VBrick Systems Provides New Dimension for Edina Public Schools' Communications and Educational Capabilities.

WALLINGFORD, Conn. -- VBrick Systems, Inc. (www.VBrick.com), an industry leader in affordable video over IP network solutions, today announced that the Edina Public School District (Edina) in suburban Minneapolis has selected VBrick for robust digital video capabilities that add a new classroom dynamic while also simplifying district-wide administration and training.

Edina is deploying VBrick digital video capabilities for student on-demand educational programming and faculty/staff training. Edina Public Schools will also use VBrick to stream live events to the classroom, distribute programming that students and teachers develop (such as morning announcements), and stream cable television to the classroom. The foundation of Edina's digital video capabilities is VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System, a turnkey platform to record, distribute, and manage DVD-quality content.

Edina's innovative digital video capabilities reflect technology's central role in its educational and operational initiatives. Specifically, Edina's District Technology Plan outlines key strategies and goals for incorporating technology into all student educational activities.

"We remain committed to embracing technologies that prepare our children to succeed by promoting learning, enhancing communication, and inspiring creativity," said Dr. Michael Burke, director of District Media and Technology Services, Edina Public School District. "Digital video capabilities from VBrick coupled with our extensive technology resources support teachers' best practices by providing engaging content for all subjects and at all grade levels. Our technology provides additional tools to support varied learning styles and to enhance student achievement."

Creating A Dynamic Digital Video Foundation

Edina upgraded its network backbone to converge all communications - voice, data, and video - onto a single IP network. An integrated communications network eliminates burdensome administrative requirements to manage both IP and coax cable networks. Importantly, Edina's IP convergence strategy addressed the district's requirements to provide teachers with digital video multimedia capabilities.

Centralized and simplified administration is paramount as the district serves a growing student population and continues to introduce new classroom technologies. Edina District Media and Technology Services supports diverse IT requirements for the district's more than 7,500 students and nearly 1,140 teachers and support staff in nine schools.

Prior to selecting a digital video solution, Edina's 4,000-title VHS tape library was cumbersome for both administrators and teachers, requiring the district to devote significant resources for delivering, retrieving, and cataloging VHS tapes. The VHS tape system also limited teacher selection to videos on the media library shelves, which created scheduling challenges for teachers trying to incorporate relevant video into tightly-scheduled lesson plans.

To support its digital video initiatives, Edina worked closely with SKC Communication Products, Inc., a communication and conferencing solutions service provider. To update its multimedia capabilities, Edina selected EtherneTV based on cost, ease-of-use, flexibility, and reliability criteria. EtherneTV includes the EtherneTV-NXG Video on Demand server, the VBrick Portal Server, and VBrick MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 encoder appliances.

EtherneTV's intuitive, menu-driven interface enables teachers using networked PCs to search the district's digital video library by subject, grade level, and additional parameters - and access videos on their networked PCs immediately. The Edina classroom PCs are connected to ceiling-mounted LCD projectors, which display the digital video programming to students. VBrick's digital video capabilities enable multiple classrooms to view the same video segment concurrently, based on each title's licensing agreement.

"Any classroom technology must incorporate ease-of-use and reliability to ensure that teachers maximize the educational resources available," said Al Bliss, technology specialist, District Media and Technology Services, Edina Public School District. "VBrick combines straightforward point-and-click operations with the flexibility required to ensure that teachers and staff access the video content easily to complement existing lessons and enhance the learning environment."

Streamlining Staff, Administrative Training

EtherneTV on-demand capabilities are integral to training teachers and the district's media staff to use Edina's new ceiling-mounted projectors that are being installed in every new and renovated classroom. District Media and Technology Services created a training video that provides step-by-step visual instruction for projector use. EtherneTV enables the projector training video to include a link to a users' manual for individuals who also want written projector directions.

"The on-demand training videos for teachers and staff have saved countless hours of administrative time while maintaining our high level of service to district employees," said Bliss. "With VBrick, we fulfill federal OSHA training requirements while also providing a system to train staff seamlessly as we roll out IP phones and additional technologies to expand educational resources and district operations."

Delivering District-Wide Digital Video

"Edina continues to serve as an innovator in combining traditional classroom best practices with the skills that students must master in the increasingly technology-driven and global society," said Pat Cassella, senior director of marketing - education, VBrick Systems, Inc. "We look forward to working with Edina as it harnesses digital video to elevate classroom excellence and optimize district operations."

EtherneTV is being deployed in conjunction with new additions to the secondary school and renovations in all schools. Currently, EtherneTV capabilities are used in fourth and fifth grade classrooms at four elementary schools and two middle schools.

This spring, EtherneTV is enabling Edina to stream morning announcements and student-developed programming to relevant sixth-grade classrooms. Edina will continue to roll out EtherneTV throughout the year. Edina also secured the digital video rights to additional educational programming, which it is providing to teachers via VBrick's video on demand capabilities. In parallel, Edina District Media and Technology Services is also digitizing requested VHS titles, thereby enabling teachers to play select video content on demand.

"On-demand access to breaking news, morning announcements, and archived video provides Edina teachers with added ability to engage students and continue its high educational standards," said Marc Sherrell, vice president sales, SKC Communication Products, Inc. "VBrick's powerful EtherneTV digital video capabilities are central to providing dynamic communications for Edina and additional customers."

About SKC Communication Products, Inc.

SKC Communication Products, Inc. is a full service provider of communication and conferencing solutions. SKC's customer base ranges from individuals working out of home offices to many Fortune 500 companies. Their unique and powerful product mix provides SKC clients with an experienced partner for total real-time applications. Products and services include Polycom and TANDBERG conferencing equipment, VBrick video distribution and management products, custom room design and integration, conferencing services, Avaya phone systems, and Plantronics headsets. For more information, visit SKC's website at www.skccom.com.

About VBrick Systems, Inc.

VBrick Systems, Inc., creates and delivers innovative networked video solutions that enhance communications and reduce costs for organizations around the world. VBrick's broad range of video solutions provide the simplest and most reliable visual communications to businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies ranging in use from distributing news and information to distance-learning, training, and surveillance. VBrick, an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, has garnered numerous industry accolades including the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Connecticut Technology Fast 50, and the National Association of Broadcaster's (NAB) Award for Innovation in Media in the Content Delivery category. Based in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA, VBrick Systems' products are distributed through industry-leading value-added resellers, system integrators, and distributors. Find out more at www.VBrick.com.