The role of the Multimedia Applications
Services Section is to deliver multimedia systems and technology
through the careful design of multimedia concepts which allows for
the enhancement of student perception via sound, graphics and visualization.
This is done by providing multimedia facilities
as well as services to the campus community, for example:-
- The building of nine multimedia capable lecture theatres.
- Provide portable “scaled down” multimedia services
for teaching areas not equipped with multimedia
technology.
- Provide various services around campus which includes:- sound
reinforcement systems, projection and displays systems and any
other conference related services.
- Streaming of video and audio to overseas campuses.
Multimedia Lecture Theatres
There are nine state of the art multimedia lecture
theatres campus wide.
These are as follows:-
- Chemistry 5 lecture theatre (C5)
- Science lecture theatre (SLT)
- Pre-clinical lecture theatre
- Biology lecture theatre
- SR-10 lecture theatre
- Social science lecture theatre (SSLT)
- New Education lecture theatre (NELT)
- Neville Hall lecture theatre (N1)
Lecture Theatres and Development Projects
The following lecture theatres are to be developed
and carried to full multimedia status as the present lecture theatres
in the near future:-
- The Interfaculty lecture theatre
- Chemistry/Physics lecture theatre
- The Professor William Barkley Inorganic Lab
- The Pathology lab
- The Physiology lab
The Multimedia and Application Services Section
also has under its wing the development of a Multimedia teaching
and production Laboratory.
Video Conferencing Systems
The UWI has moved to a place where technology
allows for the possibility of tighter links with our international
counterparts. Video conferencing has allowed for meetings to be
held among participant irrespective of their physical location.
The Multimedia Applications Services Section (MASS)
has launched video conferencing facilities since the beginning of
2003.
Tests have been conducted and video conferencing
with Cornell University has already been done in the past.
Plans for the Immediate Future
Plans for the immediate future includes:-
- Building of new multimedia lecture theatres campus wide.
- Increased services for multimedia assistance and portable
systems
- Building of a multimedia training and teaching centre to
get lecturers (and other users of the multimedia systems) very
much in touch with the growing field of multimedia.
- The roll out of an enterprise access control system, to carefully
monitor the use of the multimedia lecture theatres.
Service Support and Assistance
- Designing, implementing and managing a secure high performance
campus area network;
- Establishing local area networks for all departments and
business units;
- Providing ubiquitous “full-suite” Internet services
to students and staff;
- Providing campus wide intranet services: web based information,
group and course support services.
- Providing technical support for the design and implementation
for all enterprise business and academic information systems;
- Providing “first-line” user support for the Campus’
technical infrastructure;
- Evaluate the applicability of emerging technologies to the
Campus’ requirements;
- Defining and implementing policies and strategies to facilitate
the use of all infrastructures and associated information services.
Technical Support / Services
- Provide video recordings of lectures as requested for distribution
or playback at a later date.
- Privide streaming of lectures to other lecture theatres on
campus in the event that there is an overflow of students which
needs to be accomodated.
- Provide sound reinforcemnet suystmes as requested to the wider
campus community.
- Video recordings of University seminars and symposiums.
- Streaming of Universtity symposiums, conferences and seminars
to overseas campuses namely Cavehil and St. Augustine.
Project Based Activities
- Research and development into new multimedia systems that
would enhance the present multimedia technology already installed
campus wide.
- Video conferencing systems to be officially launched at the
University, which would have the capabilities of communicating,
seamlessly to multimedia end as far as the Western continents.
- New multimedia lectures to be designed and operational for
the start of the 2003 / 2004 academic year.
- Research and development into the condtruction of a
multimedia devlopment and teaching lab facility whereby lecturers
will able to acquire multimedia training between the hours of
7:00a.m. - 7:00p.m. (approximately 12 hours for the day). This
facility will also be used for much of multimedia development
carried out campus wide.
- All equipment requests being made at least one week in advance
- All video conferencing requests being made at least two weeks
in advance.
- Requests for recordings (video / audio) being made in at least
three weeks.
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