Suggested Preparations for Remote Sites BEFORE the Conference

1. Confirm that your computer has RealOne Player or a comparable program capable of playing the following a videostreamed webcast. To check whether your computer has RealOne Player or a compatible program, click on the following link. http://video.indiana.edu:8080/ramgen/vic/soe_webcast_20020919.smil
If you are on a 56K modem the download will take a substantial amount of time.

2. If your computer does not have the RealOne Player already installed, the software is available free (http://www.real.com/).The use of RealOne Player avoids the need for a special distance education room. Any classroom with a computer, Internet connection and large monitor or video projector will suffice. The video quality with RealOne Player is below what you would see via videoconferencing/Polycom, but is acceptable, especially if you have a fast connection.

3. You can get a full screen image, medium size window, or small window by adjusting the settings of the RealOne Player. There is a setting on the RealOne Player that allows improved performance based when the setting is matched to the speed of your network connection. Thus the image you see may be improved substantially by "tuning" the RealOne Player to make sure it is optimized. I suggest working with your technical people to get the settings optimized. If you are still having trouble, contact the ETS service desk at 812 856.8400. By attaching a portable video projector to your computer, you will able to show the live video in a regular classroom.

4. Download each speaker's PowerPoint presentation. The presentations are available in the Schedule. By saving the presenters' slide shows you will be able to see a crisper image than what would be available using RealOne Player.

5. If you have two monitors available, show the live presentation using RealOne Player on one monitor. On the other monitor display the PowerPoint slide show that will be under your control.Thus you will be able to change the slides by clicking them forward or reverse.

6. If your have only one monitor, show the speaker via RealOne Player on one side of the screen and place the PowerPoint slide show on the other side of the screen. Again you will be able to control the forward and back movement of the slides while still seeing and hearing the presentation. This is something that you must experiment with before the actual presentations. Another option is to print a hard copy of the PowerPoint slide shows in advance. Having a hard copy of the PowerPoint slide show would mean that you would only need one monitor.

7. Print out copies of the Resources and have them available during the conference. In Indianapolis we are printing out two (2) copies of each of the items listed in the Resources section of the Futures website. This way each group of 8-10 participants will have the material available during the discussions. We are also encouraging participants to bring articles or materials to the conference that they believe will be useful in planning strategies for the profession of school psychology to address the most pressing needs of children, schools and families.

8. The ability to access professional literature and web resources will be useful during the small group sessions. Access to PsycARTICLES, ERIC, or other databases with full text search engines will likely save time.

9. Review the material in the E-Forum. Explore topics and practice posting a message in the "Test" Forum.