<<December 6, 1999>>

Dr Howard N. Van Trease <vantrease_h@usp.ac.fj>

Richard Wah <wah_r@usp.ac.fj>

Wayne Heads <wayne.heads@usp.ac.fj>

Ruby Vaa <vaa_r@usp.ac.fj>

Linda Austin, M.S.J. <austin_l@usp.ac.fj>

Mrs Selai Fa <fa_s@usp.ac.fj>

Asifo 0. Ajuyah, Ph.D. <ajuyah_a@samoa.net>

Jannette Kirkwood <kirkwood@usq.edu.au>

Professor John Dekkers <j.dekkers@cqu.edu.au>

Som Naidu <s.naidu@meu.unimelb.edu.au>

Kimberly K. Obbink <kobbink@montana.edu>

Steve McCarty <steve@kagawa-jc.ac.jp>
 

(1)  Dear Howard, Richard and Ruby:
     ==============================

     Many, many thanks for your cordial and generous invitation to
     attend your roundtable mtg held from 11/29th to 12/1st/99 at your
     university (ATTACHMENT I) to discuss strategies and plans to make the
     best use of your newly established USPNet (ATTACHMENT II) which
     connects 12 member countries' institutions in the South Pacific area
     with audio, data and video transmission capacity.

     I thoroughly enjoyed the mtg with exciting discussions to utilize the
     capabilities of the USPNet to enhance learning, teaching, research and
     administration at the USP.

          I was also amazed at the drenching rain in Suva, Fiji.  It was
          like some kids on a beach scooping South Pacific ocean water by
          the bucket and dumping them on the town of Suva -- especially
          on the day when John and Jannette left for home.

          My bus trip from Suva to Nadi international airport was very
          pleasant through a scenic coastal route, passing by beautiful
          resort hotels.  It took me almost 5 hours!!

               Dear Selai:
               ===========

               Pls take note of this time -- not 3 hours as you said -- since
               someone who needs to catch a plane needs to have ample time.

          I had to spent almost 11 hours at the Nadi airport -- it was very
          hot and humid which was another amazement compared with the other
          side of the mountain where Suva still had such rainy weather that
          many flights were cancelled.

          After arriving home in the very early morning of 12/4th, I was
          completely down in bed for a day with fatigue/exhaustion, jet
          lag, back-ache and the flu I got at Nadi airport. It was certainly a
          long, long trip!!

     Dear Howard:
     ============

     My wife appreciated greatly your gift of Fijian clothes. Thank you very much.

     Dear Ruby:
     ==========

     Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT III) -- I received your attachment
     all right. Your people are really efficient, in spite of a congested 64
     Kbps leased line from Fiji to Melbourne, Australia -- Richard's paper
     says that you have to pay US$50,000/Year for only a 4.8 Kbps leased line
     from Fiji to Melbourne!!

          When I visited the University of Rondonia in Brazil (which is very
          close to Bolivia) a year and a half ago, I also saw the same
          situation with their 56 Kbps leased line for several thousand
          students. Their professors just gave up the use of Internet
          because of long waiting time to download web pages.

(2)  Dear Richard:
     =============

     I was very glad to have a chat with you on 12/2nd though you did not feel well that day.

     As we discussed, we welcome your USP's joining in our Global University System (GUS) project.

          Dear Kim:
          =========

          Pls take note of this -- USP can be a sub-region of your Asia/Pacific regional activities.

          Dear Steve:
          ===========

          I conveyed your regards to Richard.  He then returned his to you.

     When you come up with a plan for testing spread spectrum wireless broadband
     Internet units, pls let me know. You may apply to the InfoDev of the World
     Bank for your units -- see <http://www.infodev.org/projects/prhome.htm>
     for its guidelines, and PART II of the final report of our Tampere event at
     <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Tampere_Conference/Final_Report/Tampere_Event/Final_Report.html>,
     how our regional groups came up with their drafts of their pilot project proposals.

(3)  Dear Richard and Linda:
     =======================

     (a)  Use of mirror of webs:

     You may ask Steve how to make mirror Websites -- Steve uses free sites as a backup.

     (b)  Simultaneous use of web during videoconferencing with Polycom at a 128 Kbps channel:

     Once you have the mirrors of webs, your counterparts, say in Tonga, can
     retrieve the web at the same time as you do in Suva so that your
     instructor can point out necessary materials on the web.

          Your media person demonstrated how the color of magic marker could
          be faithfully transmitted to other side via satellite.  (We did
          this kind of test between the University of Alaska in Fairbanks
          and the National Technological University in Fort Collins, CO in
          the summer of 1993.)  However, as far as you use an analog TV
          monitor, it is far inferior to the computer screen. Therefore,
          try to use a computer screen with the Web as much as possible.

          Also, if you use the Web, it can be incorporated with application
          programs and simulation models so that your students can play with
          it with their hand-on experiments -- this will transform KNOWLEDGE
          into WISDOM, since it is said that "Knowledge with action becomes Wisdom."

               Eileen said a couple of times that you are now facing a
               REVOLUTION of education!!  I agree with her, and
               strongly suggest you to use the Web and enrich its contents and
               its interactiveness and asynchronous communication -- rather than
               talking-heads type videoconferencing.

     (c)  Use of NetMeeting:

     You may also use NetMeeting at 64 Kbps, since it can be accompanied with
     PowerPoint, whiteboard, application programs and simulation models.

          1.   Simultaneous use of NetMeeting during videoconferencing with
               Polycom at a 128 Kbps channel:
 
          You may experiment with this use to supplement the videoconferencing
          with Polycom at 128 Kbps channel.

          2.   NetMeeting at 128 Kbps or 3 x 64 Kbps channel:

          You may experiment with NetMeeting at multiple channels of 64 Kbps,
          particularly when the usage is low -- to compare with the VHS tape
          I gave to Linda which was the test between Montana State
          University/Bozeman and the University of Hawaii via 45 Mbps.

               If the usage is low, you may be able to get almost the same
               effect as the Montana/Hawaii experiment with your 128 Kbps channel.

               I am very much interested in this experiment so please
               send me a VHS tape of your results.

     Anyway, I would like to emphasize the use of web and NetMeeting as much
     as possible so that you will come to let your students exercise with
     simulation models -- as you may know I am a simulationist by profession,
     and that is why I promote the use of simulation models rather than a
     talking-heads approach.

(4)  Dear Wayne:
     ===========

     You told me that your equipment received from the Japanese government
     does not have much margin for upgrading in the future.

     However, once your USP is hooked up to a 200 Gbps fiber optic loop
     among Hawaii, Fiji, Australia and New Zealand next year, you may use the
     current 64 Kbps satellite link and the line from your central hub to any
     web site in the US (or anywhere) the same as the terrestrial line of the
     DirecPC, if the return (downlink) of the web is sent at 0.5 Mbps
     (up to 10 Mbps) via another (or the same) satellite from an earth
     station in Hawaii to be received at your USP or at its 12 consortium islands.

          Although this scheme will add additional satellite hop for
          uplinking for your students, this time delay may not be much for
          Web retrieving -- and this scheme will not need to waste the
          current equipment received from the Japanese government.

          I may mention this possibility to a fellow from the US Agency
          for International Development (USAID) during our mtg in
          Washington, D.C. on 12/20th.

(5)  The above are some of my ideas that came up during my return trip --
      hope they may be of some help to you.

(6)  Dear Asifo, Jannette, John, and Som:
     ====================================

     I was very glad to have met with you. I took the liberty of admitting
     you into our listserve. Keep in touch.
 

Best, Tak
            ****************************************
                          ATTACHMENT I

The University of the South Pacific (USP) was established in 1968 and is a
regional university owned and operated by twelve Pacific Island countries:
Cook Island, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.  USP serves a population base of
over 1.8 million people. It has campuses in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, and
University Centers in all member countries. After a period of fairly rapid
growth, enrollments reached about 9,200 students or 5,300 Equivalent Full-time
Students Units (EFTSU) in 1997.
            ****************************************
                         ATTACHMENT II
 
              The University of the South Pacific Bulletin
                         Vol 32, No. 31
                       17 September, 1999
 
 
                         USPNET UPGRADE
                        PROJECT ADVANCES

(A photo of the main earth station dish antenna and a diagram for
         videoconferencing omitted by Tak Utsumi.)
 
Reaching out to students ......, pictured (omitted), the antenna goes up as
the FJ$9 million (about US$4.5 Million -- noted by Tak Utsumi) USPNet project
advances from one stage to another.  It's a project that when completed will
see the USP have its own VSAT telecommunications network. The USP will own
and operate this private network, purely for USP activities.

USPNet Project Manager Mr Wayne Heads said the USPNet satellite earth stations
were designed with different capabilities to meet the requirements of the
University in an efficient way. "The "Hub" is at the Laucala Campus with a
7.6 m antenna, pictured (omitted), with a transmit power of 100 watts and is
the master station. The "Mini Hubs" at the Alafua Campus in Samoa and the
Emalus Campus in Vanuatu, with 6 and 4.6 antennas, will have reduced
transmission capacity of 50 watts, thus lesser video broadcast transmission
capability. The "Remotes" at the University Centres will be 4.6 antennas with
a transmit capacity of 20 watts to participate in audio and video conferencing
and receive video broadcast. Therefore, there will be provision for
permanently assigned 64 kbps two-way data circuits between the Hub earth
station and all Mini-Hub/Remote earth stations for data, audio and telephony
services, as well as provision for a maximum of three simultaneous 128 kbps
video transmissions for lectures from the Hub earth station and single
lectures from Mini-Hub earth stations, or a maximum of two simultaneous video
conferences between the Hub earth station and Mini-Hub/Remote stations.  The
video services will be scheduled and managed by the Hub station," Mr Heads said.

Mr Heads explains that the 64 kbps data channels will be connected to
multiplexers which dynamically adjust the bandwidth required for audio,
telephone/fax and computer data transmission. This means if a particular
circuit is used for an audio conference and telephone calls are made at the
same time there will be lesser capacity left of the 64 kbps to download large
amounts of data via the computer which could be quite slow. When the circuits
are 'quieter' very much faster download times will be possible between sites.

Mr Heads said the management of major projects such as USPNet has included the
preparation of a Project Plan which allows the Project Manager to lay out all
the activities or tasks that need to be carried out for the project, and to
assemble them into sequence which runs the project. He said Project Plans
often include full details of resources required, when they are required, and
plans and tracks the hours of work of people involved. A key advantage of the
plan is to identify when particular activities, which must be done by a fixed
date, fall behind. "Depending on how much time the manager allows for float,
such a 'critical path' can be identified in time to take corrective action," said Mr Heads.

The project's funding has been made possible through the governments of Japan,
New Zealand and Australia. Japan's funding has come in way of general grant
aid for Fiji and Samoa; in way of grassroots aid for the Marshall Islands,
Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.  Aid from New Zealand (NZODA) will provide
facilities in the Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue and Tokelau while Australia
through AusAID will help facilitate Kiribati and Vanuatu.

Mr Heads said final approvals have now been completed with each donor country
for all the funds promised at the Project's conception. He said the
university manages all funds except for the General Grant Aid funds from
Japan, which are paid directly to the satellite station contractor, Mitsubishi
Corporation. The aid funds provide the satellite earth stations in each
country (with associated electronic equipment), fully installed and
commissioned for operation with USP's satellite provider INTELSAT. The
funding also provides multiplexers and audio systems for a number of Centres,
and comprehensive spare parts for the satellite earth stations.

In addition the University, through member countries, will provide over
FJ$2million in funds to supply and install all the video, audio, telephony and
data systems required for connecting the campuses and the centres to the
satellite network. The USP member countries also provide support directly in
each country such as duty free access for equipment and other forms of
assistance to the project.

Mr Heads said for USP's distant students, USPNet will provide the opportunity
to participate in audio tutorials, conducted from any campus, communicate by
telephone, fax or email with a lecturer or tutor or another student; watch a
live video transmission of a lecture from any of the three campuses and take
part in video conference and tutoring with the Laucala Campus in Suva.
University Administration will also become more efficient with the
availability of telephone/fax and email communications via USPNet to all USP
locations. Access to video conferencing will save time and travel in many cases.
            ****************************************
                         ATTACHMENT III
 
From: VAA_R@usp.ac.fj
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 15:39:06 +1200
Subject: USPNet Action Plan from Roundtable meeting 29/11-1/12/99
To: chandra_r@usp.ac.fj, manoa_p@usp.ac.fj, hughes_r@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj,
        jowitt_a@vanuatu.usp.ac.fj, ajuyah_a@samoa.net, bartley_r@usp.ac.fj,
        muralidhar_s@usp.ac.fj, muralidhar_k@usp.ac.fj, williams_e@usp.ac.fj,
        heads_w@usp.ac.fj, thaman_k@usp.ac.fj, naidu_v@usp.ac.fj, pr@usp.ac.fj
Cc: kirkwood@usq.edu.au, s.naidu@meu.unimelb.edu.au, j.dekkers@cqu.edu.au,
        utsumi@columbia.edu, wragg_n@usp.ac.fj, sharma_d@usp.ac.fj,
        adams_a@usp.ac.fj, savu_a@usp.ac.fj, karan_m@usp.ac.fj,
        tabualevu_m@usp.ac.fj, harm_p@usp.ac.fj, lesuma_a@usp.ac.fj,
        fa_s@usp.ac.fj, vaa_@usp.ac.fj

Colleagues,
Herewith is the USPNet Action Plan (Word attachment) that was
adopted during the final session of the roundtable meeting on
Wednesday, 1st December. Many thanks for putting up with the
fast pace of the meeting and to those who attended, thanks for
making time. For those who could not attend all sessions, I'm sorry
about the short notice. By copy of this I am informing others who
were unable to attend the working sessions. Please let me know if
you wish to have the hardcopy and I'll send it along.

This is also being copied to Janette, Som, John, and Tak with
special thanks for responding so well to our request for assistance.

And, a copy is also going to Aileen Savu for her information and
records and any further action as deemed necessary.

I should like to extend thanks to the Media Projection unit for their
very good work and support during the sessions and the UE staff
(Marica, Padric and Ala) for the great work on producing notes of
each session immediately after. Indeed, Marica completed the final
changes and passed me the Action Plan yesterday so that I am
now able to circulate to the working group before the weekend.
Special thanks also to Selai for her excellent support, organisation
and attention to all the things that made the meeting run so smoothly.

Finally, I have not circulated to "all-staff" as I thought the Chair of
the USPNet Education Group might prefer to do that.

warm wishes for Christmas,

Ruby
            ****************************************
                      List of Distribution
 
Dr Howard N. Van Trease
Director
USP Extension
The University of the South Pacific
PO Box 1168
Suva, Fiji
Tel  (679) 313900 (Office)
     (679) 300724 (Home)
Fax  (679) 300482
email: vantrease_h@usp.ac.fj

Richard Wah
Head of Distance Education
University of the South Pacific (USP)
Laucala Campus
Suva, Fiji
tel/fax:(679) 300482
wah_r@usp.ac.fj
www.usp.ac.fj

Wayne Heads
Project Manager
USPNet Upgrade
The University of the South Pacific
Laucala Campus
Suva, Fiji
Tel: (679) 212004
Fax: (679) 314827
E-mail : wayne.heads@usp.ac.fj

Ruby Vaa
Organiser, USPNet Roundtable meeting
University of the South Pacific (USP)
Laucala Campus
Suva, Fiji
vaa_r@usp.ac.fj
www.usp.ac.fj

Linda Austin, M.S.J.
Media Specialist
University of South Pacific
679-212-129
austin_l@usp.ac.fj

Mrs Selai Fa
University Extension
University of the South Pacific
Suva
Fiji
Ph: (679)212352
Fax: (679)300482
fa_s@usp.ac.fj

Asifo 0. Ajuyah, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Animal Sciences
School of Agriculture
The Uiversity of The South Pacific
USP Alafua Campus
Private Mail Bag
Apia, Samoa
Phone: (685) 21-671
Fax: (685) 22-933
ajuyah_a@samoa.net

Jannette Kirkwood
DipT(DDIAE), GDipReading(BCAE), BEdSt(Qld), MEdSt(SA)
Head, Unit Team Services
Distance Education Centre
The University of Southern Queensland
Toowoomba Queensland 4350
Australia
Telephone: +617 4631 2578
Facsimile: +617 4631 2868
Email: kirkwood@usq.edu.au

Professor John Dekkers
MSc (UNSW), PhD (ANU)
Professor of Open & Flexible Learning Systems
Central Queensland University
Rockhampton Qld 4702 Australia
Tel 07 4930 6403
Fax 07 4930 6740
j.dekkers@cqu.edu.au

Som Naidu
Associate Professor
Multimedia Education Unit
The University of Melbourne
Parkville Victoria 3052
Australia
Tel: +61 3 9344 7575
Fax: +61 3 9344 4341
s.naidu@meu.unimelb.edu.au
http://www.meu.unimelb.edu.au

Kimberly K. Obbink
Director
Burns Telecommunications Center
128 EPS Building,
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717-3860
USA
Tel: +1-406-994 6550
Fax: +1-406-994 7856
kobbink@montana.edu
http://btc.montana.edu

Steve McCarty
Professor
Kagawa Junior College
President, World Association for Online Education (WAOE)
3717-33 Nii
Kokubunji, Kagawa 769-0101
JAPAN
+81-877-49-8041 (office, direct line)
Fax: +81-877-49-5252
steve@kagawa-jc.ac.jp
mccarty@pop06.odn.ne.jp -- his wife's.
http://www.waoe.org -- for WAOE
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/WAOE-founding.html
English language home page and online publications page:
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/ -- for Japanese language home page
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/jpublist.html -- for online publications
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/presence.html
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/epublist.html
(an Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library 4-star site)
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/asia-pacific/projects-ej.html
("Fundamental Projects of Dr. Takeshi Utsumi")
http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/asia-pacific/index.html
(Global University System Asia-Pacific Framework)

**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA                  *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education  *
* Founder of CAADE                                                   *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education)      *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of     *
*   Global University System (GUS)                                   *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A.               *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu;  Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676             *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/                                   *
**********************************************************************

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