Click on the image to see a video clip from the event

Internet 2 makes distance learning a reality.  This past November, members of Peabody's Professor Gustav Meier's conducting class participated in a real time Webcast in Hodson Hall, on the Homewood campus.  The state-of-the-art building is home to a distance learning room that can beam the world right into the classroom at Johns Hopkins in the blink of an eye, using new audio, video, and Internet 2 technology. 

The students were witness to a rehearsal of the New World Sympony, conducted by world reknown conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and intern Daniel Ratchev in Miami, FL.  After the rehearsal/coaching session, Thomas answered the Peabody students questions on what they had seen and heard.

Paula Burger, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and International Programs says that Hodson Hall's distance learning facility is a glimpse into the future for higher education, and more importantly, for Johns Hopkins.  "Years ago, it seemed like a dream, but it is now entirely possible to integrate such expereinces inot our regular academic offerings," says Burger in reference to the abundant opportunities for the University to share learing experiences across campuses both local and international.

In the remote location, pan-tilt and zoom cameras track the subjects and voices being recorded, guided either manually or automatically by sound detection. In Hodson Hall, similar cameras and microphones capture the sights and sounds in the distance learning room. Both locations have viewing screens positioned strategically at several points so that everyone can see each other. The two groups can look at and talk to one another without any perceptible delay.

Graham Bouton, an IT @ Johns Hopkins Technology Services Manager, says that "the video magic, is made possible by the Internet2 connection that broadcasts the signal between locations. Internet2 was developed by a consortium of more than 200 universities, including Johns Hopkins, that work in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies. The less than five-year-old Internet2 has a much higher bandwidth than its predecessor, according to Bouton, and is not used for commercial purposes.

"Basically, there is much less traffic congestion along Internet2," says Bouton, manager of the distance learning facility. "The Peabody hookup would have been problematic, if not impossible, to do along the more traditional Internet."

Bouton says that the video conferencing ability of the Hodson Hall space far surpasses that with which most people are familiar. For one, each of the desks has several built-in microphones that, when activated by a speaker, cause a camera to zoom in on him or her.

"With standard video conferencing, occasionally you have jerky or drop frames here and there, and the speech may not be coordinated with the video," he says. "But in our case, here at Homewood, we are able to duplicate broadcast-quality video and CD-quality sound. It's really amazing stuff."

Find out more about distance learning in Hodson Hall.