Following highly successful AARNet Roadshows in 2008, Monash University hosted the first AARNet Video Collaboration Conference on the 25th of May 2009. The purpose was to bring together IT staff, vendors and key presenters to hear and discuss the issues of introducing and managing video collaboration technologies and services to universities. This is also a key focus for Peter James, Director, ITS, University of Tasmania, who represents the Standing Committee at CAUDIT, for Professional Development. He is keen to see state based seminars on areas of interest that can enhance professional development and encourage collaboration between universities.
There were nearly 80 delegates from across the Victorian university sector, and also representatives from: Flinders University, South Australia; University of Tasmania; and, University of Newcastle, New South Wales. The sponsors were AARNet, iVision, and Cisco, with hosting and logistics provided by Monash University.
Delegates commented on the excellent range of speakers and topics, and the number of new ideas raised. The program included a range of presentations about the next generation video conferencing, the importance of 'ease of use' for users, and a demonstration of the recently installed 'high-tech' meeting rooms. The key points that were made were around:
- the ‘grey’ area of industry standards and the impact on inter-operability between video conferencing and other services;
- use-cases for next generation video conferencing – bringing video and applications to deliver new services for the future;
- unified systems approach for simplicity and ease of use;
- treating video conferencing ‘endpoints’ as a ‘fleet’ with ‘fleet management’;
- shifting to centralised management and monitoring with systems such as the Tandberg Management Suite (TMS);
- the importance of service benchmarks and implementing a process for effective delivery of high quality video conference services;
- benefits of using a standards approach for quality assurance so that organisations can communicate easily together via video;
- insights into the world of ‘telepresence’ and interoperability issues; and,
- the conference was drawn to a close with a panel session, Chaired by Prof Phil Steele, that identified the success factors for video conferencing.
Throughout the conference an opportunity for delegates to interact with speakers was provided through a Twitter feed, for questions, comments and the sharing of ideas. Here are a few examples: “Reliability & consistency .. it works {- the same -} every time”; “Video will be the ubiquitous business and personal interaction technology”; and, 'When video is as easy to use as a telephone call ...”.
AARNet is working with Deakin University to provide another conference with a focus on the use of video conferencing to support teaching and learning activities in November 2009. The audio-visual, IT, end-users, education, and research communities will be encouraged to attend.