Guidelines for Participation in Tango-Based Distance Learning

Last updated: $Date: 1999/11/01 17:11:01 $

Background

NPAC has been offering interactive synchronous distance learning (ISDL) classes in computational science since Fall 1997. We have learned much about the mechanics of how to produce and deliver these classes with the minimum additional effort compared with traditional face-to-face classes. Nevertheless, ISDL is strongly dependent on technological tools, and for ISDL to work, these tools must work. And this requires the time and attention of support personnel at both the delivering site and the recipient sites. Based on our experience to date, we have developed a set of guidelines which we consider crucial to the success of ISDL activities. If you wish to collaborate with us in distance learning, we ask that you read and follow these guidelines.

Guidelines

• You must designate a technical point of contact at your site who will be responsible for insuring that Tango is properly installed and working, checking network connectivity ahead of class sessions, etc. We expect that the technical contact will be readily available during classes in case of problems, preferrably monitoring the class, and reachable via the Tango chat tool.
• You must also designate a faculty point of contact to the class. This person serves as a point of contact for the NPAC instructors regarding academic issues, and as "last resort" contact if we are unable to reach the technical POC at a site (which unfortunately happens all too often). We also strongly recommend that this person act in the role of mentor to the class, assisting the students by providing local support and continuity. Faculty mentors have also found that by sitting in on classes and increasing their familiarity, they are able to incorporate new ideas and even new courses into their local curriculum.
• Tango works best on a reasonably modern Windows PC, but some SGI systems and Linux systems are also supported. Our platform recommendations should give you some idea as to what is required, though this is not the only platform on which Tango will work. Additional information can be found on the other platforms page. In any case, you will need to provide us with full details of your classroom environment.
• Proper audio (and video) setup is crucial to the effectiveness of the classroom environment, and must be prepared and tested well in advance of the first class, and must be checked prior to each class. Each location should have at least one system with external speakers to allow the students to hear the instructor, preferrably two such systems to provide a backup. We would like to have at each site a camera which is capable of imaging the classroom, providing the instructor with a view of the classroom and facilitating remote support.
• You should have a good network connection, and if you have more than a few students, it is also helpful to run a caching proxy web server locally to help reduce network load.
• You should not expect Tango to work through any kind of firewall. If the administrators of your firewall are cooperative, it may be possible to get Tango working, but this is non-trivial and must be arranged (and tested) well in advance of the first class.
• Problems experienced at recipient sites must be reported promptly to the NPAC support staff, and we will want to work with you to isolate and resolve them before the next class.
• We will do our best to provide the support necessary to deliver the class to participating sites, but this requires equal dedication and effort on the recipient side. If you are not providing the necessary level of support, you should not expect us to take heroic measures on your behalf.
• To faciliate remote support, we request that you setup your classroom machines with an FTP server and a user "tango" which has access to the directory tree in which the software is installed. Passwords for such accounts should be provided to the NPAC support team and will be kept confidential.
• All software upgrades to classroom machines should be coordinated with the NPAC support staff. Since Tango and related tools are at the cutting edge of current technology, it is not uncommon for "upgrades" of system software to introduce new bugs which result in problems running Tango. This is particularly true of browsers. Likewise, all site must be running the same release of Tango itself.
• We recognize that ISDL is novel, and sites sometimes want to "show off" to important visitors. We ask that you notify us in advance of such high profile events, and join us in making an extra effort to insure that everything is well-tested before the demonstration and that your support staff are on hand throughout the event. We have found that the fact that things usually go fine tends to engender complacency among the recipient sites which can turn a small problem into a catastrophic demo. We are obviously dedicated to ISDL and always want it to look as good as possible, but especially so when someone important is watching!

If you have any questions or comments about these guidelines, please contact David Bernholdt <bernhold@npac.syr.edu>