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European Space Agency

Press Release
 
Satellite learning launched at Italian tech fair 
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11 March 2003

Genoa came under the watchful eyes of teachers at TED 2003. The third 
annual technology in education event showcased the results of the 
Sat{at}Once project, a satellite communication system currently piloted 
by Dschola, a regional school network.

Sat{at}Once is a system that distributes the most frequently viewed web 
content onto a local PC using a simple DVB Satellite dish, the kind 
normally used for receiving satellite broadcasts. The service is based 
on the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard. The technology uses 
a set of predefined criteria to filter and retrieve relevant pages. 

Under the framework of an ESA project operated in conjunction with 
Luxembourg's SES-ASTRA, the system has currently been piloted by 
Turin-based CSP. During the study, many schools have been able to use 
the system to provide teachers and students with audio-visual and 
multimedia materials integrated with and complementing lessons and 
text-books using the combined potential of the Internet, satellite and 
VCRs. 

The project was piloted in the mountains of the Piedmont region where 
high speed Internet access can be limited for public institutions in 
rural locations. Schools involved in the study were able to receive 
web materials and courseware through a client interface known as 
Casablanca, which allows previewing content that is readily available 
locally that can be downloaded in full at a later stage. 

The event, held at the end of February, attracted 5000 visitors and 
more than 100 expositors from a variety of industries with didactic 
applications including hardware, software and multimedia.

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