News for and about the Internet2 community

[Dan Downing <>]

Megaconference VII Draws Record Number of Presenters,
Participants, Countries and Continents
 
WASHINGTON DC, Dec. 1, 2005 -- The Megaconference will mark its
7th consecutive year today, as dozens of presenters, hundreds
of participants, and thousands of viewers in 40 countries on six
continents around the world take part in the world’s largest simultaneous
Internet videoconferencing event.
 
Megaconference VII begins at 7:30 a.m. EST, and continues throughout the
day until 11:00 p.m. EST. This year's theme, Increasing Empathy
Through Videoconferencing, focuses on improving understanding between
individuals and cultures through worldwide videoconferencing. For
information on the Megaconference, including live streaming, program
guide, abstracts, participants and more, go to
www.megaconference.org.
 
Presentations will discuss and demonstrate how different groups use
Internet videoconferencing in real-world situations for teaching,
learning, sharing knowledge and information, and a variety of other
topics. Actual end users of H.323 videoconferencing will be the
predominant feature of Megaconference VII, while technical presentations
will be limited. All presentations will be fully interactive, engaging
multiple sites and audiences around the world.

The Megaconference, sponsored by Internet2, takes place once a year to
present, test and discuss all aspects of IP-based H.323
videoconferencing. The H.323 standard allows users to make the most of
existing videoconferencing hardware and software. It defines how
real-time audiovisual conferencing data is transmitted across IP-based
networks, allowing for shared conferences between different conferencing
applications.
 
Internet2 is a consortium of more than 200 universities, working in
partnership with industry and government, to develop and deploy advanced
network applications and technologies. For more information about
Internet2, go to
www.internet2.edu.
 
The technical hub of the Megaconference, the Internet2 Commons, is
located in Columbus, Ohio, and is operated jointly by the Ohio State
University (OSU) and the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC). The Internet2
Commons, which operates on a system of Multi-point Control Units (MCUs),
was established in 2001 to promote the adoption of IP-based collaboration
technologies for the Internet2 research and education community.
 
Standards-based, vendor-neutral videoconferencing through this scalable
service allows subscribing members to schedule and hold distributed
working groups, classes, meetings, and conferences in support of research
and education.
 
Some of the nearly 30 Megaconference presentations include: A remote
controlled telescope, a killer whale, a kangaroo, and a koala from
Australia; a Christmas market visit to London; a tour of the old Erie
canal system in Ohio; a joint performance with musicians in Sweden and
California; a panda exhibit in China; and an ocean adventure with MOTE
Marine Laboratory in Florida.
 
Nearly 40 states in the U.S. are participating in Megaconference VII.
Other participating countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China,
Columbia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great
Britain, Fiji, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,
Palestine, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Slovak
Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Uruguay.
 
Dr. Robert Dixon, Chief Research Engineer at OSC and at the OSU Office of
the CIO, is widely considered to be the “Founding Father” of the
Megaconference for his continuing efforts in producing the yearly
event.
 
Dixon cites a number of reasons for the increasing popularity of the
Megaconference over the past seven years. He said the quality and ease of
use of video equipment available has improved dramatically in recent
years. He also cites the many H.323 workshops taught during the past few
years as having increased the number of experienced videoconferencing
personnel.
 
“More and more people keep hearing about it, and they spread the word. It
has a good reputation and is unlike any other worldwide communications
event,” Dixon said. “Participants get to meet others from around the
world--something they could not do without the Megaconference--and this
widens their horizons and gives them new projects to work on at other
times during the year.”
 
Dixon said that the availability, speed and quality of the world's data
networks have also increased dramatically, which has enabled more people
from developing countries to participate in the Megaconference.
 
“Internet videoconferencing is spreading into areas of the world that
have previously been inaccessible because they lacked the technology. We
have several countries participating this year for the first time,
demonstrating the role technology plays in bringing the world closer
together,” Dixon said.
 
As the Megaconference continues to grow organizers are developing more
automated methods to manage the conference logistics. Dixon said this
year they inaugurated the “continent coordinators” concept, in which
select people on each continent are charged with coordinating specific
activities.
 
Dozens of volunteers from institutions around the world work year-round
to plan and produce the Megaconference, which made its worldwide debut
with fewer than 100 participants during the Fall 1999 Internet2 Member
Meeting in Seattle.
 
Sandy Sprafka, Videoconferencing Administrator at North Dakota State
University, said every presentation requires dozens of hours of work from
many different people behind the scenes who make sure the various
components of the Megaconference run smoothly.
 
“The Megaconference really reaches out and touches the world, and I’m
humbled to be working with such a dedicated group of people who
contribute so much for so long to make this event happen,” Sprafka said.
“It’s truly an honor to work with so many wonderful people around the
world as they share their lives, cultures, activities and research.”
 
“There are so many components in the Megaconference--28 presentations,
three cafes, three roll calls, three choir sessions, three welcome
sessions, two technology showcases and a grand prize drawing­it’s amazing
that everything works so well in the end,” Sprafka added.
 
Donations from vendors include a one-year free license for web
conferencing and collaboration server software including support,
maintenance and training, from Marratech; two PCS-1 videoconferencing
stations from Sony; a 30-Gig Ipod from Polycom; a Bose portable CD player
from the Internet2 Commons; a Palm Treo 650 from Codian; three Polycom
VSX-3000 desktop videoconferencing stations from VuPorts; two 4-Gig Apple
Ipod Nanos from RADVision, and two Polycom PVX software video
conferencing codecs and two Logitech  cameras from SKC
Communications.

Dan Downing
Public Relations Coordinator
Ohio Supercomputer Center
Ohio Academic Resources Network
Third Frontier Network
1224 Kinnear Road
Columbus, Ohio, 43212
phone (614) 688-3949
fax (614) 292-7168

www.osc.edu
www.oar.net
www.tfn.oar.net