HSOP Makes History with Live Streaming Video CE
hile many folks in America were claiming their much earned day of rest, the Harrison School of Pharmacy was busy making history on Sunday, Nov. 7th. It all began when
Pharmacy's CE Program sud-denly had a problem, and like a knight on a white horse our ever innovative Pharmacy IT group recognized that a new technology called Streaming Video might be the answer. To explain, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) recently ruled that Continuing Education (CE) participants could no longer use videos as credit for live CE programs. At about the same time, the University IT group (AU OIT) installed a RealNetworks® streaming server. They have already started "streaming" graduation services on the internet. Of course, many details had to be worked out before Pharmacy's Continuing Education could realize the benefit of this technology; HSOP had to purchase the proper equipment and then it had to be tested. In fact, Barry McConatha, IT Master Specialist, and Don Davino, IT Specialist III, spent a couple of months working toward making this event happen, and the past couple of weeks testing the system to root out potential problems.
As it turned out, CE's premiere event came off with only minor glitches. A message board was set up primarily for questions to the presenters but was only used for a couple of technical questions. McConatha fielded about 15 telephone calls dealing with technical issues. He reported that all calls were resolved save one resulting from lack of pre-testing. There were 8 sites around Alabama including Auburn, Birmingham, Brewton, Fayette, Monroeville, Muscle Shoals, Sylacauga, Tuscaloosa, and Fairhope. Individuals from Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, and Massachusetts also logged in, bringing participants to a grand total of 100. Auburn, the originating host site, operated from the Walker Building and had 20 participants.
Ms. Ann Janer, Director of Continuing Education, called the event the Health Care Webcast. Two presenters offered participants 4 hours of credit for live CE. Dr. C. Michael Reike, Pharm.D. and Associate Professor, presented "Antibiotic Hypersensitivity and Cross-reactivity" and Dr. Kimberly Braxton Lloyd, Pharm.D., Associate Professor and Director of the Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Center (AUPCC), discussed "Developing a Program for Community-based Care of the Patient with Osteoporosis."
If you're wondering about the logistics, here's how it worked. Don Davino manned a video camera and a computer which was loaded with the proper hardware (an Osprey® video capture card) and software (RealProducer®Plus). Two pictures occupied his computer screen: an incoming and outgoing image. Barry McConatha sat nearby with a laptop computer that was set up to receive exactly what the recipients received (a live audio/video feed of the presenters and a separate window of the PowerPoint slides); he was checking for problems and could see who was logged in. The whole process was managed through OpenWebCT, the service available to parties off-campus. Thus, everyone without a university ID was able to log in. However, Individuals and the various sites had to pre-register. Nothing else was needed to participate except a computer equipped with Internet Explorer, RealPlayer® and high speed internet access. A special "thank you" to AU OIT personnel Cathy Ramey, IT Manager/Application Support, for setting up 50 accounts for this event which was facilitated by Janet Sugg, IT Master Specialist/Application Support and the folks at Instructional Media Group (IMG).
There was lots of good feedback on this futuristic CE program. The most often heard remark from participants was appreciation at being able to log in from home. One couple said this was just perfect as they have a large family (all young children) and they were able to both attend and still keep an eye on their children. No one missed the travel time. When a thing turns out so well, it's fun making history!
In need of live CE credits: Be sure to check http://www.pharmacy.auburn.edu/pge/pge.htm for future Health Care Webcast events.
APPEAL FROM Dir. of CE: Ms Janer is seeking alums who might be willing to "host" a web cast at their site. The tech requirements are 1) computer with keyboard, 2) high speed internet access, 3) RealPlayer, and 4) a recent browser - Internet Explorer 6 or better. Persons who host a web cast get their CE for free and the site will be reimbursed for any light refreshments for which a receipt or invoice is submitted. Also reimbursed is return postage for the State Board sign-in sheets, course evaluations, etc. Host sites will be responsible for handling on-site registrants. HSOP will take care of all pre-registration. If you wish to host an event, please contact Ann Janer at janeral@auburn.edu.