My school is going through a transition period with the
video distribution system. Cobb County
recently (as in just last week) announced that we will be switching to digital
television in our schools. We currently
have a closed circuit cable system which includes several regular channels as
well as separate channels for in-school broadcasts. We do a morning news program that we run on
closed circuit three times a week. We
are also able to play videos or DVDs on closed circuit as requested by
teachers. We’ve had issues with the
system because the VCRs have been breaking down and videocassettes have been
getting “eaten.” Just this year we had
someone from the county switch out some components so we could continue our
broadcasts. Teachers do not have any
control or input regarding the video distribution system besides requesting
videos be played for their classes/grades.
We were told via email that the new system will be
available via a desktop shortcut for teachers and administrators to access from
their computers. There will be 6
district-provided digital cable channels:
Cobb edTV, Georgia Public TV, The Weather Channel, Fox News, The History
Channel, and The Learning Channel. The announcement
sent a ripple through our district as many people had opinions about the
channels that are going to be included. Needless
to say, quite a few of those with opinions are media specialists who would have
liked to have some input regarding the channels that were selected.
According to the announcement, access to IPTV will only
be available through a hard-wired computer via a shortcut on the desktop. Schools will have the option of purchasing
additional channels. We will be able to
transition internal school broadcasts and the old system will be fully replaced. That means no more coaxial cable, a head end
unit, or DVD tuners. While this is very
exciting news, it does bring up some concerns.
As with any type of large scale transition, we expect that there could
be problems with the new system. We’ll
have to learn how to work the new system and hope that we can have a smooth
transition for our news broadcasts. We
were told that the change would happen sometime around Spring Break which is
just around the corner. Hopefully it
will not be too painful a change.
I've always found the head end unit to be very intimidating, especially since it reminds me of one of those hulking old computer systems from way back when. I'm interested to see how the new system will work and what types of accommodations we'll have to make to ensure that the system works for us. I don't know that we'll be able to play videocassettes on closed circuit once the system is gone. In that case, we need to get rid of our VHS tapes very soon. We've got a huge weeding project in progress but have yet to touch the A/V section. Our teachers may be very unhappy with this change until they get used to it. I am looking forward to a much simpler interface though.
Transitioning to a digital system will bring your district to the 21st century but I’m sure there will be some glitches that will need to be worked out. The availability of the six channels is great but I understand teachers would’ve liked to have some input. Our school has access to one channel and is still presenting announcements audibly. I can appreciate announcement presentations three times a week in a school with twice daily announcements. The accessibility to IPTV via your computer’s desktop allows greater autonomy for presenting announcements. Certainly, that can be appreciated by teachers. Advancements in technology in schools are always a difficult challenge of receiving all stakeholders’ buy-in but I hope the weeding of the BHS will prove a smooth transition for your school. Perhaps training on how to convert VHS to DVD will prove useful in your school.
ReplyDeleteJudith, we use MediaCAST in our school the video distribution system is connected with digital television as well. I must say I was excited to heat about how your school uses the system to broadcast the morning news. We should have something like that in our school but we don’t. I found your description of the system funny by the way, “hulking old computer systems from way back when,” I felt the same way at first. Using the VHS system attached to the system helps me out a lot. Some of the best videos I have are still on a VHS. I don’t have the money to by the DVD’s or search the web for useful materials. So, this means our video distribution system is right on the money for me. If I have something I want to play in my classroom constantly I will ask the SLM to play it for me over and over again. It is easy and cost efficient. So to answer the question our school does have a video distribution system and it works rather wonderfully. When we have a Advisement for the school called Common Sense Media we use the system to show the videos provided by the state.
ReplyDeleteMediaCAST also has some local cable channel provided for classroom use. I have tried to use the channel a few times in the past and I had success. I will try to use them more often in the future since it is being paid for by the county.
Channel One is not as popular as it used to be when I was in school. I think it was educational and helpful for student and teachers. We were able to keep up with the current events and the latest news students were interested in throughout the year. We also use Discovery Streaming to broad cast lessons and information to our students.
Judith,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are in for some interesting changes. I know there are always people who will complain and not like new changes, but it sounds like your district is trying to make things simpler and easier for people to use. Hopefully the kinks will be minimal and worked out quickly. I'm not sure what our district uses here in Savannah, I know that we have our own school channel to broadcast the news and our media specialist can put a video on to broadcast, but I don't think we have access to any digital TV stations. My school is so new that no one has a TV, VCR or DVD player anymore.
Judith,
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like lots of changes are coming your way! I imagine some of the teachers in the system will have a hard time giving up tapes and dvds. I know in my last school we still had teachers holding onto their overhead projectors! I think it is nice that the new system will have access to certain channels, though I'm sure some people aren't thrilled with the channel choices. I love the morning news that your school broadcasts. My first school had something similar to that and the kids loved it each day! Good luck with the new system, I hope their aren't too many problems or issues!
Wow sounds like you guys have some big changes coming soon. I think any kind of dramatic change can be a little intimidating but I bet this time next year you guys will all be wondering how in the world you made it work without the new system. I would imagine it is probably harder and harder to find VCR tapes and machines to buy for the school as well.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that several people mentioned that there broadcast also includes the weather channel, is that just the weather channel that we all get on our televisions at home? I was just wondering because if it is has there ever been any mention of inappropriate viewing? I know that sounds like a crazy question and I would not say the weather channel is inappropriate by any means but I remember after Hurricane Katrina there was a lot of video on violent looters running around on the streets. Maybe the weather channel you guys are talking about is not the same one I am.