No warranty expressed or implied.
Q1. Just what will you be doing to my computer this summer?
A1 Plans are to do the following upgrades / completions to each faculty / staff station:
Hardware
Software
If your computer is password protected (i.e. if you must enter a password immediately after turning on before it starts to load Windows), you must share this password with Chris, Ryan, or me so that the upgrades can be performed and tested. If you do not, or if you request that no upgrades be performed, you're on your own!
Q2 What do you mean by "phasing out"?
A2 "Phasing out" means "replacing moribund technologies with current and emerging standards in stages." The basic functionalities you have become accustomed to will remain, but the details of how they are implemented may change, and new features will likely be added.
For example, when we "phased out" rotary phones, we got touchtone dialing, voicemail, two virtual incoming lines etc. We can still place and receive calls, albeit differently, and have additional capabilities as well.
Our commitment is to provide continuity in functionality and in ready access to all instructional resources currently in use, while ensuring some means of transferring older technologies into current ones if needed. (For example, we rarely use reel-to-reel tapes or phonograph records anymore, but we can transfer their contents to audio tape or digital media so that we can still access them when necessary.)
The motivations for change vary:
Q3 What phases do you foresee?
A3 Let me outline three general groups of technologies in flux.
Already dead but resuscitatable technologies (i.e. we can convert resources in these forms into currently supporterd formats)
Technologies to be phased out (in steps) in Language Studies in the future
| Technology | Est. Date | Plans for Replacement | Rationale |
| Multistandard video recorders and monitors* | 1999 | conversion to NTSC or digital format (Existing multistandard equipment will be made available in classrooms where it is required, but no new multistandard equipment will be purchased. We have two standards converters to support this changeover) |
insufficient demand to warrant expensive replacement; if needs warrant, we will acquire additional multistandard in / NTSC out players |
| MediaSpace digital video | 1998? | recapture / conversion to MPEG-1 if feasible; maintenance of separate MSP stations if not | MediaSpace is a proprietary format no longer supported by manufacturer |
| UMatic (3/4" tape)* | 1998 | Future high-quality recording on Super VHS (ERC's new standard); retention of playback capability for legacy tapes | Super VHS provides comparable quality in a smaller,
less expensive format, compliance with ERC end-user standard |
| ERC videotape checkout / viewing in G91 | 1999? | ERC distro to classrooms and midshipman rooms (via
NADN video) Plan ahead! |
Likely ERC initiative in view of low use, EXCEPT the night before an assignment is due, when a single copy is insufficient. |
| Analog satellite video | as desired video sources change from analog to digital (ongoing) | Digital video receivers, and ultimately, recorders | to continue supporting all useful satellite sources as they switch standards |
| MPEG-1 | 2002?? | recapture to MPEG-2 or then-current standard if feasible; playing MPEG-1 on MPEG-2 equipment if not | exploit higher-quality medium when it becomes cost-effective |
| Laserdisc video | 2003?? (when Nimitz renovated) |
recapture to then-current standard and porting of lesson materials to current operating system | equipment well past useful lifecycle |
| Cassette-based audio lab | 2003?? (when Nimitz renovated) |
Integrated digital audio / video / text / graphics lab | greater functionality at lower cost |
| Cassette-based homework | ?? | Digital-audio based homework | easier to use, cheaper to distribute |
* If you require resources in these formats, please consult with Ryan EARLY ON to ensure conversion or deployment of legacy equipment in your classroom.
Technologies to adopt increasingly as useful
| Technology | Replaces | Rationale |
| Digital audio and video | tape-based media | lower cost (once independently-motivated infrastructure in place), better quality, greater durability, ease of direct access, no schedule conflicts or coordination issues in using tape |
| Digital text and visuals via Web browser | paper and film-based media (slides, overheads) | instantaneous access and manipulation of display by instructors and (if instructor wishes) students |
| On-line meeting / collaboration via web browser, ultimately with video teleconferencing | face-to-face meetings when impractical | efficiency, difficulty with schedule (e.g. EI) or travel (You currently have this capability on your computer already with Internet Explorer or Netscape.) |
Example Scenario I Midn wants you to review and critique a draft essay; instead of scheduling EI, Midn establishes Netmeeting contact with you from Bancroft; on your screen in the office or at home you see the student's computer screen with draft essay in Word Perfect; you mark up with virtual red pen (via mouse) or even make corrections via keyboard while discussing your corrections by talking into computer microphone
Example Scenario II Mids working on dialog collaborate in this fashion to avoid having to come together in the hall.
Example Scenario III Similar to I, but you discuss an article you have written with a collaborator or editor anywhere in the world
Example Scenario IV: Mids in your FLxxx class discuss life, liberty, and the pursuit of duty with their counterparts at the Alien Naval School. For video link, add 2 $100 cameras (on order).
Q4 Don't tell me we won't be able to use _________ anymore!
A4 You and your students will continue to use the resources you now have, but perhaps in altered form (e.g. MPEG files via network instead of videodisc, or . As stated in previous e-mail SPANISH COOPERATIVE LESSONS HAVE TOP PRIORITY FOR SUPPORT UNDER NEW STANDARDS.
Q5 You aren't planning to do away with language learning labs, are you?
A5 No, of course not. We have continued to insist that any renovation plans include room for a language learning facility. The extension of lang lab capabilities to classrooms, faculty offices (even homes, if you wish), and midshipman rooms in a "virtual lab" opens new possibilities without closing off old ones.
Computer / software upgrades
In the course of the summer we will update Internet browser / e-mail and utility software on faculty and staff computers. This will not affect the organization of your computer. IF YOUR COMPUTER IS PASSWORD PROTECTED, LEAVE THE PASSWORD WITH US (Chris, Ryan, or me) SO ENSIGNS CAN DO THE NECESSARY SETUP AND TESTING ON YOUR COMPUTER.
Obviously Ensigns will not "snoop" around through your computer for their amusement. Nevertheless, if there are sensitive files you need to protect such as tests, memos, student information or recommendations, resave them or Zip them with password protection. USNA POLICY PROHIBITS STORING PERSONAL FILES OF A NON-PROFESSIONAL NATURE ON GOVERNMENT-OWNED COMPUTERS. We are not the enforcers of this policy, but all government computers here are subject to unannounced inspection for compliance by Navy security
personnel.
Digitized Audio and Video (DAV) for Course Support
"Digitized?"
Simply put, this means the capability to store and play back video, audio, and pictures to / from computers. You can already retrieve and play such clips in your office (and will be able to do it better in the fall, after a hardware upgrade and installation of speakers in all offices). Check out http://www.usna.navy.mil/LangStudy/video/DigitalVideo.html As of this fall, all our classrooms will have large-screen monitors and computers, and by that time or soon thereafter, midshipmen will also be able to play such clips in their rooms in real time (check out http://www.chesapeake.net/fletcher/mpeg.html for terminology and background) when the network in the Hall is upgraded.
"So what?"
This means that you can make available via Web or CD-ROM
"Why now?"
The reason is Ensign Power. We will have a crew of Ensigns digitizing audio and video clips this summer according to the following priority schedule:
Digital conversion requirements identified after the semester starts will typically be done on a self-help basis, i.e. you will be trained to use the equipment, then do it yourself.
"What caN'T I have digitized?"
"Just what do you want from me now?"
EDITED BY: AssocProf William H. Fletcher,
Language Studies Dept., US Naval Academy
REVISION: 26 June 98
URL: http://www.usna.navy.mil/LangStudy/phases.html