TEACH / LEARN
Train faculty and staff
Build a VOD media library

BROADCAST / SHARE
Share Live Events and Cable TV to the classroom

INFORM / EMPOWER
Communicate with faculty and staff

VBrick Products
> MPEG-2 Encoder Appliances
> MPEG-4 Decoder Appliances
> EtherneTV VOD Server
> EtherneTV Portal Server
> EtherneTV Digital IP Receiver

VBrick Partners
SKC Communication Products, INC.
Shawnee Mission, KS

Links
> PDF Version of this Page
> More Case Studies

Challenge
Incorporate video technology into all student educational activities.

"We remain committed to embracing technologies that prepare our students to succeed by promoting learning, enhancing communication and inspiring creativity."
Dr. Michael Burke, Director
District Media and Technology Services

As part of their initiative to converge voice, data and video onto their IP network, Edina Public Schools recognized the opportunity to provide teachers and students with live and on-demand digital video.

With more than 4,000 VHS titles in their existing library, Edina’s faculty wanted to find a way to update their multimedia capabilities and increase access to their extensive library. In addition, administrators hoped to build a system that could deliver live video from cable television or live events to each and every classroom.

Solution
An EtherneTV system designed to deliver video to 7,500 students and more than 1,100 teachers and support staff.

"Any classroom technology must incorporate ease-of-use and reliability to ensure that teachers maximize the educational resources available."
Al Bliss, Technology Specialist
District Media and Technology Services

Working with SKC Communication Products, teachers and students at any one of Edina’s nine schools can access videos on their networked PCs at any time. In most classrooms, a ceiling-mounted projector makes the most of the video technology, allowing the entire class to watch the video with the teacher.

With VBrick’s live capabilities, faculty, staff and students now have access to live events happening across the school district as well as a number of cable television feeds 24/7.

EtherneTV’s easy-to-use interface makes accessing the content fast and efficient and enables the media services department to access digital rights management information as needed.

Benefit
Removing the cost of maintaining the antiquated VHS tape library, reducing training costs and increasing student and faculty experiences.

"VBrick combines straightforward point-and-click operations with the flexibility required to ensure that teachers and staff access the video easily to complement the learning environment."
Al Bliss, Technology Specialist
District Media and Technology Services

With the entire tape library digitized and added to the VOD server, access to the old VHS tapes is only a click away, eliminating the costs of distributing and managing a physical library. The new EtherneTV system delivers a cost-effective, efficient way to archive classes, deliver live cable television stations and train faculty and staff. "The on-demand training videos for teachers and staff have saved countless hours of administrative time while maintaining our high-level of service to district employees,” said Al Bliss.