ITV vs Video Conferencing

Interactive Television (ITV)

The mission of ITV is to serve students and educators in every corner of Maine.

Family at the table with computerUMA's ITV system has been in existence since 1989, serving thousands of students and hundreds of faculty at UMA, UMF, USM, UMM and UM. Currently the system uses video-over-IP (VoIP) to distribute signals from broadcast classrooms housed on individual campuses. These signals travel out to UMA Centers and are also viewed by students at over 30 regional sites throughout the state. Your class is seen on screen, your students hear all the proceedings in the classroom, however, you will not see your distance students, only hear them when they call the classroom 800 number.

Faculty teaching over ITV have the services of a Media Service Technician (MST), who controls the technology from a broadcast booth, and assists with common Blackboard tasks. Your MST is fully trained and highly responsive to both student needs and your technology options in the ITV classroom.

Videoconferencing (VC)

Videoconferencing (VC) began in the University system in 1996 as a response to the geographical disadvantage graduate students in Maine experienced. The VC system has grown to encompass all 7 of the UMS campuses, now serving all levels of education at UMS campuses and UMA Centers.

Each VC meeting room is equipped with camera, microphones and in many cases, PCs.

In the current system, each meeting room that is part of a videoconference is automatically connected each week of the semester, when the class is scheduled. You all see and hear each other, much like a ‘live’ classroom experience. A remote control holds the functions of VC for both faculty and students at each location. Due to its distributed nature, faculty can teach from any location that is part of the VC meeting, or rotate their location throughout the semester to see and hold office hours with all your students.

The UMA Faculty Development Center (FDC) contacts all faculty new to teaching over VC ahead of the semester to arrange training or re-introduction to VC. UMA Media Services, along with the FDC, also maintains a complete guide to VC, both from a pedagogical perspective and from the technical perspective. Quick guides are also available in every VC classroom.