October, 2006

VIDEO

New Video Recording Service Available

The new Codian 2220 IP VCR is available for use. This device is capable of recording in Quicktime, Real and Windows Media file formats which can be viewed live or archived. It can be used for live video conferences and classes. Video clips can be exported to burn on CD or uploaded to other servers. More information about use of this service is available at http://www.metnet.edu/video/IP_VCR.html . To view a sample recording go to http://156.98.66.152. Enter the Recording ID 55555 and PIN number 66666. Select from Quicktime, Real, or Windows Media depending upon which player is installed on your computer.

High Definition Testing

COMET-METNET has been beta testing two Polycom High Definition Codecs. The equipment was received in late September and will be available through November. Picture and sound quality is outstanding. Compatibility tests with the Lifesize HD room systems and the Polycom MGC are being performed. More news to follow next month.

Video Conferencing

In the COMET region, there are 67 courses providing 220 credits using ITV in Fall semester. Eleven are inter-regional and 56 are intra-regional. To view the schedules go to http://www.metnet.edu/video/coursesched.html for METNET and http://www.metnet.edu/comet/cometvideo/schedule.html for COMET. 130 Meetings were conducted via IP in September, 2006.

An interesting use of ITV is the SHRM class from Century College which started in September. It is a 12-week course for HR professionals which is designed to strengthen HR competencies and prepare participants for examinations for Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification. It is hosted by Century College, taught from Normandale Community College and delivered to seven sites in the COMET, METNET, and SHOT regions. This is a customized training class and is attended by HR staff from many local businesses. It is offered Fall 2006 and Spring 2007.

E-MAIL

E-mail Volume Increases

E-mail volume is up substantially. An average of about 250,000 messages per day are being received. Of these, about 80% are being filtered out by the spam filter. Even so, students are complaining about the high volume of junk mail they receive. Students need to be aware that using their METNET account to sign up for online offers, contests, etc. will bring them more junk mail from non-spam sources that are not caught in the SPAM filter. The spam filter looks for things such as high volume from a particular source, messages from black listed sources, attachments of specific types, and viruses.

ONLINE LEARNING

Breeze Services

Breeze usage for September included 115 meetings and 252 published presentations. There are currently almost 200 individual accounts.

The Breeze 4.1 server was decommisioned effective October 2. (Please note: Breeze 5.1 services will still be available.) For information on Migrating from Breeze 4.1 to Breeze 5.1 go to http://breeze.metnet.edu/support/migration/index.html.

METRO AREA WIDE AREA NETWORK PLANNING

METNET, the Office of Enterprise Technology, the MnSCU Network Operations Group, the University of Minnesota Networking Group, and Metro MnSCU campus representatives have met over the last few months. An RFP is being developed and will be released early in the new year. If you are interested in more information please contact Terry Kolomeychuk (metnet@metnet.edu).

LINKS

METNET Home

COMET Home