LEVERAGE News 5

LEVERAGE
LEarn from Video Extensive Real Atm Gigabit Experiment

LEVERAGE News No 5, February 1999

Welcome | Pedagogical | Technophile | Conference report

Co-ordinator's column
Patrice Le Moing, LEVERAGE project manager from CAP GEMINI TELECOM FRANCE in Rennes, reviews the LEVERAGE project as it draws to a close.
LEVERAGE: The end ?
The project coming to an end on the 31st of December 1998 is a perfect opportunity to review the objectives announced at the start:
Our 1st objective 'to develop, implement and field trial a complete multimedia broadband infrastructure, designed to support joint work between (and on) the sites of academic partners in Cambridge, Paris and Madrid' was achieved through the incremental development approach adopted by LEVERAGE:

a first step in 1996 on a local broadband island (an optical/ATM MAN in Cambridge),
a second step in 1997 utilising the JAMES transnational ATM service (10 Mbits/s between Paris and Cambridge, an exciting early experience!)
the third step in 1998 being the challenge of linking the three sites and offering Quality of Services with limited bandwidth (ISDN 8B).

Our 2nd objective 'to assess the performance of the multimedia network through extended trials and evaluations by non-specialist users (exploring how the possibilities of high-speed networks can be married with innovative task-based pedagogy)' was addressed through the three successive user trials.
The lessons learned from our end user trials can be summarised as follows:

From the pedagogical point of view:
The system has proved itself - networks nowadays can offer a viable complement and even alternative to face-to-face communication; within the combination of applications offered to users, high quality videoconferencing was the most appreciated feature.
From a technical point of view:
The main barriers preventing a short-term massive deployment of LEVERAGE-like systems are the complexity and cost of the terminal, the cost of broadband network interconnection and the challenges of integration; IP is key today, native ATM software stacks are still immature.

Our 3rd objective 'To contribute to determining the potential for wider application' was fulfilled by various activities including a substantial commitment to disseminating information about our activities to as wide an audience as possible. Our regularly updated Web site, a video describing the work of the project, the conference Education in the communication age and, of course, the newsletters are all part of spreading the word about the potential of network-based learning and working.
One of the last and most pleasurable tasks for the LEVERAGE team was to host an international symposium on Collaborative Learning and Working over Networks at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (10-11 December 1999, see conference report). The constant sharing of knowledge and expertise, ideas and opinions with colleagues from industrial, academic, technical and pedagogical backgrounds has been a constant source of enjoyment and stimulation while working with the LEVERAGE team.
Conclusion
There is some sadness in completing the LEVERAGE project after three years of rich, sometimes hard, but always exciting work. Nevertheless all the team members will find consolation in the certainty that . . .

. . . it's only the beginning!