TEACH / LEARN
Deliver classes live and on-demand Connect disparate campuses

BROADCAST / SHARE
Share live events on campus

INFORM / EMPOWER
Communicate with faculty and staff

VBrick Products
> MPEG-2 Encoders
> MPEG-4 Encoders
> EtherneTV VOD Server
> EtherneTV Portal Server
> EtherneTV NVR

VBrick Partners
OSU Technology Services

Links
> PDF Version of this Page
> More Case Studies

Challenge
Bridge disparate campuses using video technology, deliver live and on-demand classes to the entire student body, share live events campus-wide.

"Technology is a big part of how we bring the system together. We know that with the effective use of technology you will reduce your learning time by at least a sixth."

Dr. Marlene Strathe, Senior VP and Provost
Oklahoma State University

For more than two decades, Oklahoma State University has used video technology to help bridge the distance between their three campuses. In the past, a complex and costly analog satellite system delivered live video from classrooms at each campus so students could participate and collaborate.

In addition, more and more teachers began recording their classes and asking their media services team to encode and upload videos to their class websites, this time consuming process took its toll on the media services team.

While they looked for a solution they also hoped to be able to capitalize on their exiting studio and broadcast infrastructure to enable live broadcasts of graduations, speaking engagements and sporting events to the entire student body, both live and on-demand.

Solution
An EtherneTV system designed to deliver video to 33,000 students across three disparate campuses, live and on-demand.

"We don't view technology as bells and whistles; we view it as a way to enrich the teaching and learning environment."

Dr. Marlene Strathe, Senior VP and Provost
Oklahoma State University

OSU’s system encompasses more than a dozen classrooms where classes are broadcast live onto their network. Each class is also recorded so students at remote campuses can access the classes as they happen, or log on to view the classes at a later time.

VBrick’s team helped design and develop a system that integrated directly into the existing OSU network. With a single sign-on directly tied into their LDAP system, students, faculty and staff can use a “single sign-on” to access only the content they are allowed to view.

In addition, VBrick’s EtherneTV system is connected directly to their broadcast facility where everything from distance-learning classes to sporting events are produced. This tight integration allows anything produced in the facility to be broadcast and recorded right through EtherneTV.

Benefit
Reducing the cost associated with satellite broadcasts, connecting campuses, time-shifting classes, reducing media services workload and integrating seamlessly into their educational environment.

"The video archive of past classes makes it real easy. The VBrick system makes it very accessible."

Brady Williams, Student
Oklahoma State University

By connecting each campus with VBrick’s EtherneTV system, OSU has reduced the burden on their media services team by automating the recording, encoding and distribution process. In addition, the network distribution has all-but-removed their dependency on satellite broadcasts.

EtherneTV’s LDAP integration has made the system a completely integrated part of the OSU technology platform and reduces the IT maintenance and oversight of the system guaranteeing that only content approved for distribution is available.

Long term, OSU’s staff believes that video technology will change the way that higher education is delivered. Now, with the ability to time-shift classes students can decide how they would like their classes delivered broadening the possibilities.

> Watch the video Case Study