從本館遠距教學系統建置淺談視訊會議系統與遠距教學

Education outside the Museum-Teleconferencing and Long-distance Learning

蕭德仁

《科技博物》 3卷2期 (1999/03) Pp. 24-32

https://doi.org/10.6432/TMR.199903.0024

並列摘要

High-speed ISDN lines are bringing about a revolution in business meetings with their advantages of speed, security and intimacy. They also offer other advantages that are certain to make this medium an essential part of communications in the future.
These facilities also provide an excellent means for long-distance learning as well as teleconferencing. Taiwan's education authorities are developing long-range strategies and plans that will make it possible to utilize ISDN communications for long-distance learning use and as part of life-long educational programs. The National Science & Technology Museum established a long-distance learning system in 1998 in an effort to assist the Ministry of Education in carrying out its plans and in order to improve the effectiveness of our own operations. Our long-distance learning system utilizes ISDN technology for fast, clear transmission of what we believe will be a primary tool for extending the outreach of or efforts in educating the public.
Teleconferencing is a relatively complex procedure which involves video, audio, communications, data, control and other elements. Thus we have sought to employ the simplest design possible that will allow us to achieve our objective of long-distance learning including complete control over all multimedia images and sound.
The system is tied together using the latest advanced technology and new works including ISDN, PSTN, Ti, internet and intranet interfaces. There are five major components involved here-the video signal, the audio signal, interfaces, ISDN components and terminal.
Long-distance Learning is different from most conventional types of education. It is still a matter of the teacher and the student coming face to face, but in this case there may actually be quite a distance between instructor and instructed. With the remote classroom they can be separated by distance and even by time, and the technology and networking equipment will still allow them to communicate.
Setting up a remote classroom is not cheap, but it involves extremely effective and efficient use of educational resources. Thus it has won great support from the Ministry of education for wider use in Taiwan. Long-distance learning offers these advantages among others:
1. It creates a global learning environment, overcomes bottlenecks in education, makes high-quality education available to a wide segment of the public, and helps to balance access to educational resources for those in the cities and those in isolated or outlying areas.
2. It encourages teachers to improve the quality of their teaching through the use of technology.
3. Use long-distance learning technology to set up education programs with great flexibility for the convenience of those who work but want to study. This will allow them to add to their knowledge, broaden their horizons and heighten their productivity at work.
4. Use long-distance learning with real-time images to deliver materials in a more effective way through traditional print or videotape media. Use interactive apparatus to make teaching seem as real and up-close as possible and maintain a high level of efficiency and interest in the program.
1. Aims of its installation
a. Use the ISDN and teleconferencing system and tie in various schools and cultural centers in the region. Apply suitable display materials from the museum and use a camera monitor and CODEC processing to prepare it for transmission via ISDN to the monitor at the student end. This is enough to satisfy the basic needs of the lecturer, and it can also incorporate other features as desired by the students such as zoom-in on the images transmitted by the lecturer.
b. The system can be used to transmit programs recorded on VCD or videotape to schools or government organizations for their use. The ISDN link-up can then be used to provide additional comments at a late date and to field questions from the receiving end for responses from museum staffers.
c. At some point in the future the museum will buy or lease a multi-control unit (MCU) to carry out simultaneous multiple remote teaching activities on the same basis as outlined above.
2. Current Usage
Since the opening of this museum in 1997 we have concerted efforts to work with local government organs on outlying islands and mountainous areas of Taiwan to develop remote teaching and data transmission and observation events. We have sought questions on the museum and its facilities and information from students and the general public. We are also working with broadcast station and cable TV studios to develop taped or live presentations based on displays for the museum in order to extend the reach of our activities further among the public.
This rapid expansion of our capabilities and coverage not only allows us to make live broadcasts and explanations of the materials on exhibitions; it allows us to reach out further than ever to educate and entertain people with no restrictions on distance. Instantaneous interaction between the lecturer and the student or audience helps us to make more effective presentations. In the future we will continue to develop our materials and use them for more detailed looks at the subjects being covered through this system.