This section will answer a few of our most frequently asked questions.

Q.) What is M.A.T.H.E.?

A.)

• M.A.T.H.E stands for the Minority Access To Higher Education.
• M.A.T.H.E is a project designed to improve the overall academic performance of the undeserved African-American Students through the use of telecommunications technology. Education, Culture, and Lifelong Learning and Community, Networking will serve as the primary and secondary application.

Q.) What is the focus of the M.A.T.H.E. Project?

A.)

• This project seeks the following three primary outcomes: (1) an increase standardized test scores; (2) An increase in overall academic performance; and (3) an in crease between pre- and post test performance on specialized exam for participants in program.
• We expect the student's from this program will go on to college at higher rates than their peers.
• We expect more of these students to choose careers in Math and Science than their peers do.
• After conclusion of this project students will be motivated to learn, and they will have a better sense of themselves and their capabilities.
• This project also seeks to enable parents and the community to be a part of their children's educational process.
• Furthermore, the community will benefit by having computer lab whereby they will have access to the Internet and Benedict College. This project will give participants, parents and the community access to information.

Q.) What is teleconferencing?

A.)

• Video-Conferencing technology allows individuals at two or more locations to see and hear each other at the same time.
• Video-conferencing for Project M.A.T.H.E supports the effective and educational uses of Video-conferencing technology by providing specific information in the areas of science, math and technology, culture and lifelong learning and instructional applications as well as resources to three undeserved communities in South Carolina.
• This technology can also link these communities to other information resource centers throughout the world.
• Multimedia conferencing revolutionizes vital, everyday tasks such as corporate management, training and communication between geographically-dispersed teams.
• This technology enables interactive, live sharing of audio, video and desktop applications during a conference session. Multiple users participating from geographically distant locations can collaborate and share visual information while they discuss a project together.
• Internet voice and video and PSTN video increase productivity and reduce travel time and cost, while offering a personal mode of communication. Applications are wide-ranging and include investor relations, tele-medicine, distance learning, technical design reviews, and other collaborative activities.

Q.) When will multimedia teleconferencing be available over the Internet?

A.)

• Certain applications are already available over the Internet. Developers of multimedia conferencing applications have targeted the Internet, intranet, as well as more traditional networks, as a key focus area for future development. The same concepts that seem futuristic today will be assimilated into mainstream culture very rapidly, just like the Internet itself. The value of the Internet is that no new hardware or software is required for users to participate in new, interactive applications.

Q.) How large is the conferencing market?

A.)

• According to industry reports, the conferencing market is growing at a rapid rate of 37% per year and is expected to reach US $39 billion by the year 2002.

Q.) Why are standards necessary?

A.)

• Major vendors and service providers across the industry and around the world support international standards for conferencing, The M.A.T.H.E. Project will continue to work through the continuing evolution of and implementation issues surrounding these standards.
• Standards ensure that the multitude of products and services developed and distributed by different vendors work with each other in the same fashion as a telephone or fax machine.
• Adopting a common set of standards allows multimedia product and service vendors and suppliers to integrate into the existing communications world and ensure the usability of their products into the future.
• Compliance to standards minimizes market fragmentation and encourages prospective customers to use multimedia teleconferencing solutions over ISDN, on the Internet, corporate intranets, and the Public Switched Telephone Network.

Q.) On which standards does the M.A.T.H.E focus?

A.)

• The M.A.T.H.E. Project is primarily concerned with four sets of communications protocols drafted and agreed upon by the International Telecommunication Union, an agency chartered by the United Nations. Since 1995, the ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-TSS) has ratified the core T.120 standards for Real Time Data Conferencing, the H.323 standard for Video (Audiovisual) communication on Local Area Networks, and the H.324 standard for High Quality Video and Audio Compression over PSTN connections. The H.320 standards for ISDN Video-conferencing were ratified in 1990.

Q.) What issues do the standards address?

A.)

• T.120 provides real time data conferencing standards that allow people at multiple locations to conduct a voice conference call and create and manipulate still images such as documents, spreadsheets, color graphics, and photographs.The H.320 standard series addresses video-conferencing over circuit switched networks, such as Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) or switched 5G. H.320 includes the H.261 video compression algorithm, and three audio codecs to address a range of applications.H.323 establishes standards for video-conferencing and multimedia communications over local area networks.(LANs).
• It extends video-conferencing to packet-switched networks like Ethernet and Token-Ring -- which do not guarantee a quality of service (QOS). H.323 is based on the Real Time Protocol (RTP/RTCP) from the IETF, so it can also be applied to video on the Internet.The H.324 standards address high quality video and audio compression over high speed modem connections over the POTS network.
• H.324 is the first standard to allow for video, data and voice to be transmitted over a single analog phone line. It also specifies interoperability over a single line. As a result, the 'videophones' being introduced by a number of companies will be able to connect to, and talk to, one another. Each of these standards applies to Multipoint and Point-to-Point applications.

Q.) What do we mean by interoperability?

A.)

• Interoperability means that products and services (software and hardware) from different providers worldwide can work together in the same session. The IMTC advocates a uniform technology base that enables manufacturers to create a variety of compatible products, applications and services. When all products interoperate, end users can choose from any number of multimedia teleconferencing products without regard to its manufacturer. The availability of interoperable products and services is the fundamental, essential element for the widespread adoption of multimedia teleconferencing because end users' capital investments are protected and future compatibility is ensured.

Q.) Why are interoperability test events important?

A.)

• Interoperability events provide an open, vendor-neutral environment for companies to test their products with the products of other vendors using standardized procedures. By testing products in the development stage, vendors can pinpoint areas where different interpretations of the international telecommunications standards may exist, and ensure that commercially available products will be interoperable.

Q.) What is the current state of ISDN?

A.)

• ISDN is a pipeline that has a proven track record in the conferencing environment. ISDN line growth is very strong, as service providers increase availability and drastically reduce the cost of basic rate services. While ISDN is commonly associated with H.320 conferencing, ISDN itself is capable of supporting H.323 and will be carrying a new version of H.324.

Q.) What is the future of IP networks?

A.)

• Work began on the development of standards-based conferencing applications for IP networks (LAN and Internet) in early 1996 with the adoption of ITU Recommendation H.323. Consumer interest in and access to the world's largest IP network, the Internet, has grown rapidly with fixed, flat rate pricing for monthly access.

Please email questions to Friersonm@benedict.edu