Mesa State College Video Distance Education Guideline, Operating Instructions, and Contact Information December, 2008

Transcription

1 Mesa State College Video Distance Education Guideline, Operating Instructions, and Contact Information December, 2008 Purpose The purpose of this guideline is to identify roles and responsibilities for instructors, support staff and students; to provide the proper protocol for identifying and reporting equipment and connection difficulties, provide basic video conference operating instructions, provide suggestions on the logistics of teaching to remote students, and to provide contact information. Roles and Responsibilities Telecommunications and Instructional Technology Telecommunications and Instructional Technology is responsible for: Installing and maintaining all equipment used to provide video conference capability for the three Mesa State College campuses. Establishing video conference bridge calls for scheduled classes. Working with the Coordinator of Distance Education to provide training to faculty in the use of the videoconference equipment Providing to students on receiving end an orientation on the use of the equipment Establishing guidelines for use of video conference equipment Ensuring technical assistance is available for scheduled classes. Communicating with other College s technical staff to test equipment compatibility, ensure bridge calls are established and perform joint troubleshooting. Analyzing reported problems and modifying processes to improve reliability. Mesa State IT Help Desk The IT Help Desk is responsible for: Providing Level 1 support for scheduled classes Elevating unresolved problems to Level 2, Instructional Technology Documenting issues by creating tickets in the OTRS tracking system Faculty Faculty are responsible for: Learning to operate the video conference and smart classroom equipment proficiently Performing basic troubleshooting techniques Following problem resolution protocol including notifying status to students on the receiving end of the video distance class Distance Education Department The Distance Education Department is responsible for:

2 Working with academic departments and the Registrar to schedule video distance classes Working with academic department to identify faculty to teach those classes who have the desire to become proficient in operating the equipment Working with faculty in modifying their instruction to fit the videoconference environment Providing training to students on the receiving end of the video distance class Communicating schedule, faculty contact information, and remote site contact information to Instructional Technology Students Students are responsible for: Learning the basic operation of projection, audio and camera systems Communicating problems to the presenting faculty Be willing to follow instructions from support staff to try to resolve problems Problem Resolution Protocol As soon as a problem occurs, the two ends of the video conference will establish communication with each other to try to define and describe the problem and plan for the remainder of class time. The faculty member will employ basic troubleshooting techniques including: Try to identify if the problem is with the conference or with the equipment in the room If the problem is that the near end has disconnected from the conference, try to reconnect to the conference by following the Operating Instructions. If the conference fails to reconnect, the instructor will call the Help Desk. If the problem is that the far end has disconnected from the conference, the instructor will call the Help Desk. As soon as the Help Desk is called, they assume responsibility for communicating the status of problem resolution to both ends of the video conference. The Help Desk will verify that the far end has disconnected and try to determine the reason. If the class is between two Mesa State classrooms, the Help Desk will try to reconnect the far end. If the far end is a CMC classroom, the Help Desk will call the CMC help desk and report the problem. If the Help Desk is unable to resolve the problem, they will call Level 2 support personnel, Belinda, Brian, or Chuck. They then assume responsibility for communicating the status with both ends.

3 All problems will be logged in the OTRS tracking system for trend analysis. Communicating with Students Outside of Class ing Your Students Instructors can to all students enrolled in their class using the class name and section number in the form: Or, use the link in the Faculty Dashboard Channel in MAVzone. This is set up automatically each semester. Only the instructor can mail to the class. The will go to the student's Mesa State account. All enrolled students have Mesa State accounts. You might want to remind students that they have a responsibility to manage their Mesa State accounts either by reading it on a regular basis or setting up a forward rule to forward to their preferred account which they read on a regular basis. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ATTACHMENTS WITH YOUR because it uses too much disk space. Use your web page or H:\download directory instead. NEW FEATURE: It is now possible for an instructor in one subject group such as ACCT to mail to all students in all sections of that group. The address for ACCT would be acct@students.mesastate.edu Sharing Files With Your Students You can share class files one of two ways. You can use your H: Drive or WebCT. Previously, print materials were sent to satellite campuses via fax or courier. Now, electronic solutions should be exhausted first. Students should be able to access and print course materials online, using one of the following methods. Download directories on H:: Download directories have proven useful to faculty who need to share data and course materials with their students. It also provides an easy way to make PowerPoint files readily available at any networked lecture hall PC. These directories are created upon request. Call for assistance. To access your H: download directory from home, log into MAVZone and click on the downloads link. WebCT: Mesa State College s online course management system is WebCT. You can upload files to WebCT for students to access from any computer. You can also maintain on online roster and gradebook through this system, and many other features. The online environment for your course is called a course shell. You may request a course shell and your login through the appropriate form at under Adding a Course to WebCT. Testing can also be completed online, using proctors (if preferred). Contact Kristyn Rose at or krrose@mesastate.edu for details and training.

4 Operating Instructions Turn on Equipment Touch Touch Panel to wake it up Push System Power, Yes Power System On Push Monitor On Push Camera/Audio You should see the conference up Select Source Computer o Push Camera/Audio o Push Switch Graphic o After done viewing computer, push Select Graphic Laptop o Connect laptop to projection system with video cables supplied o Push Laptop o On your laptop, use function key + CRT/LCD to send VGA output from laptop o Push Camera/Audio o Push Switch Graphic DVD o Push DVD Use touch screen controls to start, stop,rewind, fast forward, pause. Note: It is usually necessary to mute the microphone when in a video conference and a DVD/VCR is playing, otherwise the sound will be distorted on the far end o After DVD is done, push Camera/Audio and then Switch Graphic to select computer again VCR o Push VCR. Use touch screen controls to start, stop, rewind, fast forward o After VCR is done, push Camera/Audio and then Switch Graphic to select computer again. Document Camera o Push Document Camera o Turn on the Document Camera and use document camera controls to focus, zoom, etc. o When finished, push Camera/Audio and then Switch Graphic to select computer again Camera/Audio Controls The conference should always be set to Picture in Picture with the far end large and the near end small To change the camera view, Push Camera/Audio o Select the camera you want to change Push Near Instructor rear camera in your room Push Near Student front camera in your room

5 Push Far Instructor rear camera in the far room Push Far Student front camera in the far room o Push Zoom +, Zoom to zoom in and out o Use left and right arrow keys to move the camera from side to side Use Incoming +, Incoming -, Incoming Mute to adjust the volume from the far side. Push Mute to mute the microphones in your room Use the Volume arrow keys to adjust the volume of local audio devices Calling other Video Distance Rooms o All scheduled classes are bridge reservations and will be in conference whan class starts. If you are disconnected from a bridge reservation: o Push Make Call o Push Directory o Use down and up arrows to highlight the class e.g. MATH 301 o Push OK o To make a room to room call o Push Make Call o Push Directory o Use down and up arrows to highlight the room o Push OK When Class is Over o Push System Power, Yes, Power System OFF o Push Monitor Off

6 Contact Information Contact Responsibility Office Phone Fax Number Cell Phone Help Desk Level 1 support Brian Arcand Telecommunications; Level 2 Support Belinda Flynn Instructional Technology; Level support Chuck Locke Instructional Technology; Level Becky Wolford Montrose Main Campus Support Distance Education ROOM 100 ROOM Kristyn Rose Distance Education Coordinator Matt Osburn Computing & Networking Systems, Bishop Campus Level 2 Support Main Campus Library 122 Main Campus Library 133 Montrose Room Montrose Room CMC IVS Technical Support Spring Valley Mesa Evening Contact: Room CMC Vail/Eagle aka Edwards Evening Contacts: Apollo Garcia MWF Ann Berens TTH Jorge Grieves after 8:00