<<September 19, 2000>>
Archived distributions can be retrieved
by clicking on the top lines of our home page at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/>.
Antonio De Lisio <adelisio@LatinMail.com>
Dr. Marco Antonio R. Dias <mardias@club-internet.fr>
Dr. Pablo Pulido <pablopulido1@compuserve.com>
Dear Mr. De Lisio:
==================
(1) Many thanks for your msg (ATTACHMENT I).
I am very happy to know your strong interest to have videoconferencing
and telemedicine demonstrations during your workshop on November
26
(Sunday), 2000, in Caracas, Venezuela -- as we did during
our workshop
in Manaus, Amazon, Brazil last May 31st.
(2) First of all, I would like to confirm your availability
of travel funds
for me and technical experts for each of the videoconferencing
and
telemedicine demos, and if possible one or two more.
Those costs for our Manaus workshop last May/June
were paid by our
colleagues there.
If I may say, it would also be very desirable if
I can visit you
for a day to check the details of technicalities before
the event,
as I did for our Tampere and Manaus events.
Pls visit "Summary of Reference Web Sites"
in the home page
of our web at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/>.
a. Tampere Event:
Then click Tampere conference, and then Roger
Boston's web
site, and then August 9 in left column, and then
click
Telemedicine1 and Telemedicine2 on the top of right
column
to view our Telemedicine demo during our Tampere
event.
b. Manaus Event:
Also, click <http://www.teched.org/hist/yr00/brazil/>
in the
Summary of Reference Web Sites" to view some
photos of our
Manaus event.
(3) Secondly, the necessary telecom costs needs to be covered by your side
-- which may be a couple of thousands dollars at the most.
(4) For the videoconferencing, we would prefer to have broadband
Internet,
higher than 128 Kbps, preferably more than a half meg or
1.5 Mbps.
During our Manaus workshop, we were fortunate to
have 1.5 Mbps
Internet trunk line connection from AMAZONSAT TV to
Embratel --
though the final line to our laptop was trickled down
to 70 Kbps --
yet, we could have very clear audio and video via
Internet to
connect with Houston, New York and London -- this is
because
AMAZONSAT TV station is also a major Internet Service
Provider
(ISP) in Manaus.
When we tried to do a similar videoconferencing between
a hotel
and Montana State University with a 56 Kbps dial-up
modem, it
simply did not work -- since the line trickled down
to only 2 Kbps
so that even chatting could not be performed. The line
was
connected to a commercial ISP in Manaus.
Incidentally, during the ICDE conference in
1990, I
conducted satellite videoconferencing from New
Jersey to
Hilton Hotel in Caracas which was broadcasted many
locations
in the US and Latin American and the Caribbean
-- see
ATTACHMENT II which is an excerpt of my book draft.
Although this approach gave a TV quality video,
it would be
very expensive nowadays compared with the Internet
approach.
(5) For the telemedicine demo, we need ISDN at 384 Kbps with
a PictureTel
(or Polycom) unit.
Our Manaus colleague received an educational discount
for our
telemedicine demo which was conducted in AMAZONSAT TV
station.
Since this station did not have ISDN line to EMBRATEL,
their
microwave mobil van was used to connect with EMBRATEL.
Our technician struggled 16 hours for 3 days to solve
difficulties
to let the Polycom videoconferencing unit to work.
He finally
found that the EMBRATEL's educational discount was to
provide the
poorest quality analog telephone lines -- so the connection
often
dropped out. When this was corrected with the highest
quality
lines -- just a half hour before our session started
-- everything
went all right.
(6) If you wish to have those demonstrations to be viewed/participated
by
three parties, say, in Caracas, Brazil and the US, we need
a video
bridge which port/each line would cost approximately $65/hour/line.
During the ICDE conference in Sao Paulo last month,
they did
videoconferencing with a PictureTel via 128 Kbps ISDN
line with
Peru, Argentina and Paris -- albeit point-to-point connection.
It
often dropped out as indicating a poor quality of analog
telephone
network even in Sao Paulo.
If we can locate a bridge in the US, we may be able
to work it
out, i.e., each of the participating location to connect
with the
bridge so that others can be viewed each other.
(7) By a copy of this msg to Pablo Pulido, I am introducing you to him.
He is the Executive Director of the PanAmerican Federation
of
Associations of Medical Schools (a consortium of 384 universities
in
Latin America). He is a former Minister of Health of Venezuela,
and one
of his friends in Caracas is a former Minister of Transportation
and
Communications of Venezuelan government.
While he visited me in New York last spring, he indicated
his
willingness to have workshop with videoconferencing and telemedicine
demonstrations in conjunction with your UNAMAZ mtg. He has
not informed
me his confirmation yet.
Pls discuss with him if your effort can be combined with his.
If Pablo agrees to have the telemed demo, pls ask
Pablo to contact
following person to provide his technician -- with your
travel
fund;
Professor Rashid Bashshur, Ph.D.
President-elect of the American Telemedicine Association
Editor-in-Chief of the Telemedicine Journal
Director of Telemedicine
Professor of Health management & Policy
The University of Michigan Health System
Am Arbor
Michigan 48109-2029
USA
734-763-0555
Tel: +1 734 647 3089
Fax: +1 734 936 9406
bashshur@umich.edu
Pablo met Rashid during a conference at the WHO in
Geneva last
January when I was there, too.
(8) If you and Pablo want to do the telemedicine with echocardiogram,
you
need to find the machine (preferably Agilent Technology's
SONOS 5500)
which can be hooked with the PictureTel so that the image
can be
disseminated to other sites for joint diagnosis.
If you cannot find it, you may ask following person
to loan the
unit as he did to our Manaus demo;
Marcos Costa
Presidente
Agilent Technologies Brasil Ltda.
Alameda Araguaia, 1142 - 2 Andar
06455-000 - Barueri - SP - Brasil
+55-11-7297-3690
Fax: +55-11-7297-3793
marcos_costa@agilent.com
His assistant is;
Mariangela Paris
+55-11-7297-3512
Mariangela_Paris@agilent.com
(9) Pls try to reply me about the money matters first ASAP
so that I will
try to find out others, e.g., availability of technical experts
and
video bridge, etc., etc.
Time is very short -- I wish you had asked me much earlier
-- but I will
try with my best if this event can be done or not -- in addition
to my
busy travel schedules in October and November.
Best, Tak
****************************************
ATTACHMENT I
To: utsumi@columbia.edu
From: Antonio De Lisio <adelisio@LatinMail.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 11:06:59 -0400
Subject: Unamaz Seminar
Dear Dr. Takeshi Utsumi,
On behalf of Unamaz Venezuela, I would like to manifest our
interest for the
brainstorming realization of the Glosas work group in Caracas,
during the
Unamaz meeting. At this time I am evaluating the possibilities
that the
Central University of Venezuela (UCV) has to fullfil both the
local,
telecommunication infrastructure requirements which has been formulated
by you
in the Glosas core and I got from Marco Antonio Dヂs through Luis
Arag｢n,
which is the General Executive Secretary of the Unamaz. At first
term it s
important to know that the UCV ﾟ the place of the Unamaz Seminar-
has an
especially conditioned room for 80 people to the teleconference.
The matter to
consider would be specifically related to the requirements for
the tele-medicine session.
I take advantage of this opportunity to suggest to you that the
teleconference
could be carried out with public character for all participants
to this
Seminar. Thinking on the possibilitiy not only to connect the
centers in the
north-south direction but the possibility to promote the south-south
links.
For example, to the teleconference, in addition to the bilateral
connection
UCV among other U.S. universities or research centers that you
determine, we
might think on a Venezuela ﾟ The U.S. ﾟ Brazil triangle. You already
know the
good possibilities that Manaos offers for the teleconference.
If you agree the
proposal, I have the possibility to include your public teleconference
in the
Unamaz general program seminar scheduled on November 26th from
2: 30 to 4:00
p.m.
Thanks for your attention and waiting for your answer.
Best regards
Antonio De Lisio
Executive secretary of the Unamaz-Venezuela
_________________________________________________________
http://www.latinmail.com. Gratuito, latino y en espaﾟol.
****************************************
ATTACHMENT II
1.5 GLH in November, 1990
In order to support the efforts of Latin American distance
educators, GLOSAS/USA organized a demonstration of large scale
interactive satellite videoconference with the use of various
inexpensive global telecommunication media to show the
possibilities of global education. This was at the occasion of
the
XVth World Conference of the International Council of Distance
Education (ICDE) in November, 1990, in Caracas, Venezuela, with
participation of 1,300 persons from more than 80 countries. Our
videoconferencing center was at William Paterson College in New
Jersey.
In this particular GLH, emphasis was placed on the use of various
inexpensive telecommunication media, particularly packet-radio
and -satellite, to show the possibilities of global education.
The
GLH was a panel discussion on "Tools, Methodologies, and
Principles for Global Education in the 21st Century" with
worldwide prominent scholars. The event reached as far as the
East Coasts of North and South America, west to Japan, north to
Fairbanks, Alaska, and south to Caracas, Venezuela. More than
20
schools were interlinked for an interactive question-and-answer
session.
The slow-scan TV (SSTV) videoconferencing could effectively
send images of panelists and their gathering rooms. Since most
of participating locations, particularly in overseas countries,
did
not have satellite uplinking facility, SSTV was the most
convenient and inexpensive unit, and only means to broadcast
their images to others.
One of significant events during this GLH was the presentation
of
packet-radio and -satellite technology by Professor Gerald
Knezek of the University of North Texas. This enabled inexpensive
telecommunication for educational exchange at remote areas
without use of wired telephone networks or where the networks
were poor quality, such as in Latin American countries. With
packet delivery protocols, 40 channels could be programmed into
a transponder where only one channel exited. The major advantage
was that "time-sharing" the same frequency by several
people (up
to about 7) would reduce the cost of using the frequency with
an
inexpensive transceiver at about $2,500 for each -- possibly on
the order of five or ten times less expensive than commercial
communications systems in place.
Professor Knezek demonstrated a file transfer from Western
Samoa to EIES via NASA's ATS-3 satellite free of charge. The
message said that a cyclone had interrupted most public
utilities, including running water and telephone services. The
PEACESAT ATS-3 ground station, running on a portable generator
for a few hours per day, was one of the few channels of
communication to the outside world. Packet-radio allowed the
memo to be transferred to and captured in Texas, while the station
at that
site was unattended. This example illustrated the
potential usefulness of packet-radio for low-cost social and
disaster relief service communications, including slow-scan TV
image transmission. The system could be especially useful in
education for distributing assignments and meeting agendas,
submitting homework, and administrative activities such as
advising and enrolling students.
The other significant experience at this GLH was the clear
reception of satellite signal at Caracas gathering via a U.S.
domestic satellite, -- without going through INTELSAT satellite.
Albeit one-way, this would make it possible to send educational
courses from North America to some Latin American countries at
low cost, since the former costs about one half to one-third of
the latter.
Audio and slow-scan TV videoconferencing via ubiquitously
available POTS enabled us to have participants from remote area
where satellite signal could not reach. Their use combined with
the satellite was a feature of our GLH, having enabled us to reach
out to even "have-not" areas, i.e., not under the foot-print
of the
satellite. In a sense, our demonstration was to enable the
"disabled" (due to limitations in equipment) to participate.
We
needed to face these situations as challenges to maximize what
they get from what they have. The full-motion TV satellite
systems often seemed to try to indicate that they were the "only
way to go" for distance education and telecommunication.
Until
when prices dropped significantly, many people, especially those
overseas and in the most geographically isolated places, would
have to learn to appreciate, and make the best of, alternative
forms of various available telecommunication media.
This GLH demonstration indicated vividly the future of global
education. For example, a professor in Pensacola, Florida,
received our satellite signal at his home while he was feeding
his dog and cat. He could receive a lesson from a Japanese
professor. He could raise his question to the Japanese professor
via audio or computer conference immediately. For the same
token, a person in a remote site in Venezuela might have done
similarly with his packet-radio or -satellite transceiver. Global
education could be done transcending parochialism as well as
national boundaries.
After the Caracas conference, Utsumi successfully conducted
a
tutorial on the use of SprintMail -- a commercial e-mail service
-- for distance educators from various countries of the region
at
the Technical Workshop on Training of Distance Education
Trainers which was organized by Universidad Nacional Abierta
(UNA) and Regional Center for Higher Education in Latin America
and the Caribbean (CRESALC) of UNESCO.
The dramatic growth of distance education in Latin American
countries was in part a result of educational policies enacted
at
the national level, and in part an outcome of the execution of
the
Organization of American States (OAS)/PREDE Multinational
Project for the Development and Application of Distance
Educational Systems. The multinational and cooperative nature
of
this OAS project had another impact among the implementing
institutions: the development of an infrastructure and expertise
for cooperation, as attested by the creations of the Latin
American Cooperative Network for the Development of Distance
Education (REDLAED) in May of 1989 [6], and of the Latin
American and the Caribbean Electronic Distance Education
Consortium (CREAD) in the fall of 1993 under the auspices of the
Interamerican Organization of Higher Education (IOHE) in 1990
with funds provided from the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) [7] (Villarroel A., 1991).
GLOSAS joined efforts with REDLAED, CREAD, PREDE, CRESALC,
and many other colleagues in the region. As the result of Utsumi's
demonstration and tutorial, the decision was made as to declare
a priority interest in the development and participation in some
pilot experiences in the use of SprintMail telecommunications
network that would link, by means of electronic messaging
services, the group of key coordinators of REDLAED and CREAD
members as well as their technical advisers from Organization
of
American States (OAS) and UNESCO/Venezuela. GLOSAS/USA
supported their activities with the provision of SprintMail's
e-mail and fax services free of charge for the several years
which amounted almost $75,000/month usages in commercial
rates -- this was thanks to the generous offer of US SprintMail's
returning a favor to Utsumi's effort of helping their overseas
expansion, particularly to Japan, as mentioned above. Because
of
this efforts, GLOSAS/USA is founding members of REDLAED and CREAD.
****************************************
List of Distribution
Antonio De Lisio
Executive secretary of the Unamaz-Venezuela
Associaｷ o das Universidades da Amazﾏnia (UNAMAZ)
adelisio@LatinMail.com
Dr. Marco Antonio R. Dias
Vice President, Global University System
Consultant of United Nations University
Former Director, Division of Higher Education of UNESCO
36, Rue Ernest Renan
92.190 Meudon
FRANCE
Tel: +33-1-45 34 3509
+33-1-45-68-3009 (UNU office in Paris)
Fax: +33-1-45 34 3509
mardias@club-internet.fr
m.dias@unesco.org
Dr. Pablo Pulido
Executive Director
PanAmerican Federation of Associations of Medical Schools
Apartado de Correos 60411
Caracus 1060-A
VENEZUELA
+58-2-945-0857
Fax: +58-2-945-4275
pablopulido1@compuserve.com
or
Sede de la Direccion Ejecutiva
Caracas, VENEZUELA
Calle el Torreon, Quinta FEPAFEM
Urb. Sorocaima, La Trinidad
+58-2-93-0875 / 943-2840 / 93-0857
Fax: +58-2-943-285-40
73000.1447@compuserve.com
http://www.fepafem.org.vp
**********************************************************************
* 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/
*
**********************************************************************