Satellite multicasting improves educational information delivery(Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

20 March 2006

Satellite multicasting improves educational information delivery

A project supported by the European Space Agency has combined satellite
multicasting techniques and improved content management to enhance
information delivery for education.

The use of information and communications technology in schools all over
Europe is on the increase. Although the various Ministries of Education
have set up networks that offer recommendations on content, as well as
advice and support to educators, challenges still remain in the take-up of
information technology in schools.

The ESA supported project SchoolCast aims to resolve at least some of
these issues by having developed a system that improves the way in which
schools access information from the Internet. The key is in improving the
management of content, multicasting specific multimedia rich content to
groups and sub-groups of schools and then providing feedback to
stakeholders about precisely how schools are using this content.

Improved content management

SchoolCast allows the agencies responsible for schools, such as school
boards or similar government institutions, to select the most relevant
content from the Internet, organise it to suit their own needs and ensure
that legal questions on the use of the material are resolved.

The content can then be transmitted via satellite at night, when it is
less expensive. Schools equipped with satellite antennas receive the
content and store it for use in the classroom the following day.

Multicasting saves on satellite capacity

The SchoolCast content is multicast to schools via a satellite network.
Multicasting enables more efficient delivery of data to multiple
destinations on a network. Particularly with video-streaming, multicasting
via satellite can translate into a significant saving of resources.

Not only does SchoolCast take advantage of a satellite network but the
system architect has designed the system to 'push' the most frequently
used websites out to the users, where they are cached locally. This
approach also greatly reduces the amount of satellite capacity being used.

Consortium

The project has been made possible through a consortium of four commercial
companies and two public institutions. ATiT Ireland is the Prime
Contractor of the ESA supported project; Global Communication and Services
GmbH from Austria is responsible for the multicasting software; Web-Sat
Ltd. from Ireland provides the two-way Internet via satellite network;
Intel® IT Innovation from Ireland lend support in the non-satellite
take-up of the service.

The National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) is the main
stakeholder and both evaluates the service and provides content; HEAnet
are a key test user of the network.

Field Trials

SchoolCast has been field tested and validated in educational environment.
'Speed and reliability' were the impressions of teachers taking part in
the trials. Teachers can benefit from materials and sites that have been
sourced by their peers with content that fits perfectly into their local
teaching needs.

The service has proven itself to be both user-friendly and transparent.
The service will import any content which can be packaged for multicast.
The market potential for SchoolCast has been assessed and numerous
opportunities exist throughout Europe.

Related links

* ATiT (SchoolCast)
http://schoolcast.atit.ie/
* Web-Sat Ltd
http://www.web-sat.com/
* gcs Global Communication & Services
http://www.gcs-salzburg.at/
* Intel® Ireland
http://www.intel.com/ireland/
* Irish National Centre for Technology in Education
http://www.ncte.ie/
* HEAnet
http://www.heanet.ie/

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