AFS' Cast Metals Institute and Wescast Industries usher in new era of videoconferencing courses in January. (Industry News).The Cast Metals Institute (CMI CMI - Cable Microcell Integrator CMI - California Managed Imaging CMI - California Modified Imports (drag racing group, Sacramento) CMI - Call Me Ishmael CMI - Call Modification Indicators CMI - Can Manufacturers Institute CMI - Cannot Make It CMI - Capital Markets Integration (economics) CMI - Career Management Institute CMI - Career Masters Institute CMI - Caribbean Meteorological Institute CMI - Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (religious order)) made history in January as it teamed up with Wescast Industries, Brantford Brantford, city (1991 pop. 81,997), S Ont., Canada, on the Grand River. It is a leading manufacturing city, noted particularly for its large farm implement factories. The city was named for the Mohawk chieftain Joseph Brant, who led the Six Nations of the Iroquois to the region after the American Revolution and who is buried in the old Mohawk Church near the city. The Mohawk Institute, a Native American residential school, is nearby., Ontario, Canada, to present the Institute's first videoconferencing ISDN - The Traditional Transport Video frames are typically delivered in CIF format (352 x 288 resolution) over digital lines from 128 Kbps to 784 Kbps. ISDN has been the traditional transport for digital videoconferencing because it provides dedicated channels from end to end and allows bandwidth to be dynamically allocated in multiples of 64 Kbps. course. The "Gating & Riser Design-- Ductile Iron" course was broadcast from CMI's facilities to a group of engineers and patternmakers assembled in Brantford for four 3-hr sessions over a two-wk period. CMI's videoconferencing equipment utilizes four ISDN telephone lines and allows as many as three sites to be connected at one time. The system is fully interactive, allowing participants at both ends to see, talk, and ask and respond to each other's questions and comments. Computer displays, video players, slide projectors, document cameras and other audiovisual equipment can all be integrated into the videoconferencing course curriculum. According to Ian Kay, CMI vice president education, videoconferencing offers numerous advantages over the traditional classroom instruction that CMI has offered for 40-plus years. Videoconferencing's benefits include elimination or reduction in travel costs, reduced time away from the job and the ability to spread instruction over a broader time--a point Kay believes benefits the overall learning process. He expects videoconferencing to become the method of choice for a majority of future courses. Roy Schultz, Wescast's corporate technical trainer who worked with CMI in developing the course, was excited about the opportunity to use this new technology. Wescast regularly employs videoconferencing to communicate among its North American and European facilities. Kay said that videoconferencing is very flexible--connections are made at the speed of a telephone call, so changes in schedules can be met more easily than when an instructor is on-site. Schultz said Wescast course participants were positive about the experience and showed the required understanding and application back on the job. "This technology and type of delivery fits very well with Wescast's overall learning strategy," he said. CMI plans more widespread utilization of its videoconferencing system. While in-plant courses were chosen for the first classes offered, CMI is ready to expand videoconferencing to AFS Chapter Courses and other programs as well. In fact, a joint meeting of the AFS Plains States, Mo-Kan and Tri-State Chapters is planned this month at Pittsburg State Univ. (PSU PSU - Pacific States University (Los Angeles, California) PSU - Packet Switching Unit PSU - Pangasinan State University (Philippines) PSU - Parti Socialiste Unifié (France) PSU - Passenger Service Unit PSU - Pembroke State University (Lumberton, NC) PSU - Pennsylvania State University PSU - Performance Share Units PSU - Phantasy Star Universe (video game) PSU - Philippine Science University PSU - Photo-Synthetic Unit), Pittsburg, Kansas. In this event, program speakers Gene Muratore, Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, and Tim McMillin, Magma Foundry Technologies, will make videoconference presentations to the group from AFS Headquarters. In June, attendees gathering at PSU will have the opportunity to "dial in" to an investment casting gating course conducted at AFS. |
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