe. Fortunately, the adoption of video teleconferencing (VTC) has been there to help government agencies, organizations and employees continue to serve the American people.
VTC solutions have been the bridge connecting people and enabling them to interact and collaborate regardless of the distance between them. This has made continuity in the face of pandemic flu a much smaller obstacle, allowing government employees to interact without having to be in the office where they can become infected or infect others.
As recent snowstorms rocked the east coast, teleworking government employees utilizing VTC solutions could interact as if they were in the same room without having to navigate dangerous roads.
States struggling under budget deficits during the recession have also been able to find savings in VTC solutions. Schools have been empowered to share resources and teachers, bringing better educations to students without significant expenditures. Court houses and police have also been given the ability to get search warrants and witness testimony via VTC, saving money and time.
2009 has come and gone, but not without some unique and interesting challenges. At TANDBERG, we’re proud to have been supplying the VTC solutions that have enabled government agencies, organizations and employees to continue to serve the American people through the previous year’s many obstacles and look forward to bringing a new way of working into 2010.
From all of us at TANDBERG, we’d like to thank you for an amazing 2009 and wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season and new year.
Suspects on Video = Safety for Citizens
Dec 17 2009
In a recent post we discussed Attorney General Eric Holder’s decision to bring terror suspects, including the alleged mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, to New York City to stand trial.
The decision to have the defendants, including accused September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants, stand trial inside the United States and just blocks away from Ground Zero was met with concern from many Americans who felt that extremists could use the trial as an opportunity to stage another attack on the city.
Now, New York City’s top cop, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, is echoing those concerns. In fact, he’s asking Congress for additional funds and stating the $75 million requested by Senator Charles Schumer is woefully inadequate to properly prepare and secure the city.
In a recent USA Today article, the Commissioner stressed the sheer cost of security alone is too much for the city to handle by itself. This raises additional questions about the decision to try these accused terrorists in the United States, and more specifically in a city that is already considered a top terrorist target.
Commissioner Kelly’s plea for funds is just another reason why TANDBERG whole-heartedly supports finding an alternate solution to holding the trial within our borders. Although we believe in the American justice system, we feel it’s unnecessary to expose American citizens to even the slightest increase in probability of attack, especially when alternatives are available.
In an effort to decrease the probability of attack, and to reduce the rapidly increasing security expense being incurred by a country and city struggling to get past significant economic hardships, Attorney General Eric Holder should instead turn to technology, specifically video teleconferencing (VTC) solutions, to conduct the trial. This would enable the defendants to appear in court regardless of their physical location, eliminating the need to transport them to New York City and reducing the potential of attack.
We believe that VTC solutions have the ability to more effectively and efficiently conduct the trial and improve the safety of American citizens at a significantly smaller cost than the dollars needed for additional security. In fact, we’re so adamant that we previously offered to provide the equipment and services needed FREE OF CHARGE until the trial ended.
That offer is still on the table. Why? Because when it comes to America’s safety, even a small chance of attack is too large a risk.