Video Conferencing for K-12 Education Promotes Success | Vidyo

Nov 16, 2011

“eRate” Discounts Available Now for Vidyo Products

Hackensack, NJ – November 16, 2011 – In an effort to provide classrooms and libraries with affordable, high-quality video conferencing, Vidyo, Inc., is currently working with U.S schools to help enhance students’ learning experiences by enabling virtual classes and field trips that supplement K-12 curriculum with real world interactions via low-cost, high-quality video conferencing. Virtual field trips give students access to people, places and experiences that were, up until now, out of the reach of public school budgets. To further this goal, Vidyo announced that select products within its Vidyo for Education™ product suite are now eligible for discounts through eRate, a federally funded program that is under the direction of the Federal Communication Commission.

At the San Carlos Charter Learning Center (SCCLC), one of the oldest charter schools in the United States, students were recently given the opportunity to experience a virtual science class on the human heart and circulatory system given by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Twenty-two enthusiastic fifth and sixth graders watched and listened to an instructor who, via video conferencing on a desktop computer and iPads, shared a lesson about the circulatory system while dissecting a sheep’s heart.

According to Ben Sibrack, who teaches 5th and 6th grade science and language arts at SCCLC, “There’s so much potential with what we can do with HD, multiparty video conferencing over the Internet.  It gives us the opportunity to really break down barriers and change how we educate, in a way that was never thought possible a few years ago. With the kind of video conferencing that Vidyo delivers, we’re able to easily set up collaborative educational communities between schools within the Bay Area.  For that matter, we’ll now be able to set up collaborative communities across the U.S. and internationally as well.  These possibilities are amazing.”

“Video conferencing provides K-12 students and teachers an amazing opportunity – especially for those who don’t readily have access to experts in various fields, or the ability to physically travel to knowledge and cultural centers in their communities or beyond,” said Ashish Gupta, Vidyo’s CMO and SVP Corporate Development. “Students are now able to receive an enhanced learning experience and understanding of the possibilities that exist in the world around them. Up until recently, classroom access to information and expertise had been constrained by logistics and limited funding. We’re excited that, through programs like eRate, our already low-cost Vidyo solution is making it even easier and more affordable to expand the potential of what classrooms and libraries can offer.”

Select Vidyo infrastructure, endpoints and K-12 bundled solutions are eligible for eRate discounts and some products may require cost-allocation. To learn more about how to obtain eRate discounts and the complete list of eligible Vidyo products, visit our website.

Vidyo’s platform enables video conferencing over the Internet and lower-bandwidth public networks on desktops, laptops,  tablets,  smart phones or room systems so teachers, students and subject experts can participate in interactive video learning sessions from anywhere, including very remote locations.  With Vidyo for Education, teachers have the ability to share documents, video clips and other media, as well as add white-boarding functionality to their virtual classes. Vidyo delivers extremely affordable, telepresence-quality, multiparty video conferencing that takes the virtual classroom experience to a never-before achieved level.

 

Vidyo for Education

Vidyo for Education extends education beyond classroom walls to reach students, teachers, staff and remote subject experts, wherever in the world they are located. Using Vidyo, K-12 schools can easily participate in telepresence-quality, multipoint video conferencing sessions that run on off-the-shelf hardware over everyday networks, for a fraction of the cost of conventional video systems. Discounts on Vidyo for Education are now available through eRate.  To learn more about Vidyo’s Funding Information Services to help identify potential grants and funding sources and gain assistance through the application process, contact fis@vidyo.com.

 

eRate Discount Program

E-Rate is a funding program providing support to schools and libraries to obtain affordable internal connections, basic maintenance on internal connections, telecommunications services and internet access. The program is under the direction of the Federal Communication Commission, administered by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) of the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC).

The E-Rate program is made possible through a Universal Service Fee charged to companies that provide interstate and/or international telecommunications services. USAC provides approximately $2 billion annually to insure that our schools and libraries are connected and receiving educational services.

 

The Vidyo Difference

The Vidyo communication and collaboration platform is software-based, highly flexible and can be easily customized for individual enterprise and vertical market video conferencing needs. The patented VidyoRouter™ architecture introduces Adaptive Video Layering™, which dynamically optimizes the video for each endpoint leveraging H.264 Scalable Video Coding (SVC)-based compression technology and Vidyo’s IP. Adaptive Video Layering eliminates the MCU and offers unprecedented error resiliency, low latency rate matching thus enabling natural, affordable, high-quality video to work over the Internet, LTE, 3G and 4G networks. The platform allows users to quickly leverage the latest hardware innovations and new consumer devices, making it uniquely attractive to partners. Vidyo has been active driving H.264 SVC and SIP videoconferencing interoperability in various standards bodies since 2005.

 

About Vidyo, Inc.

Vidyo, Inc. pioneered Personal Telepresence enabling natural, HD multi-point videoconferences on tablets and smartphones, PCs and Macs, room systems, gateways that interoperate with H.323 and SIP endpoints, telepresence solutions and affordable cloud-based broadcast solutions. Learn more at vidyo.com, on the Blog or follow us on Google+ and @vidyo on Twitter.

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The VIDYO logo is a registered trademark of Vidyo, Inc., VIDYO and the trademarks of the VIDYO family of products are trademarks of Vidyo, Inc. and the other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

 

Vidyo Contact:

Mari Mineta Clapp

press@vidyo.com

+1 (408) 398-6433

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