Joint Saxon Video Platform Online
Saxony's universities have started a joint video platform - Chemnitz University of Technology is going ahead
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The Saxon universities have started a common video platform - the "Videocampus Saxony." Photo: Alexander Konau/Mounting: Matthias Fejes
Lecture recordings, screenshares, video tutorials and many other audio-visual formats have become indispensable in the university environment, especially in light of the corona pandemic. Since 3 August, Videocampus Saxony (german page) has been available at Chemnitz University of Technology. This makes Chemnitz University of Technology the first university in Saxony to provide this service for digital teaching. The introduction of Videocampus Saxony at other Saxon universities will follow shortly. The service allows the public or internal provision of audio and video data, creation of playlists, adding subtitle files, commenting, rating and sharing.
Great interest in data protection compliant solution
"The interest in recordings of the lectures currently taking place via video conference has increased significantly," says Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Wolfram Hardt, Professorship of Computer Engineering and head of the University Computer Center, adding: "Above all, there is a great need for a copyright-compliant option for the provision of audio and video-based content at Saxon universities.”
Therefore, in 2015 the joint project Videocampus Saxony, funded by the then Saxon State Ministry of Science and Art (today: Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism), started. The aim was to create an inter-university platform through which audio and video content can be managed, offered and, if necessary, easily integrated elsewhere in a way that complies with data protection and copyright laws. From the very beginning, the University Computer Centre at Chemnitz University of Technology was also involved in many sub-projects in the implementation and coordination.
Following a broad-based feasibility study, a pilot platform for initial tests was made available by TU Dresden in 2018. Now the project is coming to a close.
Data protection compliant solution for teachers and students
Videocampus Saxony thus replaces the Magma system previously used for this purpose. "Many teachers used Magma very intensively and versatilely to convey their teaching content. However, the service has reached its limits, both technically and functionally," reports Yvonne Seidel, an employee of the University Computer Centre at Chemnitz University of Technology. Due to the high demand in the summer semester, the capacities of this service, which had already been discontinued, had to be temporarily increased. All the more reason for all those involved from the Faculty of Computer Science, the University Computer Centre and the e-learning working group to be pleased that Videocampus Saxony at Chemnitz University of Technology is now being launched to support digital teaching and learning. This means that the time until the winter semester can be used to provide learning content and expand the digital teaching programs.
Further information can be obtained from the e-learning team at Chemnitz University of Technology via e-mail: e-learning@tu-chemnitz.de.
To the platform: https://videocampus.sachsen.de
(Author: Matthias Fejes / Translation: Chelsea Burris)
Matthias Fejes
06.08.2020
