Education: Michlalah Jerusalem College
Originally published on NewTek Europe

Michlalah - Jerusalem College was founded 42 years ago as a Teacher training College for women. Nowadays the "weaker" sex is also part of the student body.

Student body counts approximately 1700 students. The programs include Judaic studies (main stream), computer science, mathematics and technology and media in education which is the curriculum taught by Yossi Klein who kindly accepted to answer our questions about his use of Video Toaster both for his courses and for the college studio.

Hello Yossi, can you tell us exactly what your role is at Michlalah?
I am officially NewMedia Coordinator which means I deal with the implementation of new technologies in the college: Video, multimedia, 3D, Computer graphics, web design including ‘Richmedia’ program.
I also teach in our Technology and Media in Education program and last but not least I head the College Production Team (I have four former students working with me) where we produce videos (mostly documentaries), multimedia projects and ‘Richmedia Distance Learning’ programs.

Why do you have such a complete production suite inside a college?
Video Toaster answers the need of our production team for one. In addition, our students learn to use the various aspects of Video Toaster for teaching purposes. Ideally, we would have built a complete video production facility, but the costs are much too high. With Video Toaster, we can give the students a real taste of and hands-on training on an up-to-date, high quality system.
In our production environment, we use Video Toaster for program recording, editing and 3D animation.

You said Video Toaster was used inside the media in education program. How do they learn to use VT in relation with their course? Do they use the whole system or part of it?
The students learn to work with Video Toaster as part of their technology skills. When they go out into the "real world", they should be able to use a system like VT for recording, archiving and distributing educational materials.

What is their impression of Video Toaster?
They are VERY impressed by its slickness and high-end look. Even though they are not (yet) professionals, they can still appreciate the quality level of the output.

Can you tell us more about the Richmedia Distance Learning programs?
We use Video Toaster to prepare programs that will be integrated into courses later. Lectures, panels mixed with pre-recorded video segments (shot off-campus) and a lot of data integration (PowerPoint slides, Flash animations etc…) The emphasis is on the balanced integration of the various media and how they relate to the message. Delivery is off-line (Interactive CDs and via our LAN) or on-line via our media server.

What is the purpose of the college production team?
We are here to provide service in graphics, video, multimedia etc… for the College itself as well as for the different departments. In addition we thrive to "push the envelope" and integrate any new technology we feel could help the College.

We also use the Video Toaster for event coverage (that was actually one of the reasons I got approved for the purchase of Video Toaster). The last really big event was a convention of over 3000 Alumnae in the ICC in Jerusalem. In addition, 2-4 times a year, we organize national seminars on various topics, which are recorded, edited and offered both to the participants and to the public.

When did you first hear about the Video Toaster?
I am an old Amiga buff (THAT should answer the question, right? :)

Did you use Video Toaster on the Amiga then?
No, I didn't, but I did follow the toaster very closely and was absolutely thrilled when Video Toaster NT "came to life".

What about the Video Toaster convinced you to integrate it into your production pipeline?
First of all Video Toaster does what NO system at that price does. In addition the video quality is superb and I like its learning curve and LightWave.

What equipment did you work on previously?
In our previous studio we had strictly analog equipment. For editing we used to work Pinnacle Silver.

What differences in productivity have you noticed since you started using the Video Toaster?
We can edit our program faster and more smoothly than we ever did before. Although we are not a production house with deadlines, it still is important to be able to keep with the pace.

What is the configuration of the Video Toaster machine? What cameras do you use?
Video Toaster 3 (next week, we are getting the Video Toaster 4) +SX-8, P4, 2.4Ghz, 1GB RAM, 320GB HDD. The reseller TNG ( Moshe Zaafrani) built and integrated our system.
We have a few cams, all of them DVCAM format, our main one is the Sony DSR250P.

Which tools in the VIDEO TOASTER suite do you use most?
The switcher, VT-Edit and the CG. Sometimes the Chromakeyer too.

Don’t you also use LightWave? Either for your classes or for the college production studio?
Oh yes! I have been teaching LightWave for a few years now. We will be upgrading to version 8 this year (maybe only Inspire for the classes, I still have to see). Plus, as far as production goes, I use LightWave to do all my 3D stuff. I was and still am convinced it is the best 3D package around.

What, in your opinion, can be improved in the Video Toaster? What new tools would you like to see?
The main feature that I would want is the ability to fully switch between digital cams via firewire. Plus Multi DSK plus an Audio Editor

We're coming to the end of the school year. Are you happy with what your students have learnt?
NEVER! I always want them to learn more, push themselves, use the opportunity they have to work (play) with the tools available to them.
But, seriously, yes, I am very happy. I see their progress and follow up on them after their studies. It is a source of pride to see them succeed.

Good luck for your students and thanks for your time Yossi! For more information on Michlalah-Jerusalem College, please visit their web site.