Objective of the project
The objective of the project is to do research and development of network and collaboration technologies for new distance learning. In our first prototype, we applied Web browser sharing technology to realize multiparty real-time education.
Succeeding the Mitaka project which was finished last year, we participated projects to establish how to use it and to investigate how it can be used in real systems.
- A project to support learning of Information technology, Network System for Remote Teacher Learning Based on Web Browser Synchronization (conducted by IPA: Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan)
This project aimed for building a network system for teacher learning based on our "Web Browser Sharing technology" and Lotus Learning space. Saitama Board of Education conduct real teacher learning course to investigate the system's performance and effect.
- A Network Architecture Enabling control of group communications based on multi-cast protocol conducted by Telecommunications Advancement Organization Of Japan.
We participate at Mitaka city ,which is one of the selected 30 regions for the study, to supply our system for experiments on both a high band width network and on conventional low band width networks.
Advantages of our synchronous distance learning system
Our synchronous distance learning system has following advantages:
- The system realizes remote communication and remote lecture staying at their own schools. Without our system, students have to go to another school to join the lecture. The students broaden their views by communicating remote students and teachers. Because the system can handle HTML as education contents format, teachers can use all the HTML resources in the Internet.
- Asynchronous distance learning systems provide Web site and e-mail for students' self-study. Our synchronous distance learning systems provides data collaboration functions and voice/video transmission for human-to-human communication. Video conferencing systems cannot show contents in a high resolution, but our system can. This is because the contents are in HTML format and shown in a Web browser.
- Our system can be combined with a asynchrounous learning management system ,such as Lotus learningSpace, to achieve high usability and high quality learning service. This kind of system can be used not only as a remote education system for student but as a distance learning system for business persons. We are investigating this ability in the Teacher learning project as mentioned above.
Features and functions of our distance learning system
- It shares Web browsers, hence, it can use all the HTML resources in the world.
- It requires only little communication bandwidth for sharing Web browsers. Thus, it can support any types of TCP/IP communication such as CATV communication with cable modem and dial-up connection over an analog telephone line or PHS (Personal Handy phone System). When enough bandwidth is available, Internet video conferencing or Internet telephone is used with our system.
- User interface for teachers and students is implemented with Internet standard languages such as HTML, Java, and JavaScript.
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