- How do I use IP
for videoconferencing
-
- The studios will have the capability to make calls
using ISDN (Digital Telephone Lines) or IP (Internet Protcols - using
the institution's computer network and Internet connections). There are more FAQs on this subject in the Networking section.
-
- How do I arrange a
videoconference?
-
- To arrange a conference:
- liase with participants to agree a suitable time and
date. Check that the studios involved are available at the time and date
you require at the JANET
Videoconferencing Service web site (JVCS).
- Nominate an individual to
organise the conference.
- The organiser will need to know the
date, time, studios involved and the name and contact details of a
'principal attendee' for each studio.
- The organiser should then contact
the booking contact at their own site to book the conference, and each
of the 'principal attendees' should notify their own institution's
booking contact to alert them that the studio is to be booked.
If the
conference is multipoint (involving more than two sites), each of the
principal attendees should be informed by their own institution's
booking contact of the ISDN number they will need to dial in order
to participate in the conference.
-
- The booking contact should be familiar with the
booking procedures at the JVCS. Full details regarding the booking service, who may
book and how to book a videoconference can
be found at the JVCS site: http://www.jvcs.video.ja.net/
. If you are a booking contact and have any difficulties, please contact the WVN support team on 01792 295700.
-
- Is it necessary to book a
point-to-point conference (even within an
institution)?
-
- Because you will be using a
videoconferencing resource, it is necessary to place a booking. This
allows others to see that the studio will be in use and prevents
double-booking. So if you are planning a point-to-point conference
exactly the same procedures should apply as for multipoint conferences.
-
- How does a member of staff book a
videoconference?
-
- Check for local procedures. There should be at least
one person at each site who is responsible for studio bookings. Each studio
is registered
with the JVCS. Individual contacts for each institution are also
registered at the JVCS. These individuals can book videoconferencing
resources via a simple web-based form. Registered booking staff will
have been supplied with a password.
-
- We recommend that studio
booking is the responsibility of an identified individual at each site,
possibly a
member of the administrative staff. There should be other individuals
registered to cover illness, holidays, etc. It is this person you should
contact in order to book a conference.
-
- Please note that it is possible for sites to book
each other's studios, so there only needs to be a single booking for
each conference. This also means that it is important for staff involved
in conferencing to contact their local booking contact to let them know
if they are going to be involved in a conference using the local studio,
but booked by another institution.
-
- Where can I find out more about the
booking system?
-
- Further details can be found in a presentation given on the subject at the Briefing Day on 27 February
2001, or at the JVCS website (http://www.jvcs.video.ja.net/).
-
- The studio is a well equipped teaching
facility - can
an institution use it for other purposes?
-
- It is a condition of funding
that the videoconferencing studio is available primarily for videoconferencing.
The
room must be booked for all activities via the JVCS Booking Service.
-
- Can institutions book conferences with
non-educational organisations?
-
All sites are free to use ISDN to hold point-to-point
meetings with whoever they like, anywhere in the country, or the world.
They are also free to use the JVCS ISDN Multipoint Control Unit to
conference with any organisations (as long as there is at least one JANET
site involved in the call). External 'guest' sites may be required to register
with JVCS and undertake a QA Test.
-
When using any of the JANET services, including the
JVCS for multipoint videoconferences, institutions will have to
abide by the JANET Acceptable Use Policy (as they do with all current
JANET services). Generally this would not preclude videoconferencing with
external organisations.
- Can institutions hire the studio out to
other organisations?
-
- This would be subject to the
internal policy of the institution, but such use should not affect
availability of the studio for educational videoconferencing, which is the purpose
of the network.
-
At
all times, the use of the WVN studios is subject to the Janet Acceptable
Use Policy, which can be viewed at http://www.ja.net/documents/use.html
The
WVN is not able to give advice to Institutions about costs and charges
relating to external use of a WVN studio.
For an idea of current commercial rates, enquirers are advised that
commercial videoconferencing organisations exist, and many of them publish
their charges on the Internet. There
are also commercial ISDN bridges for hire, should an ISDN MCU be needed
for an external conference involving more than two end points.
Institutions
can decide to make their studios available to outside organisations, and
are free to levy such charges to cover room hire, call charges and costs
for on-site technical support as they see fit.
The
following conditions apply:
-
All
calls of this nature MUST be made over ISDN.
They can either be point-to-point, or, if an ISDN MCU is
required, a commercial ISDN bridge must be used – NOT a JVCS MCU;
-
The
role of the WVN Support Centre will be limited to support for the
studio only, and will not extend to support of the conference. This support is only available between 09:00 and 17:00,
Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays;
-
Outside
use must not interfere with any prospective use of the studio for
educational purposes by the Institution; and
-
The
conference must still be booked via the JVCS Booking Service, with an
appropriate comment in the comments box to let JVCS know that they do
not need to issue ISDN numbers or book an MCU for the conference.
- What is the Acceptable Use Policy
for studios?
-
- The Funding Councils' expectations
must be met. When using any of the JANET services, including the
JVCS for multipoint videoconferences, institutions will have to
abide by the JANET Acceptable Use Policy
http://www.ja.net/documents/use_policy.html
(as they do with all current
JANET services).
- Are there any directories of
organisations with videoconferencing facilities?
-
- There is a complete list of WVN studios at: http://www.wvn.ac.uk/studios
-
- There is a list of UK studios supported by the
JANET VideoConferencing Service (JVCS) at: http://jvcsbook.ja.net/cgi-bin/vcng/welcome.cgi.
This list can
only be accessed by registered booking users of the JVCS
Booking Service.
-
- There are worldwide directories (which include many
videoconferencing locations in the UK), available at the following URLs:
-
-
- Do technical staff
need to be present at
a videoconference?
-
- Every site will have a
technical contact, who should be available in case of difficulties, but
they should not need to routinely attend videoconferences. Once
commissioned
there should be little maintenance necessary, and studio preparation
should simply be a matter of unlocking the room.
-
- The precise level of technical or supervisory staff
involvement will depend on a number of factors including the experience of the
current users and the location of the studio. For this reason, staff presence
should be a matter for local policy.
- What if something goes wrong during
a conference?
-
- Don't panic! It is often possible to continue if
something fails. Telephone the other end to re-assure them and consult
about how to proceed (telephone numbers for studios can be found on the
studio information page in the users' forum). It is often possible
to continue without video as long as audio is still available, and it
may be possible to continue if audio is lost, by using the telephone and
the video. Another potential means of communication to resolve any difficulties
is the NetMeeting chat application.
-
- If help is needed quickly, contact the local support person in the first
instance. If s/he is not able to solve the problem quickly - or if there
is no-one available, contact the WVN support desk on 01792 295700. The
help-desk will often be able to solve the problem immediately, or advise you on how
to proceed. If you suspect that a piece of equipment has a fault, report
this to your local technical support person as soon as possible.
Have you got any hints or tips for
holding a meeting by videoconference?
- Holding a meeting by videoconference does present
slightly different challenges to attending a physical meeting.
-
- Participants should:
- circulate any agendas, or other papers needed for the meeting beforehand;
- make sure they are confident using the equipment beforehand - have a test or practice if necessary;
- arrive in good time;
- not initiate or get involved in local 'asides';
- avoid finger-tapping, paper-shuffling, fidgeting, etc;
- pay close attention to the chair and respond to his instructions;
- be explicit (for example - "there are no further comments from Aberystwyth on this
point" - this confirms what silence only implies).
In large meetings with a few people at each site it often helps if each site elects a 'local chair' to
communicate with the chair of the meeting.
-
Chairs of meetings should:
- poll sites to see if they have dialled in successfully at the start of the meeting
- make introductions and
- explicitly poll sites for comments and opinions during the meetings
-
Further tips and hints can be found at:
the Videoconferencing Cookbook
(select 'Getting Started')
-
- Is there any information available
regarding using videoconferencing for teaching and
learning?
-
- The JISC RSC-Wales has produced various PowerPoint presentations and articles
on this subject, and these are all available at:
- http://www.rsc-wales.ac.uk/english/ilt/videoconferencing.shtml
.
There are a number of sites on the web with useful information,
including:
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/vidconf.html
- Videoconferencing for Learning
www.savie.com also has a lot of
information for videoconferencing in general, for teaching and learning,
select the 'Distance education' link.
Microsoft has produced some useful material on using NetMeeting in
teaching and learning at: http://www.microsoft.com/Education/?ID=NetM3Tutorial
- How can I contact potential partners
at other institutions?
-
- One way is to use the email list that has been set up to enable users
of the Welsh Video Network to contact one another for potential partners
(in tests, demonstrations or projects); or to share information, tips,
hints or experiences. The list is called wvn-users, and full details on
joining and using the list are available.
-
- How do I arrange a
QA test?
-
- The JVCS and WVN support staff will have QA tested all studios as part
of the commissioning process for every studio. They will inform studio
support after six months (and every six months thereafter) that a
further QA test has become due. A reminder email will be sent to the
email account jvcs@institution.ac.uk. You should make sure that
whoever is responsible for the studio is receiving this email, as the QA
test should be booked to take place within three weeks of this first
reminder to avoid possible de-registration from the JVCS.
-
- On receipt of the email a QA test should be booked in the same way
that any conference is booked, except the period will be only 15
minutes, and will be between the studios to be tested, and the venue
named in the reminder email. The email will also name the JVCS codec
that should be booked at the venue. Make sure the booked session is
scheduled to take place between
9 am and 5 pm Monday-Friday. Where the booking form asks for the 'Purpose'
of the conference, choose
"QA Testing".
ISDN: You must dial in to the Management Centre for the QA test.
The number(s) to dial for the test will be sent
to you on submission of the booking request.
Ensure that you book the test to run at the ISDN rate
you normally
use for videoconferencing - in the case of WVN
studios this is ISDN 6_B Bonding.
IP: The management centre will dial to you using an MCU. Wait in the
room with the monitors switched on.
-
- How, exactly,
do I book a
QA test?
-
- Please see the Step-by-step guide to
booking a QA test.
-
- What is a QA test, anyway?
-
- All venues wishing to register to use the ISDN or JVCS-IP (Internet)
services offered by the JANET Videoconferencing Service are required to
pass a Quality Assurance test. They then need to pass a QA test every
six months to stay registered. Reasons for the test, when to take a
test, what to expect and what happens if a studio fails a QA test are
all covered on the QA tests page.
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