| |
Some technical details
eduStream lectures are automatically recorded,
transferred, processed for the web and uploaded
onto web streaming servers by a system called iLectures,
developed by the University of Western Australia.
Database
A MySQL database controls all of the automation
for eduStream. It controls all aspects of the system,
from recording and processing through to building
the pages that the students see on the web. The
database is programmed at the beginning of each
session and all details are established for the
lecture, including the time and day it is held,
which theatre, the lecturer’s name, how long
the lecture will go for, which weeks it will be
delivered, and which Education Access Centres should
receive streamed copies for use in computer labs.
Recording
During the lecture, a computer in the lecture theatre
(the ‘digitiser’) converts the audio
signal from the microphone and the video signal
from the document camera into digital format.
Recording times are controlled by both the database
and by the lecturer turning on the microphone during
a recording window. Recording will stop at around
25 minutes past the hour. An interval of a few minutes
is needed between each recording for various system
operations.
PowerPoint slides
The database creates the page that allows lecturers
to upload PowerPoint slides and also stores information
about the slides. A PowerPoint server, working with
the database, makes the PowerPoint slides available
on the correct web page, next to the corresponding
eduStream lecture. This is an automatic process.
Transfer and processing
After a recording is digitised, it is transferred
to the eduStream FTP server.
Two processors continually check the FTP server
for digitised recordings. When a recording arrives,
a processor will convert it into the QuickTime format
required for streaming and then upload it to the
relevant streaming servers. Uploads happen overnight
at times of low network load. This is an automatic
process.
Streaming the lectures on the Internet
The streaming servers store the final versions
of the files and continuously make them available
to the Internet. It is these machines that students
are connecting to when they interact with an eduStream
lecture.
Streaming servers are located at:
- Bega
- Bateman’s Bay
- Shoalhaven
- Moss Vale
- Loftus, and
- Wollongong.
Because recorded lectures are transferred overnight,
they are not available until the day after the Wollongong
lecture. Students can access the streamed files
at home on a 24/7 basis and at computer labs during
opening hours.
eduStream and teaching
and learning
|
|
|
| |
