LM_NET: Library Media Networking
I am appreciative of the numerous responses I received to my inquiry on video
distribution systems. There were some interesting comments and questions
concerning personnel required to run the system, training $ for classroom
teachers and substitutes, limitations on # of simultaneous playbacks, copyright
enforcement, ability to network other data over the system, and overall cost.
If anyone would like to respond to these concerns, I can sure post a second hit
(provided this hit transmits well - I've never done this before). Reply to:
Nancy Evans, media specialist, Albany Area Schools #745, Minnesota
REVANS@Tigger.stcloud.msus.edu
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My initial request:
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We are in the planning stages for 2 new elementary buildings (The referendum
pass
ed by 7 votes!). We're looking at the possibility of a video distribution
system
allowing teachers to schedule video playbacks to their classrooms and control
th
e showing using their telephone handset. The system is expensive, and I'm
wonder
ing if we would be better off putting a VCR and mounted monitor in each room.
A
friend tells me she has heard others criticize these distribution systems as
cum
bersome. Does anyone have experiences pro or con that they'd be willing to
share
? Please respond to me directly and I'll post a hit if there is enough
interest.
Thanks.
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The replies:
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Our school has a cable system wired to both of the main buildings but
unfortunately not to our portables. The problem with our system is that
you can send from library to the wired rooms or I can be set to receive
cable. If one classroom wants a playback of a tape and another classroom
wants to watch an educational tv presentation on the public tv channel
one of them is unhappy as our system doesn't allow for both to occur at
the same time. The school has purchased players for each grade level and
if they want a video they ship the player from room to room in each grade
level. I would love to be totally away from having to stop what I am
doing to pop a video tape into a machine that can't be schedule to send
on it's own. Or to play babysitter to changing tapes throughout the day.
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We just opened a new high school in Blue Earth, MN this fall and we
installed a media retrieval system that uses remote controls to
access/activate 6 vcr's in our play back center. A computer schedules the
VCR's for each period. We purchased the system from EPA Audio Visual.
(800) 362-3674. I would talk to Eric about the options for playback
systems. I'm not sure that you'll save money but if you have a
video network, you will have unique ways to communicate throughout the
building.
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Our teachers prefer the VCR/monitor in their rooms. This gives them more
flexibility in stopping and starting the video for discussion and/or
activities. They feel the educational value of the video is increased
tremendously with this method.
In addition, the aide who scheduled and played the videos through the
cable distribution system
had her hours cut, so we are unable to use the system on Mondays and Fridays.
Budget can become an issue in this type
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I am in a high school with a video distribution system. I was a member of the
pl
anning team while the high school was being built...unfortunately, the choice
of
distribution system had already been made and contract signed before I was
hired.
Still, there are many good features about it (it's just that there are
systems
that are better...)
I am much in favor of the distribution system over the classroom units -- one
thi
ng we were able to do as a part of this system is allow for broadcast from any
pl
ace in the school to any other place in the
school. This comes in handy often... I should qualify that I mean LIVE
broadcast
. Once teachers get used to the system, they really like it a lot. Some
situati
ons will still demand portable units, so we do have 3 that are available, for
tim
es when short clips from several tapes are being shown, or when our physics
class
es want to videotape and make measurements...
Our system is the Rauland Borg Media Retrieval. The system I've seen that I am
m
ost enamored of is the Dynacom... more and more are becoming available however.
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My wife is an LMS at a pre-K-8 school in northeast CT. Her school os spliting
int
o a pre-K-4 and a 5-8 school. She was give the opportunity to have one of those
t
urnkey systems installed, but she refused it. Her reasons-1) teachers would
not
be able to schedule the lessons so tightly that this would support them, 2)
the
cost to maintain and run would most certainly be cut as they now have to lay
off
7 teachers just to open the new school.
I work in a 9-12 school and we installed one of these systems 8 years ago.
It is seldom used except for "dog and pony shows" or budget meetings where a
larg
e group is meeting and they must be separated into more than one room. I think
t
hat the VDS is great if it is to be included as part of a school-wide cptr
networ
k which also includes video, fax, e-mail, computer databases etc. But the
single
expense is not worth it just to get some state-of-the-art MFG's new thing!
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I have worked with two different video distribution systems and I would
really recommend that you put one in your new schools. There are several
problem
s that can occur when you put a TV/VCR unit in a classroom that don't happen
with
a centralized media system. Chances of the VCRs being damaged and/or stolen
are
much greater. You also give up all administrative control over what is shown
in
the classroom. It is much easier to be sure that teachers are complying with
fe
deral copyright law, when the tapes have to be loaded by someone who is
well-vers
ed in those guidelines (usually the librarian).
Sorry this note is so brief, but I'm running out of time for now. If you
have other specific questions, please email me again. I'd be glad to
discuss this with you. Also, I know it's a long time to wait, but the
December issue of Technology Connections will be on emerging
technologies, and I have an article in there about my particular video
system and how it works in my building. There is also a small article on video
d
istribution in the current issue of T*H*E Journal (Technology
Horizons in Education). Hope this helps you. Let me know if you need more.
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We have experience with several such systems. They vary WIDELY in
quality. If you are looking at one calle PracTek or Unity, RUN IN THE
OPPOSITE DIRECTION! There are, however, several good systems on the market.
I'm doing a presentation at Multimedia Schools on media distribution, if
you can wait that long.
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Nancy, We have a video distribution system in our elementary/middle
school and also our high school. I have found that some teachers really
like the system and others don't. We still have TVs and VCRs on carts
from pre-video distribution days which most teachers prefer. Using the
video distribution system requires prior scheduling and planning which is a
negat
ive for some teachers. Also, it is easier for teachers if they
have more than one video to show during a period to do the switching in
the room and not tie up two vcrs in the system. An advantage to the system is
th
at more than one classroom can view a video at the same time.
A disadvantage to the video distribution system is staffing. Who is
going to pull the videos in and out of the machines? It is convenient
for teachers to do the controlling via phone but there still has to be
someone who schedules and puts videos in and pulls them out. In our
situation there is only one person in the library and that is where the system
is
located. It can be annoying to have to drop everything to put in a tape.
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Talyor Ranch Elementary School in Venice, Fl has a video retrieval system where
t
eachers access videos by phone from their rooms. Each pod (four classrooms)
also
share a VCR. Each classroom has a videodisc player too. I was a teacher there
f
or the past two years and liked the system. We never had any technical
problems
and had enough equipment that there never was a conflict scheduling videos.
From
the media specialist point it is a great way to control the misuse of
copyrighte
d videos shown in the classroom. Our school district is quite vigilant about
pro
per use of copyrighted materials and the media specialist is usually the school
e
nforcer.
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I certainly agree that the system you described is too expensive.
Especially in the light of changing technology. It would be far better
to install fiberoptics if you want a central distribution system. Then
you could distribute all kinds of data across the line.
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We LOVE our distribution systems (ICS - Integrated Communications
Systems). We put in one at a new high school in 1992. There was
considerable teacher opposition, but also significant willingness to try. We
spen
t 1.5 days training teachers to use the telephone, the video system, etc. They
we
re hooked. I'm the district "tour" director (in addition to being media
director)
and I took a group from adistrict not too far away (two hours) through last
week
. When we were in the "head-end" room, the group commented that they had heard
t
hat we didn't like the system and we didn't use it. Four teachers in the room
sa
id, almost in unison, "say WHAT?" We use it constantly. No one would consider
P
USHING a piece of equipment down the hall. The students do live news casts
three
times a week. The principal can "talk" with the entire student body at the
same
time -- and kids can call in questions. It's very flexible and even
substitutes
LOVE it once they use it. One important thing -- ours does NOT have to be
progr
ammed. Teachers can access any tape from any room. This can be a problem if you
h
ave teachers who like to channel surf for today's lesson, but we've tried to
elim
inate that activity and I haven't heard any complaints this year. Now we have
mor
e use that we can handle, but when we were at Peak performance, a media
specialis
ts loaded 14 tapes at 7:45 am and took them out at 2:30 pm. That was the only
hu
man contact with the video distribution part of the system. We have retrofited
o
ur other high school since 1992. Again, we have 99% teacher support!
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We don't have this system. I have seen it demonstrated in another
district. It appeared to be taking a lot of the librarian's time which I
would rather spend teaching if it were me. In this district, the goal
appeared to be to keep teacher's from using unauthorized videos and to
force them to have lesson plans for any video they used. If that's a
priority, go for it.
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I have worked in a school with a video distribution system. We were a K-6
buildin
g when I started, but ended up a 1-5 building with about 900 kids. We were able
t
o broadcast on 4 channels and live from the studio. We also had 5 VCRs on carts
t
hat were in high demand. The best usage for the video distribution system was
sho
wing the same video to several classrooms at the same time and doing live
broadca
sts to the school. We also used it for inservice training when we wanted the
whol
e staff to be able to follow along at their computers. Our kids also did a
"news"
broadcast once a week that was broadcast to the whole school. They would
intervi
ew staff members, show the Students of the Week from each grade level, show
clips
of any programs or happenings around the school. They used camcorders for
taping
, Hyperstudio for credits and title screens, and our editing studio to get the
fi
nal porduct all together. Our local cable station aired the kids programs on
comm
unity access. Many of our teachers liked the idea of being able to call down to
t
he media center and have their tape started up. It was also nice on the days it
w
as too cold to go out for recess; we would show an exercise at your desk video.
F
requently we had all stations signed out throughout the day. True, some
teachers
liked to control their own stopping and starting of a tape and that is why we
als
o had VCRs available. It sure was nice to be able to show all the 2nd grades
thei
r bird videos at the same time when they hit that unit. 1 copy of the same
video
shown during their reading block and no hassles of moving VCRs and exchanging
tap
es. We had teachers sign out the channel they wanted and the time they wanted
in
the media center, then we put a post-it with that information on it and lined
up
the various videos on the circulation desk. We had no problem with misplaced
tape
s and if an absent student needed to see the tape a few days later it was
there.
We are now going to wire all our schools in the district for video, data and
phon
es. I can hardly wait since I am currently in a school without those
capabilites.
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I don't have experience to share, but I am very interested in the responses
you receive. We are also planning a new elementary plus renovations of the 5
exi
sting. The curriculum director, who is not very knowledgable
(a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!) is determined to network our
buildings in the manner you describe.
My concerns are that (1) No technical assistance will be provided for
maintenance of such a system (2) it will become the responsibility of each
buildi
ng media specialist (3)funds will be exhausted on the "infrastructure"
required,
and we won't be able to purchase computers for student use (we still have
Apple
II's and want Macs) and parents will be upset that all this bond money is going
t
o be used make the teacher's lives easier. (Not my opinion, but I'm afraid that
i
s how parents will see it)
I'm not usually a pessimist, but I'm afraid that this networking of buildings
for
voice-video-and data is the latest fad and not necessarily the best way to
spend
tax dollars. A simple phone line access in each classroom would be much
cheaper
and would gain every student access to the Internet--something I think is much
mo
re important than the ease with which teachers can use video in the classroom.
A
nother point, especially at the elem level--do we really want to be teaching
with
TV and video? Aren't we supposed to be trying to get away from passive
learnin
g?
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We have had both types of systems and are now reverting back to a central
video distribution system. Our school is large and has over ninety
teachers. The advantages of CVDS are that the tapes do not have to leave
the storage area and are available when staff and students need them.
It's easier to stocktake. Some of the problems are that teachers need to
notify the central area in advance (It shouldn't be a problem!); some
arrangement
s have to be made when students are presenting illustrated talks and need
video;
some staff like to use segments from three or four videos in one lesson (We are
s
olving that by putting intercoms in classrooms so they can ring when they need
th
e next tape. Otherwise someone has to watch the tape to see when they have
finish
ed.)
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Can't wait to see your HIT!
We have a DYNACOM (presently called SAFARI) system in place in our high
school...
since the school opened in 1991. We love the system, but had initial problems
w
ith the distributor handling installation not having enough training to repair
&
troubleshoot problems. For the past year (with Dynacom's direct technical
suppor
t vs the distributor) we have had very few problems and those minor...
Our biggest "problem" is that we keep adding new functions & features!
We currently have 20 vcr's , 3 laser disk players, 4 still video players, 6
tuner
s for cable tv delivery, 2 CD-I's & Amiga for school news slides
delivering to 120 sites with return video from nearly all sites.
This year we've added 12 switches to enable our distance learning equipment to
be
portable among 12 rooms depending upon our needs (rather than have just one
perm
anent site for a distance learning lab, our equipment is on carts &
"portable").
The distance learning feature is being utilized by teaches with students who
tra
vel between our 3 high school campuses, by teachers who want to work
collaborativ
ely with each other from different campuses, by teachers at each of the two
main
campuses who wish to share speakers (so speaker only goes to one site for a
given
course), and for staff inservices. Our very first use of the distance
learning
portion was for staff inservice. (By the way, Warner
Cable was our contact for our distance learning lab. Dynacom provided the
switch
es & know-how for tying into our existing equipment at the high schools rather
th
an having to invest in additional expensive interfaces.)
Does this info help?
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Yes, everyone's info has helped. Our committee has a lot of discussing to do!
W
e do welcome any additional advice. -NE
See now, the text looked funny with strange breaks as it was scrolling across
my screen. Does copy & paste work on a Mac with ClarisWorks for posting HITs?
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