TDLC Open House
Taking a break from discussions, the TDLC opened its doors to participants, demonstrating the various technologies that are employed at the Center in daily videoconference sessions. In one corner was a chroma key production demonstration; guests were invited to stand in front of a camera fitted with a green chroma key “lite-ring” to see a projected image of themselves in a Japanese garden. The “secret” lies in the Chromatte fabric screen set up as a background. This fabric contains millions of glass beads that act as reflectors, catching the green light from the ring. A vision mixer combines the image of the guest standing against the screen with the image of the garden, replacing anything that appears green --i.e. the screen-- with the garden image.
The TDLC had some news to share: it is now equipped with a new Multipoint Control Unit (MCU), a network device that can connect two or more videoconferencing endpoints into one conference via IP or ISDN. In addition, the TDLC has become the first international organization to be granted membership to the Science Information Network (SINET), which connects 515 universities and 191 research organizations in Japan. It has also introduced Moodle as the learning management system for its Microfinance Training of Trainers Course.
The TDLC website was under the spotlight as well, hosting the GDLN AP website with coverage of the Meeting and video uploads of the day’s sessions including podcasts.
Featured was a special demonstration by Hosei University’s Information Technology Research Center. Hosei University uses a customized Automated Content Management System in its e-lectures, which allows students to watch the lecture on video, follow powerpoints, and receive subtitles of the lecture all in real-time. After the lecture, these three components are compiled into one screen and become accessible through the web for review. The subtitling feature is particularly helpful for non-native speakers of English who may need to refer to the text to increase their comprehension.
On view at the Open House was a demonstration of this system as employed during the Meeting.
Subscribe in iTunes
