Video Conferencing (VC) is a live video connection between people in separate locations that allow people to connect and interact by seeing each other. VC has improved to the point that it is now an excellent technology for many day-to-day activities. The University of Victoria is leveraging video conferencing to:
- Enable distance learning
- Sharing lectures with students at other universities
- Deliver and revive lectures/presentation from anywhere
- Conduct PhD defenses
- Conduct administrative meetings
- Conduct meetings between academic and research groups
- Conduct job interviews
- And many more….
University Systems provides dedicated video conference rooms in the David Turpin Building, which are equipped with high-definition cameras, microphones, and flat-panel displays – all supported by trained professionals. Sessions can be held in these spaces and remote participants can access a video conference session using dedicated video conference rooms, web browsers, Skype, telephone, and even iPhone/iPad.
In the past, these facilities have been operated by University Systems using a cost recovery model. No longer! In order to reduce barriers and increase the use of Video Conferencing, this service will now be offered at no cost as a pilot for one year. In the short time that this has been known, we have already seen a significant increase in bookings.
To assist with this demand, we are expanding our services by offering a new Desktop Collaboration service that allows multiple parties to connect from room based systems, web browsers, Skype, Google Video Chat, all in the same virtual space. This service allows you to connect from almost anywhere and from your own computer. Let me repeat that, yes from your own computer! The Desktop Video Conferencing service currently leverages the BlueJeans network to provide video conference services.
We are pleased to offer these services to the campus and we encourage you to become familiar with these new services by reviewing our Service Catalogue at https://www.uvic.ca/systems, or directly visiting the following page: https://www.uvic.ca/systems/services/avmultimedia/index.php.
For more information, please contact the Computer Help Desk, 250-721-7867, helpdesk@uvic.ca.