Photos of MA Seminars Using Access Grid

Photographs of a joint Hull-UEA MA Seminar using Access Grid.  The image immediately below is a composite 'landscape' view of a seminar from Hull.  Access Grid allows any number of sites to participate.  For the MA seminars between Hull and UEA, to conventional U-shaped tables were used, meeting each other through the AG video wall.

Another view of the same seminar from Hull.  On the left we see a further part of the projection space devoted to displaying the document under discussion in the seminar.  The document is made accessible via the programme's own Virtual Research Environment (Sakai).  The use of VNC (Virtual Network Computing) means that both participating sites can control this screen and move through it, display documents as required.

A close up of the Access Grid projection area, shows that high image quality makes for immediate and effective communication between the two sites.

Large, clear projection, responsive images and close audio-visual sync means that AG communication is very natural.  Here we see the effectiveness of communication between the two sites.

Below, Howell Lloyd poses a question to Mark Knights.  Collaborative teaching means that students have access to a wider range of academic expertise.

An early seminar from the programme's pilot in 2005-6: in this view from UEA, the Hull participants are using Personal Access Grid Nodes (PIGs).  PIGs may be used from most PCs or laptops.  Although they perform significantly better with high bandwidth network connection, they offer the potential of more flexible, distance participation in research and teaching seminars.  The large image on the right is the VNC screen for the shared document under discussion: in this case, Sir Robert Filmer's Patriarcha.