TIF DI4 Grant Report
HorizonLive

HorizonLive was purchased at a cost of $25,000 for a perpetual 25-seat concurrent-user license, with additional upgrade maintenance costing $4000/year. This product is promoted as a turnkey solution to providing a synchronous Web-based learning environment that approximates a classroom experience. The system features hardware (streaming server) and software that automates production in an integrated browser-based interface. It allows presenters to broadcast streaming video/audio, slides, and chat, using additional interactive features such as e-board, quizzing and polling. This system is intended to alleviate the need for extensive technical training and server administration. Additional system requirements that were not included are presentation/teaching platforms (PCs) with encoding software.

The CIT conducted a series of tests on this product, using it to develop audio-enhanced PowerPoint presentations, broadcast lecture presentations and events, hold online office hours, and conduct communications research. The CIT also developed production and workflow protocols for using this product, tested it with various presenter/client machines, trained instructors, and communicated extensively with the vendor's customer support team.

We conclude that this product is not reliable for use in UT Austin's multi-platform environment.

HorizonLive v2.5 cannot deliver all of its features - synchronous video, audio, slide, and chat capabilities - to a cross platform audience. Its video delivery capability is extremely limited and unreliable, thus invalidating any benefits of integrating streaming video in a presentation. HorizonLive does perform well in a PC-only environment as long as video is not used, and would be useful for live audio and slide presentations, and for teaching situations in which instructors wish to engage students in chat and respond aurally to text inquiries. System administration is tedious because the administrator must create "courses" (presentations), usernames and passwords, as well as upload the PowerPoint slides for each presentation created. Technical support from the vendor was disappointing. The vendor failed to acknowledge numerous bugs, made promises and assurances but never solved problems that were repeatedly reported.

If HorizonLive is to be deployed widely at UT, its limitations would have to be fully understood. Deployment would require a full-time system administrator and an additional FTE to provide training and user support. In addition, many more licenses would have to be purchased to accommodate more than 25 simultaneous users.

Recommended uses under certain conditions (using PCs only):

HorizonLive is ideal for live presentations featuring audio, slides, chat, polling, and quizzing in a PC-only environment, in which user machines are standardized and meet viewing requirements. Students can benefit from engaging in the interactive activities enabled by this medium. Instructors who are conducting lectures, office hours, and tutorials are able to aurally respond to student questions and comments in real time and measure student understanding through polling and quizzing. The presentations can be archived for later viewing.

Specific limitations:

• HorizonLive has many known problems in the Macintosh environment which will prevent a full deployment of the tool, including a Java bug which occasionally results in not recognizing the keyboard mapping from a Mac.
• HorizonLive will not function properly or deliver any content when the audience or presenter's computer is running Mac OS X.
• Slides are not viewable under Mac OS 9.
• HorizonLive cannot reliably deliver content when the presenter launches Application Sharing.
• HorizonLive cannot reliably deliver content when the audience is operating windows XP without Sun Microsystems' Virtual Java Machine (not available in HorizonLive Wizard).
• The Macintosh audience cannot chat without loading the current MRJ plug-in (not available in HorizonLive Wizard).
• In order to present video, the presenter must broadcast from one computer and teach from another. Both must be PCs running Windows.
• Video presentation window size is very small, and is limited to the lowest quality for low bandwidth.
• There is a 45-second delay in broadcasting video using Real format, while delay is around 2 seconds when using QuickTime.
• Streaming video often lagged behind the audio, making the timing of slides very difficult to synchronize.
• The "Live App" tool causes the users' browser window to crash or stall for up to 15 seconds.
• Video archiving is not functional under QuickTime format.
• Other interactive features such as e-board and file sharing do not work reliably.
• The user interface cannot be customized.
• The chat window is very small; only a few lines are visible without scrolling.

Production protocols and workflow developed:

1. System administrator creates the course and chooses the delivery method for the class, selecting either audio or video.
2. If video is chosen, a format must be selected, Real or QuickTime.
3. System administrator creates username and password for instructor (presenter).
4. Instructor (presenter) submits PowerPoint slides to system administrator.
5. System administrator saves PowerPoint slides as jpegs.
6. System administrator compresses files and uploads them into HorizonLive.
7. For audio course:
   • Presenter downloads and installs HorizonLive Presenter's Tool
8. For video Course:
• Presenter launches Sorenson Broadcaster or Real Producer.
• Presenter must enter HorizonLive URL, password, audio and video ports, compression rate, audio source, video source, and frame size.
9. Presenter must inform students of link to URL for presentation, usernames, passwords, and instruct them to launch the HorizonLive Wizard before the class begins.
10. Presenter enters class, and begins session.
11. Presenter must choose whether to archive the session (archiving not recommended when using QuickTime)
12. Presenter ends session.
13. System administrator installs the archive of the course into the Lobby area so that students can view archive of session.

Training protocol: Estimated at two hours per faculty member for first session

1. The faculty member receives a 15- minute overview of the tool, including viewing samples of sessions and a realistic expectation of the tool's capabilities.
2. The student view is demonstrated to the faculty member.
3. The instructor view is demonstrated: e-board, quickslides, chat, polling, filesharing, quick launch, and the drawing tools.
4. The faculty member learns how to launch a stream, start an archive, and end a session.

Personnel time spent for all phases of production during initial product testing period:

Configuring server: 8 hours
System administration: 160 hours
Training sessions: 25 hours
Developing training sessions: 4 hours
Server upgrades and debugging: 40 hours
Developing work-arounds for the tool: 40 hours
TOTAL = 277 hours

Faculty training example: PowerPoint Training

6 sessions: 6 hours
Training the instructor: 3 hours
Preparing user laptops: 3 hours
Creating course (presentation), uploading slides: 1 hour
Uploading archives: 1 hour
Analyzing interactions: 6 hours
TOTAL = 25 hours

Auxiliary equipment needed/used:

PC desktop delivery:

2 Dell Dimension XPS B933: one for broadcast, one for presenting
Consumer grade USB Intel PC webcam
Consumer grade microphone: Labtec AM-252
Headphones
Sorenson Broadcaster or Real Producer

Auditorium delivery (live lecture broadcast):

2 Dell Latitude C810: one for broadcast, one for presenting
DV Camera plugged into USB webcam
Wireless microphone: Audio-Technica ATW-T601B connected to PC Microphone jack via "mini stereo" adapter
Sorenson Broadcaster or Real Producer

List of events/examples captured and produced:

All will soon be available at http://datactr3.cc.utexas.edu
Designing PowerPoint Presentations
IITAP Awards
ESI Lecture Series
STC office hours

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