Texas Schools use ExStream Products for Distance Learning

When the Education Service Center for Region 17 in Texas went looking for a videoconferencing solution for nineteen schools that didn't have a reliable wired network in place, they didn't think it was possible to do videoconferencing over wireless. That was before they were introduced to ExStream Mobile Technologies founder and CEO, Mark Chew.

Region seventeen is situated in the Texas panhandle. It is one of twenty school regions in Texas that comprises 58 districts in 22 counties. Several years ago the Region was the beneficiary of a grant from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board of Texas which became the nucleus for the eventual build-out of a technically-advanced, video-centric learning and collaboration infrastructure.

Rex Vaughn, who serves as the region's video network specialist, was looking to outfit nineteen elementary schools with videoconferencing systems for distance learning. The problem was, these particular schools did not have a robust and reliable wired network in place to support such an effort. Rex had heard about wireless videoconferencing over 802.11 WiFi, but had never seen it work, and was skeptical that it could be done. In fact, he had attempted it himself with less than stellar results. Rex heard about the work that Mark's company was doing and decided to reach out to him.

The project began with a detailed site survey of each school to determine the individual needs of the particular location. "This is always the first step in the process, especially with challenging projects", says Mark. Following the survey, a proposal was made and the project was underway. In the end, each school deployed between one and six wireless access points that were configured and installed with the assistance of ExStream. The access points provide the coverage needed for the ExStream wireless video conferencing systems. Region 17 chose to go with a large, cart-based system with a 42" monitor, video CODEC, and on-board wireless connectivity. "The system Region 17 is using eventually became our XVIC, full-size cart system, which is now a standard product offering used by numerous schools around the country" according to Mark. An additional system, similar to the others, but with on-board battery power, serves in an off-site location where educational content can be provided by instructors and lecturers.

Region 17 uses the systems for distance learning applications such as virtual field trips and facilitating things like dual-enrollment classes. The technology allows teachers and students to share content they would not normally be able to do due to time, distance, and budgetary constraints. Rex says "the systems work flawlessly. Going into this project, I wouldn't have believed this was even possible".

Region 17 is currently planning a new adult education project that will bring course material to adult students in much the same way it has done for elementary and high-school students. They plan to incorporate ExStream technology into that project as well.

"In the past, teachers have always been forced to teach in a dedicated distance learning room. Now they can teach from where they want to, rather than where they have to, eliminating the cost, inconvenience, and scheduling of a dedicated room".

-Mark Chew, CEO & Founder, ExStream Mobile Technologies