(http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=139), aimed at 13-15 year-old students, with VCs on 9th Oct & 8th Nov 2007.

Participants will carry out simple experiments to help them understand the scientific and mathematical processes involved and what can be done to prevent disasters from occurring.

(http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=134), aimed at 14-16 year-old students, with VCs on 17th Oct & 23rd Nov 2007. In the first videoconference, we will consider images of nebulae, focusing on both their beauty and the science that they display. The follow-up project work will give schools an opportunity to explore the heavens from both a scientific and an artistic perspective.

(http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=137), aimed at 13-16 year-old students, with one VC on 6 Dec 2007. In this conference, post-graduate students at the University of Cambridge will defend the claim of a mathematician or physical scientist of their choice to have done most for us, and we will end the VC with a vote by participants.

http://motivate.maths.org/getinvolved/getinvolved.php, where you will find our online registration form and details of technical testing requirements.

The Top Ten Reasons Why Video Meetings Fail

And how to make yours succeed!

By Nina Parker

If your company has made an investment in a video conferencing solution, you may have heard the comment, "Don't worry we have plenty of bandwidth on our corporate IP network for a quality video experience." Many of you know from managing video conferencing that it takes more than bandwidth to have a reliable video experience - to run successful video meetings, companies need to control their conferencing environment. This includes managing everything from the room to the users, the end points, the network, and the video infrastructure.

To effectively maintain these components of your conferencing environment, your company must establish a video service. Whether you decide to build and run this service yourself, or outsource it to a managed conferencing service like IVCi's IntelliNet MCS®, the key to success is to manage, manage, manage! If you do not take this crucial step, you will not experience the video adoption rates that could lead to a substantial return on your technology investment.

The following are the top ten reasons why video meetings fail, and what you can do to ensure success instead.

10. The network is unstable.

Solution: Your video conferencing solution is only as reliable as the network. If it is your company's network, you must understand bandwidth utilization. Tune your network for video and monitor the status of your network to solve issues before they have the chance to impact your video meetings. If you do not have the resources to manage your network, consider outsourcing this task to a service provider.

9. The call is not launched on time.

Solution: You must install and utilize a tool that is programmed to automatically launch calls as scheduled. This way, the end user only has to show up on time and participate in the meeting.

8. The end points are not turned on!

Solution: This common reason for meeting failure can easily be prevented if the systems are remotely monitored with a software application that creates alerts if any system is turned off.

7. The users are not well-trained.

Solution: More training is the obvious answer, but what really works is limiting how much the user has to interact with the technology. A good video service removes the need for the user to interface with the technology to schedule meetings, launch calls, and solve problems. IVCi can take this one step further by involving our AV integration division, which will deploy easy to use control systems such as Crestron or AMX.

6. No technical support is available.

Solution: Technical assistance when needed is an absolute must-have. The old ten minute rule from college applies; if the class doesn't begin within ten minutes of the scheduled start time the participants will leave. A video service must have remote support capabilities so that problems can be quickly diagnosed and resolved.

5. The meeting requirements and room capabilities do not match up.

Solution: The user should know what is needed for meetings of all types - such as varying numbers of participants, whether content will be displayed, etc. Make room configurations and capabilities available to the end users, or create a concierge service to assist them in lining up the correct resources for the meeting requirements.

4. Basic rules of conduct are not followed by the users. (This could mean rustling of papers, cell phones ringing, and talking out of turn.)

Solution: Your employees may need to brush up on their video conferencing etiquette! Make sure users understand best practices so that distractions are minimized, as this will improve their overall conferencing experience.

3. You experience extended down time due to lack of a service contract.

Solution: It can take up to 21 days to have your system repaired and returned to you. Since this is an unacceptable amount of time, make sure you have a contract with a certified service provider.

2. One of the participants shows up in the wrong conference room and sees no video, then goes on to complain to everyone who will listen that your company's video conferencing system is always problematic.

Solution: Yes, from our experience this has happened many times. Besides making sure you have an automated way of inviting people to the meeting and informing them of the location as well as any changes to the location, you also need to manage perception within your enterprise. Video is new to most people and may be scary at first. Any negative publicity will push people back to their old habits of using the phone or traveling. Your service should minimize any problems and publicize the successes, especially during the initial adoption phase.

1. The user schedules the meeting, invites the guests, prepares the presentation and then fails to show up because he/she doesn't want to be seen on video!

Solution: You knew there would be one item that there is just no cure for - perhaps cosmetic surgery so they can be satisfied with their video persona? Unfortunately, this is not a standard offering of IVCi IntelliNet MCS!

This article was taken from: http://www.ivci.com/newsletter0607part2.html#continued1 It's not all relevant in our Kent schools environment but I thought was still relevant and interesting reading.