Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

OUCC 2015Inspiring Innovation

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Implementation of Adobe Connect as a campus-wide service

In this session you hear how uWaterloo implemented a campus-wide service for Adobe Connect. We will share our experiences to-date as a stand-alone collaboration system and as an integrated tool with our LMS (D2L). We will look at implementation, support, overall benefits and lessons learned.

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

We needed a solution for our on-line teaching/learning and collaborationBased on existing experience with Adobe Connect(AC) in uWaterloo, and considering other solutions we knew what to expect from AC

• Virtual online rooms for classes and collaborative meetings, with a rich set of interactivity tools for participants

• Flexibility• Integration with our LMS(D2L)• Good buy-in on campus

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

A cloud solution or in-house• Cloud solution

- Would be very expensive for scalability that we needed (I.e. we could have 10, 500 or more hosts)- We did not find a good business model for AC’s cloud solution- A/V performance was not something that we could overlook

(we had heard and saw for ourselves the shortcomings, some use telephone instead of AC function that is provided by the cloud, very inconsistent)

- We already had the option for on premise at hand

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Specifications

• Back-end- Two front servers, one live, one stand-by- A SQL cluster- Mirrored drives for redundancy- All backed up a second time

• Client Side- Adobe Flash & Add-in plugins- FW ports: 80, 443, 1935

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Two scenarios of use

To maximize flexibility

• AC as a Standalone service for those outsde LMS- This option would be for people who did not benefit from LMS integration, LMS would add unnecessary hurdles

• AC integrated with our LMS(Desire2Learn)- Users could benefit from some of the provisions of LMS if they were already using the LMS

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Standalone

• There is an informal assessment that determines how the user groups are going to benefit and use the system

• The standalone is the largest group of users of AC for us at the moment

- Courseware outside LMS, Collaboration, workshops, seminars, meetings, training, field work, etc.

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

AC integrated with LMS(D2L)

• Controlling access to Online Rooms in Brightspace via navbars• uWaterloo instructor-led support model for Adobe Connect usage• Scenarios

- Courses content, tutorial, team work, office hours, etc.

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

How we roll out AC

• Request is made- We listen and understand what the request is so we can

provide an appropriate setup• Training

- New users will receive training- Returning users are renewed if needed and will be on their way

• On-going support- Extensive documentation including text and how-to videos- Live support person during the business hours

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Inside an AC room

Some of popular functions people use in these virtual rooms are:

• Audio/video• Presentation• Chat, Quiz, Q/A, • File sharing, access to room library• Recording, etc.

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Stats

• 170 Hosts(instructors)• Recordings

- LMS users: ~100% - Standalone users: 30-40%

• In LMS, 20 courses Winter 2015- ~50% on campus course- ~50 distance learners

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Performance so far• Reliability

- Runs a reliable service- Rarely we hear performance concerns from users, including

audio/video transmission

• Hiccups- We did discover an anomaly that was induced by our SQL setup- Firewall can be a point of conversation

• Trouble shooting- In-house experts and Adobe are available

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

Challenges

• Hard to test the limits of the system when it is in production(We like to know when we might get close to the limits)

• Finding maintenance window is hard with such a system, it is like telephone, people are in a call in one form or another, around the clock

• We are still learning how to manage and create different user groups for various scenarios, this is important for tracking and provisioning in general

Koorus Bookan, Jan Wilwerth- IST, University of Waterloo

OUCC 2015Inspiring Innovation

Questions & Answers