Do you speak my language: V is for Volume, Vapourware, Virus, VoIP, VNC, VPN, VLE, Virtual Campus

V is for Volume, Vapourware, Virus, VoIP, VNC, VPN, Virtual campus, VLE

Tough choice for V.... there are two obvious candidates, VNC or VPN. I use both, a lot, in my teaching, but I guess I will have to go with VPN.

What is VPN?

VPN stands for virtual private network. This requires software (see S - Do you speak my language: S is for Server, SEO, SMTP, Script, SFTP, SSH, SEO, Shell, Site Map, Source Code, Software) to be installed on the computer being used by the student and on the campus server (see S - Do you speak my language: S is for Server, SEO, SMTP, Script, SFTP, SSH, SEO, Shell, Site Map, Source Code, Software), and what it allows is a secure connection to be established between the two machines such that it appears that the student computer is on campus.

Why VPN?

VPN, as I said above, allows the student to 'appear' to be on campus, even when there are in fact at home, or off-site. As the student computer is on the campus network then this means that the student gets all the advantages and privileges associated with being physically at the university (basically, all the network traffic from the students computer is sent via the campus network, and the student will have a campus IP address (see I - Do you speak my language: I is for Injection, IP address, IMAP).

Using VPN in teaching

VPN has a number of uses in teaching. For example, if you limit access to your teaching material to campus computers then students off-site can appear to be on-campus by using VPN, and so gain access to the resource. Another way that VPN can be used is to allow students access to journals for which the university has a subscription. Basically the student connects to campus using VPN, and then they can access the journal, which would normally be blocked on their home connection However, for sime reason this doesn't always work... And I have never been able to find out why.

The other Vs in the list:

Volume: Not as in noise, or in book, but as in computers is just another name for a hard-disk.

Vapourware: This is a fun one. I have discussed hardware (see H - Do you speak my language: H is for htaccess, hacker, host, http, https, html, hardware) and software (see S - Do you speak my language: S is for Server, SEO, SMTP, Script, SFTP, SSH, SEO, Shell, Site Map, Source Code, Software), now vapourware. Vapourware is software that is promised by the IT guys and yet never arrives! Basically, the idea is there, some of the work may have even been done, but the product has never been finished.

Virus: I think we all know what this is..... Yep, a nasty that infects your computer and does nasty things.

VoIP: This stands for Voice over IP (see I in this series - Do you speak my language: I is for Injection, IP address, IMAP) - for information about IP) and is a way if sending voice (think telephone call) and video over the Internet. VoIP can be a great way to communicate with students off-campus, say on a field assignment, or to even chat to colleagues when working on a grant application. One problem with VoIP is that there is no adopted Internet standard, so it is impossible for different VoIP systems to exchange data, that is, everyone has to use the same VoIP system if they wish to chat.

VNC: Virtual Network Computer. This is really handy, and it is a tool I use a lot in my teaching. What VNC allows you to do is to call up a window on one computer that shows the desktop of another remote computer. You can then control the other (remote) computer just as if you were sitting in front of it. I use VNC for interacting with one of my teaching servers. I could login to the server using SSH (see S - Do you speak my language: S is for Server, SEO, SMTP, Script, SFTP, SSH, SEO, Shell, Site Map, Source Code, Software) and use command line (see C - Do you speak my language: C is for Cloud Computing, Computer, C, client, cron job, compile, compress, cookie, code, command line interface) instructions to achieve the same thing, but sometimes things are just quicker and easier using a bit if drag 'n' drop and a few clicks of a mouse.

Virtual campus: I only came across this term a few weeks ago (where have I been?).... As far as I can make out a virtual campus is a summation of all the eLearning and online systems associated with a school, college or university. Personally I am not a great fan of the term as it smacks of the 90s and virtual worlds.

VLE: Virtual Learning Environment. Hmmmm... Another virtual. What is a virtual learning environment, and why is it virtual? Surely it is just a learning environment? A VLE is an online system that contains teaching and learning material, and may also do online assessments.

Protein: 3KLT

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Do you speak my language: V is for Volume, Vapourware, Virus, VoIP, VNC, VPN, VLE, Virtual Campus

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