Streamline Learning Systems

APEGBC's VISION is "to enhance the quality of life through the application of engineering and science."

The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. regulates and governs the professions under the authority of the Engineers and Geoscientists Act by setting and maintaining high academic, experience and professional practice standards for all members. APEGBC's currently governs approximately 18,000 members.

In the fall of 2002, APEGBC contracted Streamline to develop a custom delivery system for three (3) of their highly successful professional development conferences being offered to their members. The conferences were being delivered as live 8-hour sessions in Vancouver, and were based on PowerPoint presentations, audience participation, and supplied print materials. Our delivery solution had to encompass the entire experience of conference attendance yet had to be intuitive, reliable, and compatible with existing member computer systems.

	Member cost savings: APEGBC required that the new method of delivering seminars be as affordable as the price associated with attending a full day conference, while saving on travel and missed work costs.
	Flexible Delivery: APEGBC required that the method of delivery take into account the busy schedules of their members, and provide a flexible method for professional development to fit their needs.
	Widespread Compatibility: APEGBC required that the solution run smoothly on a standard 233 MHz computer and all recent versions of Windows (98,Me,NT4,2000 & XP).
	True Conference Representation: APEGBC requested that the training not only provide all segments of the speaker presentation, but the audience participation, and access to the included classroom materials.
	Piracy Protection: To ensure that their highly successful professional development seminars could not be copied or distributed illegally, the package had to include a protection system that would limit product access to the computer of the member that purchased the product.
	Interactivity: APEGBC requested that the training be developed to allow members viewing the computer version to perform any hands-on activities conducted by the live conference attendees.

As the conference delivery solution was intended for a wide audience, it needed to be professional enough that it could stand up to scrutiny of experienced power users, and at the same time, be easy to use by those with little computer experience.

Streamline supplied two operators with professional DV Cameras, Speaker/Audience Microphones and lighting equipment to film each day of the live conference. Two camera's were supplied to provide a redundant system to ensure all conference video was captured as well as allow final two-angle video that is more enjoyable to watch.

Through attendance and review of the conference video, Streamline began the complex task of designing and coding a completely customized "presentation delivery system" that would allow the video, PowerPoint and Interactivity to be combined in a single package.

The conference video and audio was edited and converted for CDROM playback, embedded in the software delivery system, and timed with graphically enhanced PowerPoint slides. All audience questions were transcribed into text slides, and audience audio was normalized for inclusion with the speaker video. A Software system for CD-switching was also created, to allow virtually unlimited amounts of live video to be delivered over multiple CD's.

With the playback area created, comprehensive menu systems and navigation systems were created. Extensive user feedback system and location "bookmarking" were included to ensure the product was simple to use, yet powerful.

CD installation and protection systems were then created that restrict installation to the computer of a user that could verify ownership through their Internet Connection, or over the phone.

In-house designers then developed packaging graphics for both the DVD Cases and CDROM labels, as well as an introductory Flash animation for the package.

Streamline prepared all replication materials, and handled the product replication on behalf of APEGBC through a third-party contractor.

The APEGBC project was delivered on schedule, according to budget, and has exceeded APEGBC's expectations. APEGBC is already experiencing promising sales volumes and are enjoying positive attention from other associations for their innovative approach. Based on orders to date, APEGBC expects to be able to recoup all development and ongoing production/program costs as planned.

APEGBC is planning to develop additional seminars in the future to provide their members with a library of subjects for their professional development.